Final Project

Some of this has been posted before, but I recompiled it, and presented with pictures of the game below so it all comes together for my final project.  I have also posted a YouTube video here.

JB's stick it to 'em
Robert E. Pitts Jr.

Have you ever in customer service and wanted to tell off that rude customer?  Well now can!  Choose from an assortment of remarks, comebacks and things to do to get back at them.

Features

• Game board is shaped like an airliner, you move around the plane and hopefully you get off through the escape slide.  Inspired by flight attendant with JetBlue Steven Slater
• Play your cards against the customer cards in a battle of wills to see who can dish it out best.  Movement based on the card battles.
• Decision making is key.  Do you play it safe and wait to pull out the big card or go for broke and try to quickly make your escape?
• For even more entertainment, an interactive DVD is included that has comedic clips of customer service situations that you choose to play instead of cards.
• Play through to avoid the dreaded managers office.
• Makes a great party game where everyone can have a good laugh
• Motivation
• Your ultimate goal is to slug through the customers and make your escape from customer service.  Tug at the emotions of the players as they relive those dreaded times with rude customers.  Anyone who has worked with the public understand that people can be rude, obnoxious and downright mean.  So feel free to let it all out and tell than what you really think.

Genre

The game is a mix of a board game, card game and the benefit of the DVD

Target Customer

The large percent of the population working in a customer service role of some sort.  Everyone from waiters to department stores employees.  People want a release from dealing with the public.  Read this quote from austenbronte who wrote on ABCNews.com. "Working with the GENERAL public is mundane and rude people like that woman can drive your insane, day after day, after day, after day. WAY TO GO STEVEN! You are free from that daily nightmare, now I wish you good luck in fighting the legal system and the airline, so you can stay out of jail."  - Taken from ABCnews story linked here - http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/steven-slater-jetblue-flight-attendant-quitter-online-hero/story?id=11369252

Competition

None that I have found.

Unique Selling points

• It would be the first game of its kind
• Allows people to role play tough customer situations finally get to stick it to rude customers
• Great party atmosphere game
• DVD allows for longer play and great laughs
• Tap into the potential of workers tired of dealing with rude people.

Target Hardware

• Tabletop and a DVD player – according to the Digital Entertainment Group 2009 year end report, 92 million households have a DVD player.

Design Goals

• Easy - setup and game play
• Entertaining – Good laughs, replay value with different play through based on the cards dealt
• Group Play – get together and share the laughs
• DVD – videos appeal to the YouTube crowd and are campy and funny

Rules and play-through information


The Rules are simple but with a bit of strategy. You have two desks of cards. One deck is the Customer Cards deck (CC), the second is Service Representative deck (SR). CC cards are comments, complaints, obnoxious remarks and general dumb customer interactions and are weighted with negative values from -1 to -10. SR cards are comebacks to complaints, inventive ways to get back at customers, general ways to frustrate the stupid customers of the world and are weighted with values from +1 to +10. You initially start with 10 cards in hand after shuffling the deck.

The board is shaped like an airliner, you move around the plane and hopefully you get off through the escape slide. Movement is determined by how you play your cards. Meaning SR-CC=movement. Move forwards or backwards the appropriate # of spaces.  If negative you do not get another card. The catch of course is to strategize your card use. You can also get a bonus SR card on select spots on the board. If you run out of cards, land on select spots or select cc cards with the instructions for mangers office, you then proceed to the  managers office and lose a turn. There are 3 mangers offices around the board. When you go the managers office you go backwards to the previously passed office or if you are not past the first office return to start. On your next turn only if you have run out of cards  you draw 5 cards from the SR deck.

To add a little spice, you can utilize the DVD by landing on select spots on the board or selecting CC deck cards with the DVD icon. Some clips will be positive for the player or negative siding with the customer - movement will come from these. The clips will be around 30 seconds or so and will be campy and funny. The result will make you move forwards or backwards. You do not lose or draw a card with a negative DVD playback result, just move the appropriate number of spaces.
Another option as well for direct head to head competition is to play with another person in charge of the CC cards as you battle directly for victory and escape from the customer service nightmare!

Picture of Service Representative Cards

 Picture of Customer Comment Cards

 Picture of Game Board Layout

 Picture of actual prototype gameboard & Cards

Cards and Dice

Premise

• A Different twist on high card draw, using dice as a “power up” and utilizing joker cards as a re-roll of dice.

Rules

• Each player rolls three dice.  These dice are added onto point total of cards as a “power up”.  They can only be used one at a time and once used are removed from play (unless you draw a joker).
• value of cards ace=1 through king=10
• joker cards let you re-roll your dice and act as a way to reload your “power up”.  If joker is drawn then you re-roll your dice putting them back in play and then you draw another card (to replace one that was played).
• deck including jokers is shuffled and each player draws 10 cards
• high card including “power up” wins.  Cards are played by each player first sliding a die forward if being used and then simultaneously placing their cards on table face up to see who won.
• After you play your cards each player draws a card, winner drawing first
• most wins determines overall winner

Revisions after play-through

• I dropped the number of cards drawn from 10 to 7.  this allows for a little more randomization of what you will draw.
• As a variant, I added the option to add up to two dice at once, discard after usage of dice still applies.

Chapter Seven Book Work

Which load system would you choose to implement in you original game?
I will use a combination of auto-save when entering a new area and unlimited manual saves at any time.  This would be like what is in Fallout 3, for example.

Why would this system be preferable to others?
Well I do not want to be limited with my saves thus I don't want to do the same to people playing my game.  Second the reason why I have the auto save in the background is if you are like me you will get into the game and forget to save sometimes.  This way you will not have to go all the way back to your previous manual save but to the beginning of the area you entered.

How will you balance immersion with player control?
Since the auto-save happens in the background players will not notice that part.  The manual save is up to the player so the only immersion issues will be up to the player.  I mean if you are a control freak and need to save every 5 minutes that is your choice.    I save when I remember and it might be a while so I don't interrupt the game.  The unlimited manual save allows the player to have more control as they see fit.  The player is ultimately in control of everything.  You have some players with a busy schedule that hop into a game for an hour at a time just to have a little play time.  Other players set aside entire days to play the game and basically live the game.  So why limit gamers?