Overview
Trireme is a two-player naval combat game. It simulates ancient naval combat in a way that is simple to learn and play, but difficult to master. The game features "direction dependent" game pieces; that is to say, the angle a piece is facing dictates the way it moves and attacks. Trireme was inspired by Go, Chess, and Hnefatafl. It builds upon these games while providing players with a unique experience.
Player Experience
Trireme challenges players to exercise their long-term planning and spatial reasoning skills. To sink an enemy ship, you must ram its side with the prow of one of your own ships. Each enemy ship is a moving target capable of sinking your ships in the same manner. Trireme combat is like a dogfight: you have to lead your target, predict its evasive maneuvers, and keep the enemy off your tail.
Design Challenges
While working on Trireme I learned how to create strategic depth within a lean system. Depth and complexity are two separate features of a rule set. A game's depth reflects the number of possibilities created by its system of mechanics. The more interrelated mechanics are, the larger the possibility space and the greater the depth of play. A game's complexity increases with the number of mechanics that comprise its system. As a rules set increases in complexity, it becomes less accessible and more time-consuming to learn. Achieving maximum depth relative to a game's complexity requires careful evaluation of each mechanic's role in the system. In a strong system, mechanics interact with each other to create interesting dynamics.
Production Details
Genre: Historical Open Field Board Game
Role: Sole Developer
Development Cycle: 3 Weeks
Released: April, 2012
Role: Sole Developer
Development Cycle: 3 Weeks
Released: April, 2012
Rules & Production Documents
| trireme_rules.pdf |
| trireme_postmortem.docx |
