Core Gameplay: Rock, Paper, Scissors

I haven't been keeping up with Certain Affinity's work as of late, but in the past I had been keeping an eye on them due to their staff consisting of quite a few Bungie guys. Any company Max Hoberman (multiplayer designer from Halo 2) starts has got to be worth something. As I was saying, I hadn't been keeping up on the progress of their current game; Age of Booty. (Originally titled "Plunder", but apparently they and Capcom, their publisher, had trouble keeping a hold on that name)

To my surprise, I logged into Xbox LIVE to find it sitting on the XBL Marketplace. I'm not entirely sure how I missed the hype (was there any?) around this Xbox Live Arcade title before release, but I was looking forward to it. I grabbed a download immediately and liked what I saw. What did I see?

The best game of Rock, Paper, Scissors that I have played in a good amount of time. After playing the game for 3 hours straight, I've come to the conclusion that it is also a bit mind-numbing, as if I really was playing Rock, Paper, Scissors for that period of time... But Certain Affinity has certainly nailed some core gameplay. Most of you might never think of games this way. Every game you play has some combination of "THIS beats THAT" and "THAT beats THIS, but can be beat by THOSE". This is really what makes a great RTS, such as Age of Booty.

A very good example is Starcraft (or Warcraft 3, for those who aren't as familiar). THIS unit beats THAT, but THIS unit beats THAT unit. It's a massive game of Rock, Paper, Scissors, constantly playing out at your fingertips.

Certain Affinity has nailed some great elements here. Like many games, and some of the best, the game revolves around the number 3. Rock, Paper, Scissors. Three elements that make a beautiful contest of brains, strategy, and resource management. Speaking of resources, there are three resources; Gold, Lumber, and Rum. (What else would pirates use to fuel their crews?) With these resources, you acquire upgrades. Now you have three upgrades; Speed, Cannons, and Armor. Let me explain why.

Speed increases the pace at which your boat moves across the water, and in turn, gets to objectives (and resources) faster and dodge shots more easily.

Cannons increase the rate at which cannonballs launch from your ship. If you're looking to take down a foe or Port, this is the way to do it. Port towns are essentially the objective, controlling a certain number of towns yields victory for your team.

The last is armor. This increases the health of your ship. You can take more hits.

The beauty of this trio is that players may choose how to upgrade, how to conquer, and how to play. What else could you possibly want from a game? Some players will upgrade their boats evenly, ensuring they have no substantial weaknesses.

Some will go for speed and quickly run about the map. That is their strength. Weakness? Rock smashes scissors.

Others will go for cannons and quickly silence foes before they can even react. Amazing firepower make them a force to be reckoned with. Weakness? The paper wraps around the rock, suffocating it.

Now, of course I'm being figurative (Or should I just go make an FPS about the Rock Army invading Scissorville, while the Paperellions slowly engulf the world? It could be a hit.) but I believe you understand the idea. All games must have Rock, Paper, and Scissors.

Nothing must stand above the rest without weakness, this is the key to balance, variety, and a lot of fun. My congratulations to Certain Affinity on making a fantastic Arcade title. I am thoroughly impressed.