PATH OF ISEKAI
Physical Board Game Design (Digital Version)
Path of Isekai is a PVE game for 4 players, who need to work together to defeat the Demon Lord before the 7-day countdown ends. During the 7 days, they can strengthen their combat power in different ways, such as upgrading weapons.
Design Process
Initial Design
Determine game mode and gameplay direction
Establish platform and basic game framework
Draft core rulesPlan card categories and types
Card Design & Board Layout
Create initial card concepts and descriptions
Write card values
Produce the first version of the game board
Playtesting
Invite 10+ players with different levels of experience
Conduct repeated playtests and gather feedback
Balancing
Adjust card values
Revise board layout
Update rulebook
Final Design
Finalize card visuals
Finalize map visuals
Finalize video walk through
Core Gameplay Activities
ACCUMULATING
Scrap is a resource that accumulates throughout the game through gathering, resource actions, or combat. It is later used for conversion and market transactions.
CONVERTING
When players collect enough scrap resource cards and meet upgrade requirements,they can convert lower-tier cards into higher-tier upgrades.
TRADING
On the Market tiles, scrap cards can be exchanged for coins.
Coins can then be used to purchase market cards and upgrade various abilities.
Core Gameplay Mechanics
Resource Accumulation & Distribution
Players obtain resources through combat or by collecting scrap, and decide how to allocate those resources
Cooperative Combat System
Players can choose to cooperate with others in combat, affecting difficulty and reward distribution.
Combat & Risk Choice
Players must decide whether to engage in battle and choose between solo combat or team combat.
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Solo combat: High risk, high reward
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Team combat: Low risk, low reward
Character Ability System
Each player character has unique ability bonuses that influence different aspects of gameplay.
Secondary Gameplay Mechanics
Market Fluctuation System
Market prices fluctuate randomly.
Players must decide whether to save coins or convert scrap for upgrades.
Dice System
Players roll dice to determine combat outcomes and whether an upgrade attempt succeeds.
Time Pressure System
The game features a 7-day countdown.
Players must defeat the Demon Lord before time runs out.。
Design Problem
Balancing Economy
From playtesting results, we found that some Market cards and Enemy cards needed to be reworked. The pricing of certain Market cards, and the effects of others were revised to provide a similar cost/benefit ratio to all others. From playtesting results, there were multiple cards that completely turned the tides in combat, while being easily accessible due to the funds (3 gold) provided at the beginning of the game. This made progression and upgrading too easy and the demon lord battle would be over without much worry. We altered the amount of gold obtained at the beginning (from 3 to 2), but found more issues with that. Beginning with less gold meant that some of the cards that seemed balanced before, now seem to cost an absurd amount that was not worth the cost; these cards have been adjusted as well.
Co-operative Combat Revision
One major revision to the combat system we made improved the player's quality of life for combat hexagons. Now, players can use their turn to join the fight even if they cannot reach the hexagon their teammates are on. The caveat is that the player that cannot reach the hexagon will not take any of the scrap rewards; it will be divided between those standing on the combat tile in which the fight started. This mitigates the need for players to all move to the same tiles throughout the days, which used to be the dominant strategy. Previously, playtesters would stick together and not stray too far from each other because they feared consequences of not being able to fight together and reap great rewards. Joining a teammate’s fight without receiving rewards can also become a strategy to move players closer to Market hexagons if they are a little far.
Enemy Scaling/Balancing
From playtesting results, one group was thrown into combat against a Hard difficulty enemy immediately on the first day. They were lucky and managed to defeat the enemy, but only because they all fought together and got lucky dice rolls. While this could mean players had a chance to reap great rewards off the bat, the chances to win were far too slim, the chances to get a Hard difficulty enemy at the beginning were far too high and the outcome affected the player’s progression too much. To remove this feature, we set rules on what difficulty the enemies would be, determined by the current day on the counter. On days 1-2, the enemies will be on easy difficulty; days 3-4 had medium difficulty enemies and enemies on days 5-7 were solely on hard difficulty.
Playtest & Design Gallery
