My board-game.
I knew that I wanted to make a board-game that was triangle-shaped. The triangle is the perfect shape to represent my three characters; it has three equal sides (equilateral triangle), which suggests that there is an equal playing field on all sides. However, obviously the triangle also represents a clear hierarchy, a food pyramid. The Aggressor archetype is destined to be at the top of this triangle, however this changes when you rotate the board or view it at another angle, the other characters center themselves at the top, its as if you’re swapping through a character menu. I want to represent these characters as if they’re involved in a symbiotic relationship, through a food pyramid. They each feed off one another in different ways, whether it be through devouring, or being devoured.
I also like the triangle because it is also cyclical in nature, especially when used as a board-game. It’s symmetrical and even, and I’d like to say that the triangle is like an aggressive, predatory ouroboros (which is a symbol that represents infinite cycles, shown through a serpent devouring it’s own tail). I’m also interested in these shapes in relation to an Xbox controller, which has a universally understood system of symbols to operate games, although there are only letters on the Xbox controller keys, we associate shapes such as the triangle, square, and ‘x’ as related to gaming controls.
How-to-play:
You will need three players. Each player will control a corresponding archetype; The Victim, The Watcher, or The Aggressor. Taking turns, each player will roll the dice, and proceed that number of blocks forward, starting the cycle. They will then follow the instruction listed on the game block they land on.
Each archetype holds its own primary goal:
The role of The Victim is to remain in game as long as possible, to stay safe as long as possible. They have a primal need for safety.
The role of The Watcher is also to avoid danger, they need to remain on The Aggressor’s heels, and to never surpass him. They are following an illusion of safety, where safety is ambiguous and often false.
The role of The Aggressor is to catch up to the character in front of him. Once he ‘catches’ that character, they will die and be removed from the game. The Aggressor wins once he kills both The Victim and The Watcher. The Aggressor operates with a primal drive towards destruction.
The only chance of The Victim or The Watcher characters winning this game is if they complete a full cycle 5 times, without being killed. When they land on their home block after the 5th cycle, they remain permanently safe.
This game follows an aleatory game paradigm, which means that each player must submit and accept that fate controls the outcome of this game. Each characters livelihood depends on the randomized roll of the dice. Each character’s goals are important to understand, yet the player has no control or way of completing this goal. Instead they can only watch over the game, and hope (or not hope) that their character’s goals are fulfilled. The player is participating in the game, but they have no impact on the result of the game.
