First off, thanks for checking out my upcoming game Hardcourt Balls. This is my first project as a solo developer and I'm super excited to finally start sharing some of my journey with you, as well as explain a bit more about the core game design and what - I think - makes it really special.
I plan on posting DevLogs regularly from here on out with a lot of in-depth info about various aspects of Hardcourt Balls, requests for feedback and development milestones, so make sure to Wishlist so you can stay on top of all the latest updates:
In order to not overwhelm with info on the first day, today I'll provide a very quick overview of the turn-based game mechanics using a gameplay clip I recorded a while ago. No worries, more in-depth DevLogs will follow in the coming weeks, as well.
So, here is a quick gameplay clip. Watch it in full, and then we'll go over what's going on step-by-step.
We're going to skip over the serve, I'll cover that soon, and let's skip over the return as well (it's an AI player; will talk about that more in the future, too), and we'll start with the following shot. Here is a screengrab.
So, what is going on here? I, Bob, am targeting a tile on the field to hit to. You can see the blue target indicator just to the right of the center service line.
In the top left corner, you can see what number I have to roll in order to hit that spot accurately - 6. You'll also notice a blue -1 modifier next to it. This modifier comes from the fact that I have a strong Forehand [yeah, I wish]. You can see my abilities in the top of the screen where it says "FH: 1". So that means that in order to hit the ball to the tile I'm targeting accurately, I need to roll a 5 or higher with my ten-sided dice.
Here is a screenshot with callouts of everything I just mentioned (pardon my Paint-art):
I will explain in detail how the Roll number is calculated soon, but for now suffice it to say that it depends on the distance between the target tile and the player (plus some special stuff... more on that later). You can see this when I move the target around a bit before deciding on the shot. Look in the top left corner to see how the Roll number changes depending on the target - here I move the target one tile down:
Now I'll move it one tile to the right:
So, throwing a 7 on a 10-sided dice is certainly somewhat risky especially this far into the corner and close to the line. I will explain in the future why it might still be a valid strategy and is far from guaranteed to result in a fault, but in this example, I decided to play it safe and target the tile further in for a 5 Roll target. Here is the result:
Here's what happened: I rolled an 8. Remember, my target was a 5, so I rolled 3 extra points. This is indicated by the "Strong Shot +3" callout in the game. Also, since my shot was on target, the opposing player had to move over 3 tiles to get to the ball. That's another +3 modifier. Adding 3 + 3 (look in the top left corner) means that the opposing player will start with a Roll of 6 as a minimum to get the ball back across the net. That's not going to be easy!
And indeed, the opponent manages to return the ball, but ends up with a "Weak Shot", 4 under what he needed to hit his target (he rolled a 5, so his target was a 9!). This triggers 4 scatter rolls to determine where the ball will land. I'll cover scatter in more detail another time. All we need to know for now is that he got lucky and his ball stayed "in". BUT - he's in a world of trouble. I'm close to the net and if you look in the top left, my Roll requirement starts at basically zero, which means I will probably have a chance for a strong shot anywhere across the entire court.
Heck yeah! How about a sweet strong shot right into the corner. I have a 2 to roll, easypeasy, and he will have to cover more than half the court to get in position. This should be an easy winner!
And holy moly! I roll a 9, meaning it's 7 over, and results in an impossible return (can't roll a 12 on a 10-sided dice, can ya)... Inevitably, the opponent's return goes long (there is no dice roll, it's an automatic fault), and I win the point - and the set!
I hope you enjoyed this little introduction to Hardcourt Balls turn-based game mechanics. As you can see, it's deceivingly simple yet manages to capture some of the core tennis elements from the real-world game of tennis surprisingly well.
There is a lot more to cover, of course. Skills (see the DEF, PWR, PRE buttons on the right?), Abilities, special tiles and more. If you haven't Wishlisted yet, now's a great time, and you won't miss any future updates where I'll cover more game details, strategies and tactics, but also development milestones, small and large, and - most importantly - will pivot to start asking YOU for feedback on additional game mechanics (seasons, career mode and a lot more), and eventually beta-testing.