​Note: I do not work for Niantic or Nintendo. This is just a blog post talking about how I would handle designing an event in Pokemon Go.​

   Pokemon Go is the biggest thing since Pokemon. It is crazy to see hordes of people walking around from Pokestop to Pokestop in search of the lovable monsters.

   Here we all are, at a public park walking around looking for a Pinsir. I thought to myself, "Why don't we just visit the Safari Zone?" And it hit me, With a game like this we can do just that, we can have an alternate reality event where players visit the Safari Zone!

   The Safari Zone in the Pokemon games is sort of like a Pokemon Nature preserve. Players pay a small fee so they may enter this preserve and attempt to catch the Pokemon inside. The safari zone is home to many rare pokemon that are not found anywhere else. 

  Upon entering, players are given Safari balls and a time limit. They are allowed to catch as many pokemon they can before the time runs out or before they run out of Pokeballs. 

   One weekend every month, large public spaces (Parks, Zoos, Theme Parks etc) will become Safari Zones. In order for a player to have access to the Pokemon in the Safari Zone, they will have to have a ticket. Without the ticket, players will encounter the usual Pokemon at that location. With their ticket the activated, Pokemon from the Gen 1 Kanto Safari Zone will be lured to the player as they travel through the designated Zone.

   Any unused tickets will still be valid for the following month's event. Tickets never expire and can be gifted to your friends and family.

 The player will encounter a variety of Pokemon in the safari zone. The most sought after being the rare Pokemon (Dratini, Pinsir, Chansey etc).

   A while back I visited the San Francisco Zoo, it was one of the first places I thought would be ideal for a real life Safari Zoo. It is broken up into zones that replicate the habitats of the various animals from around the world.

   ​If a player is looking for a rare bug Pokemon such as Pinsir,  they need to explore the Insect Zoo in the exploration zone. If they are looking for a Kangaskhan, it would be an obvious choice to check our the Kangaroos at the Australian Walkabout.

​   The Zoo has already done the work of building the enclosures and landmarks that will become Pokestops. All we have to do is add the Pokemon. I also think this design would encourage people to visit the Zoo and gain an appreciation for the real life animals Pokemon are often based off.

  If you're thinking "This is a bad idea!" and "Zoos wouldn't like these kinds of events!", check out the Pokemon Go week at the Los Angeles Zoo. Businesses and locations are welcoming these kinds of events! More people visiting means more sales. Tickets, refreshments and merchandise. I wouldn't be surprised if The Zoo started selling Pokemon branded merchandise alongside their own.

   The Safari Zone event is a fun way to strengthen an already strong community. It is also a preview of how we can bring ideas and events from the games into the real world. The Safari Zone isn't the only idea from the original Pokemon games that would be possible.

​   What do you think? Do you think an ongoing monthly event has some potential? Do you think it still needs some work? Whatever your opinion is, feel free to leave a comment or tweet me directly. Thanks for reading!
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  Is your phone constantly dying while catching Pokemon? Why not get yourself a portable phone charger? Easy to store and they will recharge your phone on the go. Any of the options below would make an excellent choice. Pick one up here and help support the site! 

Portable Chargers: Jackery Mini Premium, Anker Portable Charger, Astro Candy Bar Sized Charger

​   Do you have questions, comments or concerns? Email us at deepdigitaldesign@gmail.com
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​- Danny Q
@Dannylv100
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​   Halo 5 has released a big update! A new mode called Firefight! Firefight pits a squad of eight players against five waves of enemies of increasing difficulty. Overall, I love this mode. However, I do feel like there are some issues that hold me back from truly loving this game mode. Here are my thoughts and impressions!
​

Note: This isn't an "angry rant". I enjoy this game, but I feel like a few improvements would make this game mode excellent. Blindly yelling "This sucks" is never helpful. That is why as a game designer I offer my input on what I would do to improve the overall experience for all players.

   In the past I've said that the fact that Halo 5 doesn't hand out REQ packs freely was something that bothered me. I know they want players to buy them with real money, but nothing makes me want to play more then feeling like I am being rewarded for my time. ​ 

​  The Firefight update rewards players a free pack just for logging into the game, one free pack a day. Firefight also showers a victorious team with Gold REQ Packs. That's right, GOLD, the best packs in the game. I was so happy, the first few games I played were just awesome, my team and I rolled through a couple rounds and I was earning gold/silver pack after gold pack.

   A game of Firefight can average around 20-25 mins, earning a gold pack or two feels like the right way to reward a player for dedicating the time. It also encourages them to play another round, it keeps them coming back day after day. 

   Basically, you are always low on ammo. When you start the game you have half of the maximum amount of ammo you are allowed to carry. For example, you will have 12 in the magazine of your Magnum, and 24 in reserve. What is the issue? Well you are constantly dealing with boss enemies that require a lot of ammo, and they always bring hordes of enemies to defend them. 

  So you might say "Well use your REQ cards!", well that can help, but I still feel under equipped. Most boss enemies seem to shrug off rockets. Even an enemy Banshee can withstand multiple rockets before going down. You might use an entire rocket launcher REQ card to take down a single banshee.

​Suggested Fix: I would suggest that we increase the amount of ammo players can carry in reserve. For example, instead of a battle rifle carrying 108 bullets max, we give the player 324, three times the amount the player carries now.
  
I would suggest that we add more ammo terminals, they don't need to be fully fledged REQ stations, but ammo drops and resupply capsules around the map that would provide the player with ammo for their loadout weapons and grenades. I would also slightly increase the amount of ammo the REQ cards come with (just for this mode).  

   This is a bit of a pet peeve, but I hate when the clock starts counting down and the boss hasn't even arrived yet. I hate that the armory is being overrun by Prometheans, and we're across the map.

 This might sound like a pet peeve, but why in a game where we have limited time would you start the clock when the boss we are supposed to defeat hasn't even arrived yet? This is especially bad in the early rounds when you are expected to defend the objective, but the Armory/Power Core is across the map! By the time you get there, it is full of enemies.

Suggested Fix: ​ I propose that we do not start a defense objective until one of the eight players has arrives to the destination.Don't start counting down the round until the boss is on the map. 

​   I understand why it isn't in the game, but it seems a bit strange.  So, when you complete a round quickly, you don't get any bonus time added to the next round. If you defeat one Mythic boss, you don't get any bonus time added to the clock. This is especially frustrating when by round 2 the respawn timer is increased, only punishing the player for a death.

 This is incredibly frustrating. On a few occasion we have to take out three Mythic level bosses only to fail with the last boss having a sliver of health. Thing is, two mythic bosses is bad enough, but three?! And sometimes that is after having to defeat four legendary bosses before that!

​Suggested Fix: Giving the players a few seconds on the clock for successfully defeating a boss is something I would like to see added to the game. Rewarding the player with small time bonuses for performing feats of skill would also be a great idea. For example getting numerous headshots, carrying a combo or killing multiple enemies with a single grenade etc.

   We can work the time bonus into the game in a couple of ways. For example, any bonus time earned will be added to the fifth and final round. If players complete a round quickly, add 20 seconds to the clock at the final round. If no one dies in a round, add 30 seconds. There are a lot of ways to handle this. The final round can start at 5 mins and all the bonus time can get the round to be 6 mins or longer depending on how well the team plays. This would also allow players that aren't as skilled (or lacking REQ packs) to still contribute to the team.  

​   I've had numerous games where the first or second round was a Defend the Armory or take out Banshee Raiders. Depending on where the defense point is, this can be a huge pain. It is extremely difficult to defend the armory or eliminate targets when you have access to none of your powerful weapons (REQ cards) etc. 

 The overall flow of the objectives feels random. I've had missions with numerous challenging objectives leading to an unwinnable finale. You might think I am just nitpicking, but I am not. There is such as thing as pacing. Mass Effect 3's multiplayer did a good job of breaking up the flow of objectives and combat. They never made the player complete three defense missions in a row. 

 On the flip side, I've also had a few games that were complete cake walks in comparison. Easy objectives in a row with a single final boss that is easily defeated.

​Suggested Fix: ​ We establish a pace and flow for each map. We let the player know what objectives to expect each round on certain maps. For example on the map March on Stormbreak the first round will always be an "Eliminate X amount of Y enemy" mission. With round 2 being "Eliminate a boss enemy" and the third round guaranteed to be a defense mission. It is important for the players to know ahead of time so they can prepare themselves and organize before the mission starts.

  This should also allow the game to know what objectives to give the players. If they player has already done one type of mission it should assign another type instead, to keep the flow feeling right. 

​Suggested Fix:  If the game insists on just dumping prometheans on the players, they can scale their health so they don't feel like bullet sponges. The covenant enemies seem to scale accordingly. They only become really difficult in round 4 and 5. They are manageable in the early rounds. Prometheans always feel like a chore.

​​   Some of the maps work better for Firefight then others.Some maps are too big and other maps feel perfect for this mode. A map such as Raid on Apex 7 can be a nightmare, whereas a map such as Urban is just perfect.  

   It annoys me that Firefight is tied to my Warzone's win/loss ratio. After playing Firefight, I saw a large decrease in my W/L ratio, and it bugged me. This isn't a huge issue, I just don't understand why it wouldn't have it's own separate category.  

​   When you're playing with a focused squad or a group of friends. When the game sets challenging but fair objectives, Firefight is amazing. 

​   Those are my thoughts on what I believe would help improve Halo 5's Firefight mode. Currently one of my favorite modes in Halo. I would love to see some of my suggestions implemented. I also believe Firefight can have a strong thriving community with continual updates. New objectives and enemies, I would love to see Brutes added to Firefight!

If you agree/disagree, feel free to leave a comment or message me on twitter. What changes would you like to see made to Firefight? Thanks for reading!  

   Do you have questions, comments or concerns? Email us at deepdigitaldesign@gmail.com
Follow us on Tumblr, IndieDB, Twitter, Mixcloud,Soundcloud,Twine, instagram and Youtube

- Danny Q
@Dannylv100
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​Note: This was originally posted October 30th 2011. I decided to reblog it and update some aspects, including adding some ideas that didn't make the initial cut. 

​   Here is an idea I had for a game called Knights vs Ninjas! The game has a very simple premise, you pick your character (Knight or Ninja) and embark on a journey through Arthurian legends and medieval Japan to find a mysterious treasures and do battle with your rivals! The plot is just something that gets our characters fighting, no real story here, just something along the lines of "Ninjas/Knights are invading! Fight them!". 
 
   Visually the game is a mix of Castle Crashers and Super Smash Bros, it would be a very stylized 3D. The characters and background would be rendered in 3D but with cel shaded texture. The gameplay is also very similar. Players do battle in arenas that are set in Medieval England and Japan. The player who can defeat enough opponents by either depleting their hit points or knocking them out of bounds of the arena is the winner.

​   Most game modes would allow for anywhere between 4-8 players.  Game modes would be the standard affair such as Free For All to Team Versus, Keep Away and more. The game would feature a single player where players pick a faction and wage war against their rivals across all the stages in the game.  

   As of right now each faction has four character classes. Each character can either be male or female.  Players will be able to select their gender and customize their appearance (Different armor pieces, colors, emblems, weapons etc). All changes to the characters will be solely for aesthetic purposes and would not affect gameplay.

   Each class comes with their own weapons, strengths and weakness. Each class has their own unique weapon upgrade that they can unlock through the weapon upgrade power up that appears randomly during gameplay. 

​   Chivalrous knights that fight for honor and respect. They are adorned with armor and royal crests. Generally the knights are a bit slower but have higher defensive ratings compared to their Ninja counterparts.​
​

   The ninjas fight for the Unagi clan. They wear light clothing that allows for a greater level of agility. They can also strike much quicker then their knight counterparts.

​   The Heads up display is simple and easy to read. Information such as the player's health, the number of lives they have remaining are all in display. 

   These are items that can give the player temporary advantage in combat or restore their health. Each pickup is found inside a small treasure chest that spawns onto the stage at random intervals.

​   Depending on the chest, it may take one strike to open or a few to open. The larger the chest the harder it will be to open. Larger chests have a better chance of holding a rare item, such as a weapon upgrade or Golden Chalice.

​   Defend - Players can defend themselves from any attack using the defense button. The amount of time and damage they can negate while defending is based off of their denseness rating. The player can only defend for so long before their defense is broken. ​

   If their defense is broken, they will be stunned for a few seconds, allowing an opponent to capitalize. Certain attacks and items are great at breaking defense. Charged attacks can shatter an opponent's defense in as little as one attack.

  The amount of damage a player can deal to an opponents defense is based on their attack stat. Higher attack means they can deal more damage and destroy their opponents defense quicker. 

Dodge - Players can quickly dodge forward or back while on the ground or in the air. This is meant to be used as a way to quickly move around the map or to avoid incoming enemy attacks as well as cross level hazards. The speed and amount of times a player can dodge is not affected by any stats except for the speed boost power up. 

​Jump/Double Jump - Players can jump and while in the air jump again for a double jump. The height of the players jump and double jump is based off of their speed stat.  

​Melee Attacks - Every character in the game has melee based attacks. Certain classes specialize in melee fighting. Melee attacks can be utilized in combination of one another to unleash devastating combos. Melee attacks are the primary way players will deal damage to their opponents. 
 
  Different characters have different melee attack speeds. Some characters can attack quickly and in great succession where others have a longer wind up time but deliver more damage. This is based off of their speed stat and character class. 

​Ranged Attacks - Every character has a ranged attack. Ranged attacks are attacks that can be done from a safe distance to attack an opponent. Certain character classes specialize in ranged attacks. 

​Charged Attacks - Every character can charge their attacks, whether they are ranged or melee attacks. Charged attacks do more damage, shatter defense quicker and knock opponents back.

 To charge an attack, the player must hold their attack button (or attack combination) until their weapon glows (this usually takes a few seconds. Charge up speed is not affected by any stats or power ups). Once the weapons is charged the player must release the button to unleash their attack. 

   ​Charged attacks may be charged while standing or in the air (while the player drifts down after a double jump). Charge attacks can be interrupted if the player is struck while charging. Certain weapon pickups can also be charged up as well and can deal more damage or add an additional effect to the pick up. 

​Thanks for taking a trip down memory lane with me. There is a bit more to Knights vs Ninjas, in fact so much more that I am going to have to cover the rest of it in a second blog post. Part 2 will go over terrain and a bunch of  stages I designed for the game. Including a stage that didn't make the initial blog post. 

 Part 2 will be up at a later date. Follow me on twitter to keep up to date with my blog, twitch, podcast and more. Thanks for reading! 

   Do you have questions, comments or concerns? Email us at deepdigitaldesign@gmail.com
Follow us on Tumblr, IndieDB, Twitter, Mixcloud,Soundcloud,clowdy, instagram and Youtube

- Danny Q
@Dannylv100
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