Inspiration & Concept
“the Ant Bully”
This movie portrays the conflict between insects and humans from an insect’s perspective, inspiring the game’s setting of warfare between humans and insects.
The film anthropomorphizes insects, allowing viewers to quickly immerse themselves in the insect perspective and giving insects unique personalities. This has an impact on the design of characters in the game.
Bug Out
A strategic tabletop game for 4 players, featuring the Ant Queen leading insects on a daring escape while others play as pest control experts trying to capture her.
Gameplay
*This image is generated using AI
Human Faction: Encirclement
The game is set in the midst of a war between humans and insects, where the human faction aims to encircle the leader of the insects, the Ant Queen. The three human players must swiftly occupy areas, block the insect players, and prevent them from reaching the exit. Victory is achieved for the human faction when the Ant Queen has "nowhere to go."
Cards Strategy
In the game, players primarily determine their roles and take actions by playing cards. Most of the cards are occupation cards, representing areas like forests, deserts, rivers, and nests. Playing different cards allows the players to occupy the corresponding regions.
Additionally, there are special cards called skill cards. Skill cards aid the insect faction in extra movement and help the human faction in blocking the Ant Queen.
Early Testing Version
In the initial phase, I sketched simple designs, printed them out, and created props such as the chessboard, cards, and pieces. Utilizing these props, I tested various ideas generated during brainstorming and established the fundamental gameplay of the game.
*This image is generated using AI
Human - Insect War
The initial inspiration came from the war between Orcs and Ents in the "Lord of the Rings" movie series. Using this film as a backdrop, I envisioned a story where insects resist human invasion, protecting their forest home. Based on this premise, I established the game objectives of encirclement and breakout, incorporating card strategies and token confrontations.
*This image is generated using AI
Insect Faction: Break out
One player from the human faction takes on the role of the insect leader: the Ant Queen. In order to secure the future of the insect world, she must escape the encirclement. Players must occupy areas, evade human attacks, and quickly reach the exit. Victory is achieved for the insect faction when the Ant Queen herself reaches the exit.
Pieces Confrontation
Chess pieces are mainly used to indicate the positions of characters and the occupation status of regions. Human faction characters' pieces remain stationary, using occupation pieces to control more areas. Insect faction characters' pieces move within the areas they have occupied.
Additionally, pieces can directly engage in attacks by forming specific formations.
Interations
Online Testing Version
During my developing process, I discovered a website called "PlayingCards.io," which allows users to customize their own games. I conducted extensive testing on this platform, experimenting with various gameplay mechanics. After four iterations, I refined the gameplay of the game.
Final Version
After finalizing the gameplay, I began the artistic design process. Leveraging my expertise in 3D modeling, I used "Blender" for modeling and rendering, later synthesizing the complete game board in Photoshop.
For the card patterns, I opted for AI-generated designs, drawing inspiration from artist "Butcher Billy" and generating stylistically cohesive images in "Midjourney." These images were then transformed into various cards. Additionally, I designed the rule book and created some tokens, ultimately completing the final version.
