PHANTOM CAFE

Design by Vanessa Briceño, Charles George, Sigursteinn Gunnarsson, Elyse Lemoine, Geoffrey Suthers, and AP Thomson

Role: Designer (character powers, map design, card balance, narrative)

The Blood Moon is nigh! In Wolftown, players take on the roles of werewolf pack leaders competing for the favor of the wolf god, Fenrir. Using a strange yet sleepy American town as the stage for their contest, players must earn favor from Fenrir by sacrificing worthy werewolves upon their altars, constructing unholy symbols out of territorial markings, and killing innocent townspeople just to prove the dominance of their packs. To accomplish these tasks, players need to expand their werewolf packs by recruiting additional werewolves from a set of townspeople. These newly recruited wolves provide power and influence; when they’re promoted to the sidekick of the pack leader, these wolves also provide additional benefits.

While this newly acquired pack has its uses, they can better serve you as sacrifices for Fenrir. As players collect townspeople for their pack, they must also sacrifice them upon their altar to curry favor with their wolf god. The first player to place six sacrifices, be they blood-stained or territorial, has triggered the Blood Moon, and only the pack with the most points of favor can become the true favorite of the god of wolves. Players must beware, for the night of the Blood Moon when Fenrir makes his judgement can approach quickly and without warning once the all potential sacrifices have entered the town.

(This game was done in 6 weeks (November – December 2013) for Game Design I at the NYU Game Center.)

Design by Vanessa Briceño, Misha Favorov, Elyse Lemoine, and Geoffrey Suthers

If you’ve never been lost in time and space, then you clearly haven’t messed with the space time continuum long enough, and you’re hardly a Warlock worth your salt.  It’s a pity that the spell you messed so spectacularly sent you to another realminstead, considering how full of angry demons it is.  All of which seem to be more than a little mad that you and the other warlocks you dragged in with you seem to be intruding on their space.  Either that, or they just haven’t tasted human flesh in quite some time.  (You have a feeling it’s definitely the latter.)

But hey, you’re a Warlock.  You deal with demons constantly.  Just never in their own realm.  And never with the threat of the Archdemon being summoned to swoop in and viciously rip your soul from your body.  With its bare claws.

There’s one ray of hope at the end of this, however.  You can leave, you’ll just have to kill the Archdemon to do it.  Not too hard, right?  This place is full of raw miasmic energy and felling a demon will reward you with considerable power.  You just have to survive their onslaught first.

Piece of cake!

Welcome to Hell.  The order of the day: Pandemonium.

(Pandemonium was developed in five weeks (October – December 2014) for Board Game Design (taught by guest professor Rob Daviau) at the NYU Game Center.)

Design by Misha Favorov, Char George, Maria Saint Martin, Elyse Lemoine, and Josh Raab

Welcome to Bandit Kings. In this game of brute strength and nefarious cunning, you lead a band of pirates, thieves, and other assorted ne’er-­‐do-­‐wells in a search for glory and treasure.

 As captain of this band, you challenge other bandit groups, assaulting and scamming their crew for gold, and exchanging your crew for theirs! During play, you get to exchange cards with your opponent, and when the match ends you keep whatever cards you end up with – after all, for a true bandit, switching sides is par for the course.

 To get started, you first assemble your bandit crew. Then, you can take them wherever you go in search of opponents to challenge. By exchanging crewmembers with other players during play, your deck is always changing, allowing your crew to grow in different ways – whether it be in strength or cunning. So, pick up a deck and create your crew so you, too, enter the fight!

 (Bandit Kings was developed in seven weeks as a Collectible Card Game project for Game Design 2 (March – May 2014) at the NYU Game Center.)

Design by Elyse Lemoine, Josh Raab, and Geoffrey Suthers

Role: Designer (projectile vomiting system, character powers, porridge pot mechanics), Artist

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there was a poor, but good, little girl, who lived in poverty with her mother.  One day, a mysterious old woman gave the girl a gift, a little pot that could make endless sweet porridge at the uttering of the magic words, “Little pot, cook.”  The little girl and her mother lived in happiness and without hunger, until one day, when the little girl was gone, the mother tried to make porridge of her own.  She said the words and the porridge came, but she forgot how to make the little pot stop cooking, and the village was soon overrun with endless porridge!

You find yourself at the edge of your porridge-flooded village, faced with the daunting task of stopping the endless flow from destroying all that you hold dear.  Along with your fellow villagers, you can eat your way through the porridge, build barriers to protect yourself, and try as hard as you can to keep what you’ve eaten from coming back up – but beware! The more you eat, the easier it becomes to vomit, and if you throw up too much, there’s a chance you won’t see the end of this unnatural disaster.  Race against the surging porridge with your friends to find the little girl and the little pot’s lid so you can say the magic words and save the village! “Little Pot, Stop!”

(This game was done in 5 weeks (October 2013) for Game Design I at the NYU Game Center.)

Design by Owen Johnston and Elyse Lemoine

Welcome to Richmond Heights!

It’s the height of the 1940s, and the bright, bustling city of Richmond Heights is at the heart of the changing times. In the downtown metropolitan area, rumours of the arrival of a Master Thief have started to spread, and the local police force is starting to become uneasy. Security has doubled and officers are itching for a chance to catch the famed thief in the act! As the night dawns on Richmond, will the police force’s preparations be enough, or will the Master Thief leave nothing but their calling card and empty museums behind?

Object of the Game
In Heist!, a world-renowned Master Thief has set their sights on downtown Richmond and intends to pick it dry of all its valuables. The investigative players must join forces or compete against each other in order to apprehend the master criminal and bring them to justice before they make off with their stolen goods! If the thief makes it out of the city with the stolen property, then the investigators lose.

(This game was done in 3 weeks (October 2012) for my graduate application to the NYU Game Center.)

Design by Elyse Lemoine

Scholomance, School for the Dark Arts

Deep in the heart of Romania stands the infamous Scholomance, the legendary School for the Dark Arts run by the Devil himself. As students of black magic, you have been studying at the Scholomance for three years as a part of the School of Necromancy, under the tutelage of the greatest professors the underworld has to offer. You have learned to speak to the spirits, to cast fel magic, and to summon hordes of the undead to your call. For your final examination in Advanced Necrotic Magic, you’ll be competing with other students to summon and command the best undead army. Will you draw upon your knowledge from the Scholomance and succeed against your fellow students, or will you suffer the consequences of controlling that which cannot be restrained?

Object of the Game
In Scholomance, you are students at Scholomance, the School for the Dark Arts in Romania. For your final examination in Advanced Necrotic Magic, you’ll be competing against each other to see who can summon and utilize the most powerful undead army! As the two finalists in the class, it’s up to you to beat your opponent and win the competition to become the top student in Necrotic Arts and pass on to the next level. By using all of the knowledge you have gained in necromancy throughout your three years at Scholomance, it’s time to prove yourself worthy of the title of Necromancer.

(This game was done in 24 hours (November 2012) for my graduate application to the NYU Game Center.)