Designer Diary: If I'm Going Down... – A Zombie-Themed Dying Card Game

It was Christmas, and I'd been waiting for so long. I had VERY strong reason to believe it was under the tree. Finally, I would get that awesome looking (name redacted) zombie board game!

Sure enough, I opened the present from my wife to find the big, beautiful zombie game I had longed for for some time. I opened it and read the rules. I punched out the chits and opened the cards. I familiarized myself with the game thinking that my non-gamer wife and her family who was visiting for the holidays would be willing to play a game or two. At worst, my brother-in-law would play.... Wrong! The holidays passed and despite my urgings and pleading no one would sit down and play.

I joined a local game group – Mombasa South, what's up! – and eventually got to play. I love zombies, and I love the game, but I never forgot how disappointed I was that I had to wait so long and if I could have just played solo, too, it would have quenched that thirst I had.

Thus the concept for If I'm Going Down... was born! I would venture to design a compelling solo game in which a player could sit down and kill some freaking zombies all on his own! I'm sure other solo zombie games are out there, but I couldn't find any that met my satisfaction. (That said, If I'm Going Down... is not only for solo play and can be played with others.)

Killing Zombies Is Nothing New...

Okay, I can see the "eye rolls" and hear the collective moans of some of you – you'd make good zombies, by the way – as you think, "Another zombie game?" Well, simply put, YEAH!

But I hear you, and I knew from the beginning that I would have to do something unique to make the game compelling and different from everything else that is out there. I began to think about what I could change in the formula of "zombie survival"; what would make it unique?

And it hit me – get rid of the survival part! What if there were a zombie game in which you weren't going to survive? In which you knew with certainty that you were going to die? That was interesting...to me at least. So I floated the idea out there and the response of other folks was the same: They were intrigued...

The object of the game would be to kill as many zombies as possible before ultimately meeting your fate. Hence the title, which comes from the phrase, "If I'm going down, I'm taking you with me!"

So I coined and trademarked the phrase Dying Card Game (or DCG) and defined a DCG as a game in which it is certain your character WILL die during the game. Now you guys are astute, and everyone knows about Fantasy Flight Games' Living Card Game system, but this is not that – well, not totally. Is it an intentional spoof of sorts? Well, yeah, I'd be lying if I said it weren't, but the only real similarity is that a DCG is not a trading card game and you know which cards you are going to get as they are the same in each set. Also, If I'm Going Down... is not a deck-building game, in case you were wondering that as well.

The Design

Okay, let's look at the actual design...

I wanted – and needed really, given the DCG concept – to put the characters in a hopeless situation, one in which they could survive for a bit but would eventually be overrun by the living dead. The game would play like a tower defense game with the character card being stationary and the zombie horde moving closer and closer each turn. I decided I didn't necessarily want the board to be the same each time and that I did not want to use miniatures for a couple of reasons:

1. Miniatures are costly and I am small time.

2. I wanted the zombies to be very detailed and have personality and character that I felt could be accomplished only through illustrations.

I decided on cards. The drawback would mostly be the table space required, but I was assured by colleagues that most people would not mind.

Thus, "The Shack" was born! The character(s), exhausted from fleeing, head to an old shack. The horde surrounds the shack and begins to break in...and the fight is on.

As you can see from the play area, the zombies enter from three points – window, door, window – and each turn they move toward the character(s). You must use weapons and resources to kill them, but eventually, if you are lucky to survive that long, the resources will run out.

I decided upon dice for combat. Essentially you would roll for each attack and you needed to get higher than the zombie's Z-number plus the range (number of card spaces away) to kill a zombie. The Z-number would always be 1 or 2 because to me you either get a head shot or you don't. Zombies don't really have hit points.

Well, a couple of things did not work. Dice combat, as you've probably already guessed, was tedious and prolonged the game. Plus, testing revealed that it was almost never correct to attack a zombie unless it was in the "Danger Zone" right next to you (range 1). Secondly, as much as my little theory on hit points (or lack of) seemed like a good idea, it was too boring and despite some having abilities, zombies were too similar, especially in their difficulty to kill. I did keep the Z-number plus range – even though it may seem strange to some that the range is part of the equation – but I wanted an accuracy component as part of the challenge, and the closer something is, the easier it is to hit a critical area and do more damage.

So if no dice, then what? I had a bad week of designer's block and couldn't figure this one out, yet there was a simple but brilliant solution that a good friend suggested to me: Use cards!

The challenge was that I didn't just want a bunch of cards that you drew specifically to see whether you hit or missed as that seemed like a waste of cards. What I ended up with I am very happy with; I decided to use the same cards that are used for resources to determine whether you hit or missed!

•••

Let's go on a bit of a tangent to discuss resources. Originally, what is now the Fate Deck was called the Resource Deck. It's one function was to determine whether you found a resource when searching. Mixed in with the various resources – which include Ranged Weapons, Melee Weapons, Items, and Other – there are "No Luck" cards.

• "No Luck" cards represent your search yielding no results as I did not want searches to automatically be successful.

• Item and "Other" resource cards are mostly self explanatory from the card text. Some provide bonus points for completing an action, and some have other functions.

• Weapon Cards have several icons that contain important information for attacking. Each weapon shows either one or two hand icons to indicate how many hands are needed to "use" the weapon. (Two-handed weapons also have a horizontal card orientation to quickly identify them as such.)

From left to right there is a "Uses" icon represented by chalkboard scratch marks, an "Attacks Per Use" (APU) icon represented by a number over a bloody slash, and a "Power" icon represented by a number over cross hairs.

• If I'm Going Down... uses a unique inventory tracking system in which resource uses are tracked by placing the resource on a tracker aligned with the starting number of "Uses". Each time the resource is used, the player moves it on the tracker until eventually the resource is gone. Some weapons, such as bats and swords, have an infinite number of uses, but most of those can break or be dropped due to a card effect.

• "APU" is the number of attacks you get with a weapon each time you use it. Think of the value as the number of shots you can fire or the number of times you can swing. In most cases, you have the option to change your target with each attack.

• "Power" is the amount of damage you do to a zombie when an attack hits.

•••

That ends the tangent as you can see how the Resource Deck (aptly renamed the Fate Deck) works and a bit about the cards themselves. So how could I use those cards to also determine the outcome of attacks?

Well, it was simple really. You would draw a card from the Fate Deck and if it were anything but a "No Luck" card, the attack succeeded and the weapon's power could be applied to the zombie as damage!

A great effect of the Fate Deck is that as the game goes on and resources are acquired and used, the mix of "No Luck" cards in the deck becomes greater and greater. Thus, the more items you have found, the less chance you have of both finding one in the future and hitting your target during an attack. For me, this simulates perfectly the fact that resources are finite and the longer you battle the zombies, the more that things such as fatigue and battle stress become a factor that affect your ability to attack effectively.

WOW! This is getting long, and I am probably going into a lot more detail than necessary. Hopefully I haven't lost you. Let's keep the rest more succinct. I could go on for pages, but I will just touch on some of the elements that might be interesting to you from a design perspective:

1. The Moan ability. One of the zombie abilities is Moan. We all know zombies moan and usually it isn't given a second thought. Some zombie stories speculate that zombies communicate through their moans, so originally if a zombie with Moan came into play, it would attract another zombie that you would have to put into play as well. This was at the beginning of the game's design when you rolled to see how many zombies entered play. I ended up getting rid of the roll-to-enter mechanism so that version of Moan went with it.

Well, now what? What if I took it in a slightly different direction? I thought about it and if you were living in the zombie apocalypse, wouldn't the moans drive you effing crazy? My answer was yes, so I made Moan an ability that has a direct impact on the endgame. You essentially lose a point when you die for every zombie in play that has the Moan ability. The mental anguish finally takes its toll! In the end, this adds a bit of strategy for which zombies you should kill as Moan zombies can be a two point swing to your score. Instead of yelling, use a gun to tell the zombies to STFU!

2. Scenario stories. I always wanted the game to have a dark but captivating story to be told through the eyes of the characters AND zombies. Plus, as much fun as zombie killing is, I realized that non-zombie-loving-freaks may tire of the "kill 'em all" mode quickly. The stories add a lot of flavor to the game and also give more of a sense of accomplishment (or failure) depending on how well you do. The game's Kickstarter page – more on that below – has a link to a sample scenario story.

3. The turning process. Originally, I used health trackers that were the same as the inventory trackers to track the turning process. Basically, after you were bitten, you had five turns before you became a zombie, too.

Well, there were some issues. The playtesters complained about having to track so many things and the card space required for the character card and the tracker was an issue. From a strategic point of view, I did like how it allowed you to know somewhat when the end was coming (to plan for moan kills and such), but I didn't like that everyone turned at the same rate. After all, some victims turn nearly instantly, and some can withstand the effects of bite for longer.

So again I decided to multipurpose the cards. Now some of the Occurrence Cards – cards with random events on them that get drawn from the zombie deck randomly – have a radioactive icon on them. If such an Occurence enters play, you must resolve the Occurrence AND if any character was bitten previously he immediately becomes a zombie! This makes for great tension in the multiplayer co-op mode because you CAN attack a bitten player before they turn, or you can press your luck hoping they can manage a few more kills before becoming a zombie.

That should give you an idea of some design elements in the game and my thought process when it comes to problem solving.

Art and the Need to Pay Homage

Let me say that I am amazingly fortunate to have the talented Aaron Wong working on the zombie and character art for this game. What great work he does!

I wanted a serious style of art for the zombies and not cartoony. I came across Aaron's work and knew I had to have him. We worked out a deal, and I could not be happier to have him as the exclusive artist for the game. He can take a few words from me and make them worth a thousand! (See what I did there?)

Another goal of mine was to pay homage to some of the GREAT zombie works that have defined the genre, such as Night of the Living Dead, Resident Evil, The Walking Dead, and so on. The game is filled with these things through both the art design and flavor text. I know the diehards will truly appreciate it. Some are very obvious, and some are more subtle. Here are a few examples to show what I mean, and I'll leave it to you to discover the rest:

• Lizzy - She is an homage to the little girl in Night of the Living Dead, both artistically and mechanically. The "Loved One" ability leaves you unable to attack her until you have held her back or she has bitten you. In other words, you have to let her get a lot closer than you'd like. (My favorite zombie BTW, and one of the most dangerous.)

• Otis Zombie cut off arm - This one goes out to The Walking Dead and the Rick character. You might think it should be on a character instead, but I don't want all the homages to be obvious. I want you to have to think about some, while discovering and exploring the game thematically and artistically. I'd love for you to discover something new the twentieth time you play.

• Iconic Items - You just might find an umbrella (Resident Evil), a propane tank (Dawn of the Dead), and much more in your search for useful resources.

There is a lot more, but that gives you an idea of how I accomplished my goal of paying respect to the GREATS. Now that I think about it, it is sort of a game within the game to discover and match these up!

The Decision to Kickstart

Early on in the process, I decided to go through Kickstarter to try to fund the project. Having graduated with a business degree, I am confident enough in my abilities to give self-publishing a go. I did not have much desire to go through the submission process to publishers and potentially wait and wait and wait only to see nothing get done. I am a go-getter. I would rather get out there and make things happen than rest the fate of my project in the hands of another. Don't misunderstand – I am not knocking the big publishers or the designers who choose to go that route. I am just communicating my personal preference. In fact, I think for most designers traditional publishing is preferable.

Let me tell you right now that I have spent about as much time researching Kickstarter – the process, what it takes to be successful, the characteristics of successful projects and also the unsuccessful ones – as I have on the game. That is an exaggeration, but it sure seems like it sometimes.

I have marketed from the day I knew I would use Kickstarter. I have supported other projects – and more importantly the people behind them – in any way I can. I can say without question that these activities will help my campaign and whether If I'm Going Down... is funded or not I will never regret it. The ability to help others reach their dreams is priceless.

Anyone can throw a project up on Kickstarter, but the great ones understand the value of the experience! This was an absolute goal of mine from the beginning. I don't want you to just pledge. I want you to pledge and join the conversation! Join the evolution of If I'm Going Down... and forever say you were a part of it from the beginning! Backers will have voting power and will collectively create their own promo cards and custom scenario! Give me ideas! Interact with me and the other backers! Isn't Kickstarter proof that we can accomplish SO MUCH MORE together than we can on our own?

With that I leave you with a link. Yep, it goes to the If I'm Going Down... Kickstarter page. Come join the fun!

A. J. Porfirio