Developing Hangry Dogs the Card Game
Even though, I find myself enjoying the art from Magic the Gathering from years of playing, I still find myself gravitating towards games with simple but fun and dynamic artwork. I guess for me, I am very open to learning games that are easy to pick up. It always ends up being a good time with my casual board gamer friends.
That is why I gravitated to Hangry Dogs. It piqued my interest, so I reached out to Herman, co-designer of Hangry Dogs, to ask him about the development of the game. From the artwork, testing, and more, Herman was kind enough to give me insight to his development journey with Hangry Dogs.
About Hangry Dogs:
Hangry Dogs is a pizza collection game where players compete to score 50 points. Clever dogs, Hounds of Chaos, and Mystic Raccoons will help you gather delicious pizza slices that will earn you points. Be aware of other players’ tricks and traps and remember to use toppings wisely.
This card game, for 2 to 6 players, is easy to learn, mildly strategic and perfect to play with your friends and family. The deck has around 130 cards and nearly 90 unique illustrations.
Hangry Dogs will be on Kickstarter soon. To learn more about the game, please visit their website: www.hangrydogs.com
What is the inspiration for the cute theme and artwork?
One never really knows how ideas happen. Maria, who is responsible for the whole visual part of Hangry Dogs and I decided one day that we would like to make a game. We brainstormed and suddenly, ideas started flowing on the table. I was taking notes and Maria was starting to make sketches. The first thing we came up with was the narrative: to create an army of dogs that would steal pizza slices and give them to their owners. We also set the tone from the very beginning: we wanted it to be comical and visually attractive.
Soon the first art concepts were laid out on paper. The mechanics were adapted from that first idea, but they’ve come a long way since the overly stark simplicity of the first version. Right now, the mechanics are rather simple to learn, but there’s a couple of layers of complexity underneath that surface simplicity that make it a more strategic game than what it may seem at first glance. After that, we had to learn EVERYTHING about what it means to make a game. To this day, we are still learning.
How long did you take to develop this game? What step took the most time?
For personal reasons, the time for development has been much longer than we would have liked. The first idea came two years ago. Perhaps the most laborious part has been the graphic development. Maria is a perfectionist and creating almost a hundred characters from scratch is a complicated job. Every dog, every raccoon, even every piece of pizza has a story behind it. Maybe one day we’ll tell it. To our grandchildren.
We’ve been refining both the art and the mechanics since the very beginning. We wanted our game to be easy to learn and play, but to also have a certain strategic twist.
Another thing, we spent time on was balancing the game. We think replayability is very important, and it usually stems from a well-balanced internal structure. A game is so much more satisfying when all players have a fair shot at winning, and so we’ve designed Hangry Dogs in a way in which the important thing is not the cards you get dealt but how you play them.
Luckily, we had a group of testers who tried out different versions and criticized everything that didn’t work. Today we are quite satisfied with the game we have created.
What was a problem you came across during the developmental stages? How did you solve this problem?
For some background, each turn consists of two non-mandatory actions: stealing pizza and performing tricks. To do this you need to have dogs in your hand (or any of the other cards that allow you to steal pizza and play tricks). The deck is designed in such a way that it is practically impossible for a player not to perform at least one of these two actions in their turn. In fact, it’s usual for them to be able to do both.
The problem we were having in the early stages of development was that there was an excessive weight of chance/luck that affected the outcome of each game. Although the cards the players have are more less the same (dogs, pizzas, “special” dogs, enemies, toppings and raccoons), they do very different things. As a result, during many test games, we saw that the game depended a lot on the cards you were dealt and, ultimately, this made it boring and frustrating. Each move became repetitive and if you were lucky with some cards, it was almost impossible to lose. It wasn’t fun, either for the losers or for the winners.
To find a solution, we tried all sorts of combinations and settings; the game got better and better, but it still wasn’t where we wanted it to be. Until the idea of the dual role of the dogs came along, and with it, the idea of taking turns where each player could make two different moves: stealing pizza and doing a trick.
During each turn, you have the choice to have your dogs perform tricks, but you must steal pizza to try to win. You have to decide which dog you want to use to do which. Using a certain dog to steal pizza is equivalent to giving up their trick. Other players can prevent you from using a card at any given time, using an NSF! (Not So Fast!) card, but again, these cards are limited and the decision to use them must be made very carefully.
Now, in the tests we saw people thinking hard about their next move because, suddenly, every card counted. Every choice mattered. And, most importantly, everyone said it was much more fun now, whether they win or lose. We think that’s very important. There is still an element of chance and luck in the game, of course, because there are still some very special cards, but now anyone can win a game if they play their cards right — and their opponents don’t stop them.
What is something in game design that deserves more attention?
One subject that is not always given the importance it deserves is the rulebook. It is not easy at all to explain a game in writing, perhaps because a game is more like a movie than a novel. From this perspective, the rules are like the script of a film with an unknown ending. We’ve tried to come up with a rulebook that will get you started quickly but that will also make a good reference guide in case any player gets lost.
We’ve worded and designed our rulebook in a straightforward and visually attractive way, explaining the rules without revealing the potential of the cards and all the game’s hidden possibilities.
Follow Hangry Dogs to keep up-to-date with their upcoming card game!
Website — www.hangrydogs.com
Facebook — @HangryDogsGame
Instagram — @HangryDogsGame
Twitter — @adogsgame
Article published on www.fourtato.com
