Release

The Last Wager is a Unity-based card game developed in just two days for the IGDA San Diego Game Jam 2024. Inspired by Inscryption and Buckshot Roulette, our game combines strategic card mechanics with chaotic rule-altering contracts. The theme for the jam, Fool Me Once, initially sparked the idea of players deciphering tricky contracts to uncover hidden loopholes. This concept evolved into a card game where contracts dynamically alter the rules, creating a high-stakes and ever-changing gameplay experience.

What Went Right

Team Dynamics: 

This was the first time some of our team participated in such a short, in-person jam, and it was also the first time any of us had met. Despite this, we quickly established strong working relationships, allowing us to collaborate effectively and deliver a completed product. It was a thrilling and challenging experience!

Gameplay Design:

Early in the process, we created a version of our game on paper that was genuinely fun to play. Despite time constraints, the core gameplay loop proved engaging and successfully captured the spirit of our original concept. The rule-altering contracts reflected the subtheme Words Have Power by showcasing how small phrases could fundamentally change the gameplay, and the goat head antagonist came from the Goats, Stoats, and Axolotls subtheme.

Designing the gameplay loop:

The final game loop played on notecards:

Thematic Depth: 

We felt the contract system, card system, and horror themes were a unique combination and an unexpected twist on the jam theme, creating  interesting gameplay that would keep players engaged. Additionally, we're quite proud of how the game came together on the audio and visuals side in such a short timespan.

What Could Be Improved

Unfinished Features: 

Our grammar system was designed to dynamically generate random contracts, but we didn’t have enough time to fully implement this feature. As a result, the current version uses predetermined contracts, limiting replayability. Managing scope was challenging, as our team ended up half the size we expected due to personal dropouts. This forced us to stay flexible, adapting and reworking systems on the fly to deliver a cohesive game.

Lacking Clarity: 

While the contracts were designed to keep players juggling multiple rules, the current implementation can be overwhelming. It’s sometimes unclear how contracts interact with each other and what their final outcome will be. If we continue development, we’d focus on adding a more gradual introduction to gameplay ideas, clearer explanations of mechanics, and improved UI clarity to help players better understand and track effects.

Balancing Complexity:

Some of the planned contract concepts, which would have added more strategic depth and variety, didn’t make it into the final game. Including these in the future would elevate the experience. Additionally, some contract effects are unbalanced, with certain choices being either overly powerful or not worth considering. Balancing these effects would be another key focus for future development.

Takeaways

Developing The Last Wager was an incredibly exciting experience that pushed us to think on our feet and adapt quickly. Although we didn’t achieve everything we envisioned, the foundation we created is solid and full of potential. Moving forward, we’d like to expand the game with dynamic contract generation, better ways of tracking how contracts interact, and additional contract types to create a more polished and balanced version of the chaotic fun we originally imagined.

This game jam was an incredible learning opportunity, and we’re proud of what we accomplished in such a short time!