Critical Play: Papergames.io Battleship
Battleship is a “zero-sum game”, a victory for one player will imply a loss for the other.
Battleships, commonly known as Sea Battle and Battleship unblocked, was originally played as a pencil and paper game during World War I. It first became a plastic board game in 1967 and was adapted later on to web and game console versions. The game theme is set to represent battlefields on the ocean where a commander decides where to fire the missiles.
In papergames.io, you may play free Battleship online with other players directly and via tournaments. You will gain points and obtain a higher ranking as you win! This multiplayer game enables you to play live with hundreds of real players from around the world!
Game mechanics
Two players play against each other by using a 10×10 grid in virtual Battleship. The player who destroys all of their opponent’s fleet wins the game. The ships are randomly positioned initially. Each opponent tries to sink their enemy's fleet in turns. The program indicates automatically whether there has been a hit or a miss. When a player hits an opponent’s ship, they can fire again. The game is based on the concept of grids and coordinates system. It also requires a very basic understanding of 2D spatial layout for users to comprehend the game logic. Battleships also have this interesting mechanic of the fog of war where a player’s information is limited by their actions in the gameplay.
Battleships are a game designed for two. The player can range from elementary school students to experienced adults. The game is best for people who are interested in a mix of strategy, puzzle, and competition.
Types of Fun
The web interface uses animation and audio sound effects to provide a thrilling Sensation stimulation whenever a special bomb is dropped, or the player hit a battleship. The game also focuses on delivering a commander-like experience where the player fulfills a Fantasy role. It is as if we are actually in a dangerous war zone. Lastly, this game is fun and easy to play but does not require too much mental effort. It serves as a great option as a Submission past time. What makes the game very intriguing is the Strategy component. Players take turns guessing the opponent’s fleet as they acquire more information through the rounds.
One very interesting modification that papergames.io deploy is the additional variety of weapons: air-to-surface bombs, anti-ship missiles, and heavy bombs. It adds a slight flavor of Discovery as these items are found during the gameplay.
I can’t help to think of modifications that might make the game different. What if the Fog of War element is removed? How will this affect the gameplay? What if there is a round limit and the win condition is whoever sinks the most ships? What if the players get to place their own ships instead of being randomly assigned? What if the players cannot play the ships within a certain distance?
Look and Feel
The graphic design makes clear use of Color Contrast, Grid, and Proximity. The designer used light blue as background to mimic the battleships on the ocean. The ships are in solid colors that are easy to spot, given the clear contrast. The game is set up on a gridded canvas where elements are properly aligned. The fantasy of being a commander and sinking a ship is emphasized by the fire and skull animations. The special weapons are also grouped in proximity to each other, making the attack option selection easy. Overall, the look is clean, with mostly just the core elements. The sizes of all the elements are well balanced as well. Some other design elements also resonate with the theme of the game: the Discovery of secret weapons is shown as a red question mark indicating excitement and discovery, and circular splash animation is shown to display a missile hitting the water.
papergames.io does not provide any chat feature, or direct communication means on its platform. Players are very unlikely to be harassed by other online opponents. There is no interactive functionality like emoji reaction, either. Users are on the platform only just for playing the game.
Business Model Consideration
Original plastic board game — sell copies.
papergames.io — free to play. Pay to remove ads. Make donations to developers. Selling ads space.
The business model for papergames.io aims at user retention and user time spent on site. The games are short and quick that players might not be willing to pay for individual games. It makes sense to either pay to remove ads or play it free while the platform makes money off of selling ad spaces.
Conclusion
The modification version of Battleship with the additional weapons is interesting. There are three factors that made the game exciting for me. First, the battleship fleet is randomly assigned, so I don’t have to spend time organizing my board. Second, they can fire again when a player hits an opponent’s ship. Lastly, the new variety of weapons changes the game dynamics. I lost two games because I did not maximize my chances of hits when starting the game. I was also quite surprised by how my opponent targeted my territory effectively by deducing what ships I have left. He bombed at an even spaced distance to find my 2 grid ship!
A couple of key elements that I like about papergames.io version battleship that I think will be interesting to incorporate into my own game designs are: allowing players to discover additional information during the gameplay and providing actions that serve unique purposes.
Overall I do feel that the modified version of Battleships from papergames.io provided the fun they promised. I felt like I was in a strategy (strategy) room during wartime especially with the sound effects (Fantasy.) It also served well as a pastime activity between heavy readings (Submission).
