July 2014Â - July 2015
Mahjong is a traditional Tile-based game from Asia. Relatively it is easy to learn but hard to master it. Winning requires strategy, calculations and luck. However, players sometimes consider luck as the most important factor. Someone may believe that they can get more treasure tiles, others may believe that they have shinning draws. What would happen if players DO have these supernatural powers to control their luck? Are you ready for challenging different enemies with alternative strategies?
Magic Mahjong 2D
Background
At 2014 Sakura-Con, I learnt Japanese Mahjong by chance. Usually I don't stick to one game for more than 100 hours, but Mahjong is an exception. The more I play it, the better performance I can get with developed strategies. I start to compete with experienced human players online at Tenhou.net. I realize that luck is a key factor to victory. If we can control the luck, we can always be the winner. It is not possible for a fair game. How about designing an "unfair" mahjong game? If all the players can control the randomness in certain aspects, we can balance the game while satisfying the players' desire of feeling lucky. Strategies based on careful calculations are called Scientific Mahjong. On contrast, our game is called "Magic Mahjong". This is a 2D version developed with RPG Maker.
Ability System
Feels like cheating
At the start of every game, player has the chance to choose one ability from three randomly chosen abilities. Different ability affects player's randomness in game differently. Basically these ability are exaggerating the minor play-styles into strategies. For instance, greedy players may choose "Treasure Hunter" for more points while winning. Offensive players may choose "Fire affinity" to focusing on sharp attacks while taking more risks. Patient players may choose "Inquisitor" and prepare for a decisive blow. Theoretically all the abilities are balanced on average with generic AI. The key to victory is understanding the advantages and disadvantages of different abilities and use them wisely.
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