Trading Card Baseball

Preliminary Design - Web and Game


Trading Card Baseball

Preliminary Design – Web and Game Design
Aug 16th, 1999

Document Created By Tony Van

Design Team:

Tony Van

Ethan Ham

Lee Moyer

Paul Dennen

Leslie Powers

Howard Rosen

Marcus D’Amelio

Walt Carter

Eric Krasnauskas

Purpose of this document

This document is a high level view of the web and game design for Trading Card Baseball for EASports.com. Its purpose is to envision the scope and depth of the web site. Once these boundaries are established, the detailed work of HOW each page of the web site should function can begin.

Each page is broken down into sections for Requirements, Details, and Unknowns. These sections will be added and changed as more discussions take place.

Where appropriate, mockup screens have been used to illustrate certain concepts.

Many concepts are still in flux, so this document should be treated as a work in progress until the Final Design document is complete.

System Requirements

The users machine is assumed to have the latest version of either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft IE.

The system settings assume the user has maximized his browser in 800x600 resolution, 16 bit color depth.

JavaScript will be used on many of the web pages.

The various game apps will run as an ActiveX app inside the user’s browser window. ActiveX will be used for IE, and a plug-in to support ActiveX will be required for Netscape.

Site Requirements

  • EASports.com’s web site integrates games, content and community. Thus, drawing players to the web site and keeping them there is the goal of the site. The following are required for each page on the site:
  • Support a standard area to serve ads to the players
  • Support a standard navigation structure to navigate the site
  • Support player login via the Broadvision account structure

Game Focus

The game design is focused on the following areas:

  • Provide an easy to play and fun to watch baseball experience for both the casual gamer and the hardcore baseball nut that evokes the thrill of baseball.
  • Cast the player as Manager. The Manager shapes the game’s strategies buy building a team and making calls on how to exploit its strengths. The Manager should feel he has some control of the game’s outcome.
  • The Player Cards are the tools to determine the outcome of the Manager’s strategies. The Player Cards are Archetypes of the players via their season stats, so playing the odds is another Manager strategy.
  • Encourage players to purchase more players/teams cards to be the best manager in the world.

Game Selling Points

  • Managers create either Real or Fantasy Team Decks by collecting Major League Baseball Player Cards from this or past seasons. Initial release should have three seasons of players to choose from as well as 100 Players of the Century. This means there will be about 2550 Player Cards in the initial release (16 NL and 14 AL teams with ~25 players each season, and 3 different seasons per Player of the Century).
  • Player Cards or pre-built Fixed Team Decks can be purchased in increasingly more expensive packs that allow them to filter the types of cards they get. (The more specific the card type, the more it costs.) Costs go up exponentially for the privilege of selection, which in turn makes trading more desirable.
  • Players pit their Team Decks against opponents in a game of baseball to gain ranking prestige. The Manager may make decisions during the game that can drastically influence the outcome, based on the Player Card stats. Thus, assembling the Team Deck is just the beginning of the Manager’s role to winning.
  • Managers can choose to practice in solo games against a computer AI or “listen” to a game in progress while chatting in the Lobby.
  • Current season Player Cards stats will be updated after each game they the real life player plays. In addition, any bad effects such as injuries will disable ALL versions of that Player Card until the real player is off the Disabled List.
  • Managers will also have to deal with the persistence of “resting” and “rotating” players between games (especially pitchers or wounded players) to simulate the pressures of a real ball club.
  • “Deck Managers” will also be available. Initially conceived as a simple AI that helps new players understand how to build teams and how to make decisions in the game, it may be expanded to represent real Managers that can be played against in the Solo Game, or purchased to advise how “the pros” do it.

SITE OVERVIEW

MAIN ENTRY PAGE

HTML served from the Broadvision Database

Requirements

  • Quick Blurb to Inform players what it is and How To Play (See below)
  • List Game Navigation (Create/Edit Team Decks, Chat/Play, Rankings, View Trades/Cards, Buy Cards, Help)
  • Display top 10 Managers (Real, Fantasy and League of the Day)

Details

  • Will be inside the EASports.net environment
  • Login and Account info is taken care of via Site Navigation (Join|Log In)
  • Store Access is via Site Navagation or direct link via Game Navagation
  • Each Game Navigation option will usually open a new pop-up window without Site Navigation info

Unknowns

  • How can we display how many players are playing and chatting now?
  • How can we display any current events?


Example Screen

MAIN ENTRY PAGE – HOW TO PLAY WINDOW

HTML served from the Broadvision Database

Requirements

  • Overview of how the game works using cards and Link to create a free account, get 30 free cards and watch a game being played give directions on how to log in and watch a game

Details

  • The Following text and links are listed in this window:

Collect your own Real or Fantasy Team!

Just follow these steps to start playing Trading Card Baseball for FREE!

1. Login to your EASports.com account (click here if you need to create an account)

2. Once you have logged in, click here to get 30 random player cards

3. Go to the Team Deck Builder to assemble your team from those cards

4. Go to the Game Lobby to chat with others, practice a solo game, or challenge another player.

5. If you Buy more Player Cards or Team Decks, you can also begin to Trade them online!

Unknowns


Example Screen

View Rankings (Login Opt.)

HTML served from the Broadvision Database (based on info in the Player Account records)

Requirements

  • Sort and view all players rankings by categories
  • Display who on the list is online now

Details

  • Each Manager will have a Ranking number in his profile (see below), which will represent what

Ranking Sorting

  • Overall Ranking
  • Top Real Team Managers
  • Top Fantasy Team Managers
  • Top Red Hot Team Managers
  • Top Hot Team Managers
  • Top Average Team Managers
  • Top Something b/t Average and Underdog
  • Top Up and ComingUnderdog Team Managers

Unknowns

  • How do we Rank the players managers (has something to do with total of Manager’s Team Decks)

Example Screen

View Cards/Trades (Login Opt.)

HTML served from the Broadvision Database

Requirements

  • Slight modification of how DA does Sanctum Trades.
  • Display, sort and search for specific card types
  • Display who wants what for each type of card
  • If logged in, user will also be shown which cards they own to help facilitate trading

Details

  • Show by Name, Team, Year, or Position

Unknowns

  • Is it possible to allow players who have not logged it to see this page? The worry is what happens if you don’t have an account and it wants to show your cards?
  • Should we discard the second trading password, as a convenience for our users? If not, Player Account will have to support it.

Example Screen


View Store (Login Opt.)

HTML served from the Broadvision Database based on EA Store Stock

Requirements

  • Use EA’s Store to sell cards/teams

Details

  • Purchase card Packs in the following ways:
  • First, Choose a Set (either year or special set like Century players)
  • Then Choose Fixed Team Deck, Player Cards or Grab Bag
  • 1 Team Deck, Random by Set
  • 1 Team Deck, Random by Non-Playoff Team of Set
  • 1 Team Deck, Random by Playoff Team of Set
  • 10 Player Cards, Random by Set
  • 10 Player Cards, Random by Position of Set
  • 5 Player Cards, Random by Non-Playoff Team of Set
  • 5 Player Cards, Random by Playoff Team of Set
  • Grab Bag – 25 Random cards from all available sets

Unknowns

  • How to integrate the DA card technology with EA Store
  • Will EA’s Store support the idea of randomization and sorting as required?
  • Will we support limited editions?

Example Screen

Help

HTML served from the Broadvision Database

Requirements

  • Troubleshooting FAQ
  • Strategy FAQ

Details

Unknowns

Example Screen

Login Popup / Create Account / Edit Account (Login Req.)

HTML served from the Broadvision Database

Requirements

  • Uses EA’s Broadvision login system
  • Username, Persona and password will be required
  • Once logged in, user’s ID is passed with him, and he is allowed access to the entire site

Details

  • This pop-up should appear anywhere where the player clicks to enter an area that requires login.
  • Each Player Account can have its own collection (including the ability to get 30 new cards if not a buyer yet.)
  • The Create Account page must be a secure HTML page

Unknowns

  • If a player does not want to create an account, can a generic “guest” account be created for them so they can enter?
  • What information about each game will be available in each Player Account? Will score, collection info, or other information be available here?
  • How to implement the following: Players who already own the 30 free cards should be able to choose to ”reshuffle” their existing 30 free cards for 30 different cards. This cannot be done once new cards are purchased. How about we allow them to redraw their free cards up to five times? It must be made clear that they can’t undo a redraw.
  • If using limited cards, how can we will “pull” free cards back from inactive accounts so they can be issued again. Players who return will have to get 30 new cards.
  • Will a second Password be needed for trading, and if so, can it be remembered here?

Example Screen

Team Decks Builder (Login Req.)

ActiveX program in its own Popup Window

Requirements

This App is a major modification of how DA does Sanctum Deck Building:

  • The App checks for existing card images and download them if missing
  • Owner will be notified of invalid Decks when the Card/Team is traded
  • MangerManagers Filter and Sort their collection to view Player and Team Cards to make a team
  • Managers pull down Player and Team Cards to make a valid Team
  • Managers create a valid default lineup for their Team Deck.
  • Also, the player can get Advice from the “Deck Manager” on ideas on making a good team, either by clicking Advice or when he moves to the Lineup.

Details

Downloading Card Images

  • When the app is launched, it checks to insure the Manager has all his Cards (this is preferable to the DA “do you want to check if there are any changes to download” pop-up if it does not take too long)
  • If a Card is owned and an image is not in the HD, a default “Player Card” or “Team Card” image should be shown until the image is downloaded.
  • It should be possible to use the Team Deck Builder (and play the game) without any Player Card images.

Invalid Deck

  • When the app checks to insure the Manager has all his Cards, it will also inform the player if any of his Team Decks are no longer valid due to cards being traded from his collection.

Tournament Deck

  • If a Team Deck is in a Tournament, it should be displayed here. Players cannot change a deck registered in a Tournament. This will be some work… I consider this a desireable, but cuttable, feature.

Basic Interface Needs

  • Collection Window, Number of Cards Owned, Filter Buttons, Sort Buttons, Toggle Pictures/Stats Button
  • Team Assembly Area, Minimum Team Indicators, AL Team Indicator, Build me a Team Button
  • Player Information Window, Specific Info Selectors
  • Load Deck Button, Rename Deck Button
  • Advice Button, Help Button, Next Button

Unknowns

Example Screens

Team Deck Builder – Collection Sorting

Requirements

  • A collection lists each Player and Team Card in the Manager’s collection
  • A collection can be have both individual Player Cards and Fixed Team Decks.
  • A collection can be Filtered and Sorted
  • Stats can be toggled on in the main view, either over or replacing the card image.
  • Cards can be dragged down from the Collection list to the Team Assembly List (see below)

Details

Team Cards

  • Team Cards may be 2x the size of the standard Player Card, and the Image may be a team photo.

Collection Filtering Buttons

  • A collection can be filtered by: Team, Year, Position, Award Winners, Sets, Injury, Name

Collection Sorting Buttons

  • A collection can be filtered by: Name, Batting Avg, Pitching ERA, Fielding Avg., Stolen Base %, Catcher SB%, (Batting Handedness and Pitching Handedness are wanted, but may be too much)

Multiple Card Stat Viewing Button

  • A button on the screen (or perhaps also double clicking on the card lineup images) will cause the cards stats to display (to more easily assess a number of cards with similar stats)

Unknowns

Example Screens

Team Deck Builder - Viewing Player Cards

Requirements

  • All Player Card statistics will be provided by EA
  • Each Player Card will represent a Player or Team.
  • Each Player Card will have three sections: Overview, Stats, Bio
  • Each Team card will have a blurb about the team and directions on how to select it as a deck… managers will need to select the team as a deck before being able to view the individual players’ stats.
  • On Overview, each basic stats has a “League Average Rating”

Details

Viewing the Stat

  • Selecting the player will place his information in a information window. Clicking on the selectors in the information window will display specific information

League Average Rating

  • This generalizes the Player Card’s stats against the league average for that year.
  • Red Hot is anything about 10% of the League Average
  • Hot
  • League Average is anything between 10% above and 10% below League Average
  • Something b/t Average and Underdog
  • Up and Coming is anything below 10% of the League AverageUnderdog
  • For example: Hitting: Red Hot (.345 Batt Avg)

Pitcher Endurance Bar

When a Pitcher has Pitched, his “endurance” bar is stored with the Card (this persistent information prevents players from moving the card around to different teams to get around his resting. Also, the endurance applies to all copies of the same card.)

Each Game a Pitcher is in where he does not pitch, his Endurance bar goes down a bit, to simulate rest. Managers who want to use the Pitcher anyway will have to deal with the Endurance bar

When a Manger gets a “new slot” by buying more Cards, any Pitchers he adds to this brand new team are “cleared” of Endurance when the New Team is Saved. This should allow Managers to make new teams without dealing with Endurance effects.

  • When a Manager trades his card to another Manager, the Endurance is either inherited (if the player has no other cards of that type) or canceled for the state of that player’s Card (so, if I have a rested Shawn Estes and you trade me your tired Shawn Estes, I will have 2 rested Shawn Estes.)
  • We’ve talked about this a lot at DA and have basically come to the conclusion that Endurance should be in-game only and that rotation should be randomly picked at the start of the game (perhaps weighted towards the manager’s top starters). Other ways of doing this (such as storing endurance) just seem to easy to hack.

Injury

  • There are two types of Injury: Game and Persistant
  • When an Injury is calculated by the game, it is either a Shake Off and Temp Injury
  • Shake Offs are injuries that will only affect players for that inning (hurt eye, bruised leg, whatever.)
  • Temp Injuries will plague the player the entire game. Managers are best suited to sub the player out.
  • In either case, the player’s stats are –25% while injured.
  • When an Injury happens to a real player in life, that is a Persistent Injury.
  • The player will be out of the game (on the Disabled List) until he is put back in real life.
  • All seasons of that player are affected.
  • There a number of players who are not active, but still may get a Persistent injury
  • Each inactive player will receive a tiny chance of DL injury weighted by his DL’s during his Career. Each day, each inactive will be checked to see if it is on the 15 day DL list. Again, all seasons of that card will be affected until 15 days (not games) pass.

Player Card Information – All views

  • Name, Team, Year, Position, Batting/Throwing Handedness, Picture
  • “Injury” or “Resting“ flag and counter for Game Injury, 15 / 60 DL or for players who need a rest between games (such as Catchers)

Player Card Information – Overview

  • Hitting Info: League Average Rating (Batt Avg)
  • Running Info: League Average Rating (Stolen Base Percentage)
  • Fielding Info: League Average Rating (Fielding %)
  • Catcher Info (when appropriate): League Average Rating (Stolen Bases Allowed / Caught Stealing)
  • Starting Pitcher Info: League Average Rating (ERA)
  • Relief Pitcher Info: League Average Rating (ERA)
  • Fatigue Bar (max based on Avg # throws per game) Pitcher’s Fatigue Bar lowers on their “off games” (showing what will happen if the player uses that Pitcher in the game.)

Player Card Information – Stats