Annual Inventaverse.com CTF Tournament

Let the games begin...

Three teams have been selected to compete in the first annual Inventaverse.com CTF tournament. The format will be double elimination.  We should expect to see some interesting strategies played by each of the teams and even more interesting team compositions.  Games are limited to 5 points to ensure fast-paced, action-packed matches!

For those of you interested in watching the matches, they'll be uploaded the night of the event to the official Inventaverse youtube channel at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtGdhsSIUk9jXj3AdVzLutg

See below for the members of each team as well as the tournament bracket!  

Team Members

Pipe Hitters

1. Brian

2. Steve

3. Adam

The Obliterators

1. Raul

2. Emad

3. Billy

Noob Squad

1. Shane

2. Gracias

3. Grayson

Tournament Bracket

Match Format

Each match will be best of 3 without repeating a map.  In the event that the same team wins the first 2 games, playing a 3rd game is at the discretion of the losing team.

Match Schedule

Match 1: December 12th (Winner: Noob Squad)

Match 2: December 13th (Winner: Noob Squad)

Match 3: December 16th (Winner: Obliterators)

Match 4: January10th (Winner: Noob Squad)

Show Me the Maps

Each of the four maps feature an interesting game mechanic.  They're all generally small to medium sized with the red and blue team flags opposite each other on either side of the map.

Map 1. Underground Ruins

Map 2. Broken Bridges

Map 3. Haunted Hill

Map 4. Snow Lodge

Impressions from the first Inventaverse CTF Matches

Recently I hosted the first 4v4 capture the flag Inventaverse match.  It was a great success with the team, everyone had a blast despite accusing me of cheating.  Here's a short list of things I learned about software engineering and game design by hosting the event. 

1. Your user base will always think of more than you do.

In the realm of computational power, two or more brains will always have more thoughts and ideas than one brain.  The same is true when you distribute a limited set of concepts represented by a software application across a large body of software users.  Take for instance the second match of our first 4v4 Inventaverse game: Raul was guarding the flag, but he was using the wizard's knock back effect to do it.  So, rather than killing incoming would-be cappers, he'd just bump them away with the wizard's special move, something I had neglected to imagine as an effective defense style.

A smart wizard guards the flag with magic.

2. No matter how complex and interesting your game is, some people just want to blow shit up.  And in midst of wanting to blow shit up, they overlook various details about the game that could help them on their mission of destruction.

3. The quiet guy who generally keeps to himself is almost always a stone-cold killer. (I'm talking about you Brian)

4. Easily understood instructions, it turns out, are actually quite important to new players.

After trying to explain the many ways characters can be customized in Inventaverse, I gave up and wrote a lengthy blog post about how to get the most out of your character, here: New Players Guide

5. Ten points to win is a LONG, LONG game that minimizes the amount of time the player spends in the most exciting gameplay situation: "The clutch zone".

The clutch zone is the situation you have when both teams are playing as hard as they can to score the game winning point.  Games that have a lot of points (I'm looking at you basketball) tend to feature a less favorable clutch zone to normal gameplay ratio.  Games with a lower score to win (hockey) feature a better clutch to normal ratio.  The better the ratio of clutch to normal, the more exciting the match ultimately is.  Obviously the entire match can't be spent in the clutch zone because without the contrast of normal intensity gameplay, clutch gameplay feels less intense.

6. One map is not enough maps.  A good session of CTF should feature as many different maps as there are matches.

I'm taking these lessons as valuable feedback that I can use to improve the game and provide a more interesting and competitive 2D CTF experience.  With any luck, each Inventaverse CTF event will provide more and more valuable suggestions from the participants.

Feedback is welcome :)

Until next time...