Hamsters vs. Robots

The group splits into 2 teams of players, joining either the hamsters or robots. 

The teams will then be led from the preshow, where the story was revealed, to the training field, where hamster and robot generals will teach the players the rules of the game by playing them. And even though this is a training field, whoever wins this initial field will determine what room they will go to next. 

Hamsters vs. Robots focuses on replayability and nonlinear storyline, by giving the players the power to determine the story in their own hands. Each round that is played, whoever wins and loses determines what field the players will move to next. There are 22 fields in total, including the training field, which means there are 22 environments for the players to discover over multiple visits. This includes famous monuments like the Eifel Tower and the Coliseum, as well as Earth’s beautiful natural wonders like Mount Everest and the Great Barrier Reef. 

Here is a simplified visual of the fields and their connections, to see how they branch out into the story. At the start, there are only two possible fields to go to next, but that branches out each time so that, overall, there are 72 total possible paths that players can take in this adventure. When hamsters win a round, the players will move more towards the Robots “hideout” in a secluded volcano, whereas if the robots win a round, the players move more towards the largest human and hamster city, New York city. On average, most teams of players at Hamsters vs. Robots will play about 6 fields (not including training). The next most played will be 7 rooms, and there is a very small chance that a team will play 5 fields - this will only happen if the teams are split up unfairly and one team wins the every round time. 

To illustrate an example game sequence, we will follow a group through the fields. Our group, has just finished playing on the training field and the robots won, so the next field is going to be the Pyramids, which they get to by entering the teleportation tubes. 

This is a concept for what the Pyramids field might look like. 

Each field area is designed to be a whimsical version of a monument or place, here being the Egyptian pyramids. Since hamsters and humans have lived together for some time, there are hamster versions of many human things. Here, there are the normal pyramids as we know them, but also smaller hamster ones as well. The field at the pyramids is half ruins and half an archeological dig. The hamsters are based on the archaeologist side and the robots on the ruins side. The area is surrounded by sand. 

In Hamsters vs. Robots, the kubbs represent either the hamsters or robots themselves. Each kubb piece is a specially designed hamster or robot that the players have to knock down. The kings are the same, but can be identified by their crowns. Instead of the kubbs being all lined up at the end of the field, they are spread throughout to create interesting and dynamic gameplay. Some have props or are on props. Here on the pyramid field, the kubbs include an archaeologist with a shovel; a mummy with trailing wrapping; and an anubis hamsters. The king robot is the pharaoh Tut, with hieroglyphics and gold body. 

The batons used in each field throughout the game will also be designed to fit into the environment. At the pyramids, some examples are a heiroglphyic pattern used by the robot team, and an archaeologist’s brush used by the hamster team. 

When the kubbs are knocked down by players on the fields, they stay connected to their location with a spring and lock system at their base. So, once a kubb is knocked down, it cannot come back up and the kubbs stay in place when being hit. Since, the kubbs are scattered around the fields though, the players will find that reactions and sounds will happen when they are hit or knocked over. Here, at the pyramids, these would include tool sounds, dust, wood breaking, sand and stones, in addition to little hamster voices and music. 

In the Pyramid round, the hamster team won this time so the group moves to Big Ben. At Big Ben, the hamsters win again, so the group moves to the Great Wall. At the Great Wall, the robots make a comeback, so the group moves to Antarctica. At Antarctica, the hamsters fight hard and win, so the group moves to the Barrier Reef.

This is a concept for the Barrier Reef. The field is played over the sand dunes and corals of the reef with fake resin water and sandy beaches. The robots play from a glass bottomed boat on the water while the hamsters play from the Australian beaches, with Uluru seen in the background. In the water, shadows of sea life can be seen and the sandy dunes block sight lines to other fields. The kubbbs on the hamster side include a musical aboriginal with a didgeridoo; a happy surfer with a surfboard on the water; and a Steve Irwin hamster equivalent with a tiny crocodile and snake. The robots include a windup kangaroo and joey and koala. The king kubbs are an aboriginal with a boomerang and a robot shark. Some of the batons that the players use are designed to look like aboriginal patterns and fish scales. When the kubbs get hit or knocked down, there are sounds and reactions like splashing, bubbles, water sprays and sand. 

The team plays a tough round at the Barrier reef, but the robots come out on top! The next field is Niagara falls. Niagara falls is the last determining field for what finale the group will have. There are two possible finales that players can get, their chances based on which team won a majority of the games vs. not. If the robots were winning more games, the finale will likely be in New York City, at the Statue of Liberty. If the hamsters were winning more games, the finale will likely be in the volcano lair. Since our group had the hamster team win three times, and the robot team also win three times, we are at the final determining field that could go to either finale. 

It’s a vigorous round and is extremely close, but the robots pull out ahead again so the team heads onto the Liberty finale!

This is a concept for the liberty finale. The field is played on the street of New York City, between Central Park, Broadway, Times Square and the Brooklyn Bridge and Statues of Liberty. The robots are based near Times Square while the hamsters from Central Park. The streets and field are filled with evidence of the hard ongoing battle, with strewn billboards, newspaper, trash, cones, abandoned vehicles (both hamster and human) and more. The kubbs on the hamster side include a rockette kicking her leg; a tourist with his New York souvenirs; a hot dog standee; and the king Kubb, King Kong. The robots include the wall street bull statue and the king kubb, an empire state building robot. Some of the batons that the players use are designed to look like the green city street signs and rolled up New York Times newspapers. When the kubbs get hit or knocked down, there are sounds and reactions like car horns and sirens, water and splashing at the fountain, lights and crowds. 

The final battle is a spectacular show with the robot team securing their victory and gaining the right to be free from hamster control and live among the humans and hamsters as intelligent beings as well. The group leaves the field and arrives at the post show, where the explanation of their victory is interrupted by a wounded hamster or robot hitting a large button labeled “redo.” The lights flash and suddenly the players are back to same time they started! Now the battles have to be fought all over again. The players are welcomed to come back and try again another time, and now enter the gift shop or lobby. 

Hamsters vs. robots is a family-friendly battle game that focuses on replayability and non-linear storyline in a whimsical setting to keep players coming back again and again to create their own story.

My Final Concept Artwork

Preliminary Concepts