Boosts, Stamina, and Player Positions
A deep dive into the gameplay mechanics of the Rumble Kong League
TLDR: Boosts, stamina, and player position are the three primary starting variables that go into every game. These features shape how well a Kong plays in any given game, while still leaving room for skill and luck that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Introduction
An aspect of RKL that differentiates it from other typical web3/NFT games are the native BOOSTS associated with each Kong – Defense, Finish, Shooting, and Vision. These boosts, when combined with stamina and player position, will play a pivotal role in the moment-to-moment gameplay. However, all of these elements will not be so deterministic that the outcome of a game is already predetermined.
Higher-boosted Kongs will perform better, but they won’t be guaranteed to win. Like in real life, if you played head-to-head against Steph Curry, you are probably going to lose. But if Steph has just played 6 games back-to-back, you might be able to win (or at the very least make a few buckets).
Kong Boosts
Every action a Kong takes will be affected by 1 or more of the boosts. The list below is not exhaustive but gives brief examples of the sorts of actions that the different boosts will influence.
Defense – block, intercept, steal, snatch, move speed
Finish – dunk chance, move speed, dash chance, agility (vs blocks)
Shooting – shooting distance, shooting accuracy
Vision – pass distance, pass accuracy, jump ball, handle (vs steals), dash chance
To create more variability, some actions will also be influenced the Kong’s total boost score (D+F+S+V added together). Additionally, some actions will consider only the highest score or lowest boost score.
For example, imagine Kong A with consistent boosts (D=40, F=40, S=40, V=40) going up against Kong B with different level boosts (D=60, F=20, S=60, V=20). Both Kongs total 160, but the different boosts are at different levels.
In this scenario:
An action that takes into account the total boost will see they are equal and will be a 50/50 coin flip
An action that relies on Defense will likely be won by Kong B since their Defense is 60 instead of Kong A’s 40. However, this dynamic switches if the action relies on Finish.
With that being said, basketball is a team sport, and the team dynamic will also interact with the boost system. Kongs will be able to work together to temporarily support teammates. For example, if 2 Kongs are blocking 1 opponent then they will each get a temporary bonus on their Defense. At the same time, the opposing team players may get a Vision boost since they are left unguarded and open.
Although incredibly important, very few actions in the game will be 100% determined by the boost level. There will always be an element of skill and luck involved in every game. This is incredibly important in order to keep things exciting, engaging, and not downright pay-to-win.
Stamina
To add an additional layer of strategy, Stamina will further affect a Kong’s performance in the game. Every game you play reduces stamina, which will refill over time and/or by drinking in-game consumables.
You will always be able to play a game, even if a Kong’s stamina is depleted, however, it will come at a cost. Having more stamina will increase a Kong’s boosts usage, so being “rested” will make the Kong more effective in a game.
To return to your head-to-head game against Steph Curry, you would be much more likely to win if he’d been playing non-stop for 72 hours. It doesn’t make you the greatest basketball player of all time, but it is still a win. Managing stamina for your team will be a key component in whether or not you win or lose a game.
Player Positions
“Do you even play basketball, bro?!” Having boosted Kong’s is one thing, but knowing how to use them is another. Players will be able to not only select the Kongs that they play with, but also select their position on the court.
Center – Primary: Vision, Secondary: Shooting and Finish.
Power Forward – Primary: Finish, Secondary: Vision.
Shooting Guard – Primary: Defense, Secondary: Shooting.
Making sure you have the best-suited Kongs in each position could be the determining factor in a close game.
Takeaway
Boosts, stamina, and positioning are the starting variables that go into every game. They interact and play off each other, but are not the final determining factor for the outcome of the game.
Player in-game input with features such as Abilities will create an exciting dynamic and interactive experience in each and every game.
Final Note
There are areas that are still up in the air that we are working on daily. IE: Can you level up your Kong? If so, how does this impact Boosts and Stamina? How much influence do Boosts have on different Abilities?
We will share more as soon as we have this finalized and properly balanced, but we can highlight some foundational principles we are using to help answer these questions.
A Kong’s predefined Boosts will always be protected - a highly boosted Kong will always be highly boosted and owning that player will result in tangible gameplay benefits
Boosts will not be an outright pay-to-win mechanic - we want RKL to be welcoming and fun for everyone
Balancing these two principles is key to ensuring that we have a fun, dynamic, and long-lasting experience that can be enjoyed by millions of players around the world.
If you’d like to read more, you can check out our RKL GDD here:
https://docs.rumblekongleague.com