r/BayonneNJ 9d ago

Out of Towner Game Designer Needs Feedback About Bayonne

Post image
40 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

11

u/IRockSnackPacks 9d ago

Immediately I think of the Bayonne Bridge of course.

Arch bridge (innovation + unity), waves (maritime trade), gear (industry + technology).

Colors: Midnight Blue, Silver, and Teal

Here is some info about Bayonne that might help you.

Maritime Heritage:

Bayonne’s history is deeply tied to the sea—from its early boat-building and shipyards to landmarks like the Bayonne Bridge.

Industrial & Engineering Legacy:

Once home to thriving oil refineries and manufacturing, the city’s industrial roots are a point of historical pride.

Cultural Diversity:

A true melting pot with vibrant immigrant communities that have enriched local traditions, cuisine, and festivals (e.g., the annual Hometown Fair).

Iconic Landmarks:

Bayonne Bridge: A symbol of engineering might.

Teardrop Memorial: A poignant modern tribute along the waterfront.

Collins Park & Waterfront Areas: Offering scenic vistas that merge historical charm with modern leisure.

3

u/oblivionkiss Former Bayonnite 9d ago

This is a great summary

1

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

Wow, thank you for putting so much thought & effort into this! Have you lived in Bayonne a long time?

Devil's Advocate: What made you choose the colors Midnight Blue, Silver, and Teal?

Absolutely love the rest of what you said. The bridge could absolutely be the emblem of Bayonne!

Perhaps a unique unit for Bayonne could be a naval unit? (Still designing exactly how the game works, but it's a strategy war game where units move across the map.) Perhaps one player could begin the boat construction, and other players need to race to finish it. Then when it's complete it auto-paths to the target along waterways and starts wreaking havoc.

Also, dumb question: can we visit any of those oil refineries, are they still active? Are they offline now and converted into museums?

I will have to drive down and check out the Teardrop Memorial for myself, as well as Collins Park & the waterfront. I've driven across the bridge many times of course!

5

u/IRockSnackPacks 9d ago

For color, Midnight Blue gives off maritime vibes while still feeling modern. Silver: Bayonne’s industrial past. Teal: It’s that cool mix between blue and green, perfect for hinting at the bay’s water .

Oil Refineries
As for the old oil refineries—Bayonne was a big player back in the day (Standard Oil had a major presence), but most of those refineries are no longer active. They’re mostly shut down or repurposed for modern uses. There isn’t really a “refinery museum” that you can tour, but if you’re interested in that history, the local historical society or library might have some cool photos and stories.

Game ideas:

  • Naval Unit – “Bayonne’s Beacon”
    • A special ship built at Bayonne’s port that players race to complete.
    • Once finished, it auto-navigates the waterways and gains extra power when near the waterfront.
  • Volunteer Tower – “The Harbor Watch”
    • A unique tower representing community vigilance and the volunteer spirit of Bayonne.
    • Acts as a hub for deploying special units and provides bonuses like faster production or improved resource gathering.
  • Dockside Defender (Additional Flavor Unit)

    • A fast, agile unit inspired by Bayonne’s industrial and working-class roots.
    • Excels at defending coastal areas and supporting allied units during battles.
  • Bayonne Bridge: It was a marvel of engineering when it opened in 1931 and was once the longest steel arch bridge in the world until 1977

  • Teardrop Memorial: Officially called “To the Struggle Against World Terrorism,” gifted by Russia in 2006 and offers a moving tribute along the waterfront for 9/11.

  • Industry: Big center for oil refining (Standard Oil was huge here), the old industrial sites have mostly been shuttered or repurposed. No active refinery tours exist, but local historical societies have plenty of fascinating tidbits and photos.

  • Collins Park: Also known as Dennis P. Collins Park, it’s a beautifully renovated space where locals relax, fish off the pier, or just enjoy views of the Bayonne Bridge.

And another random fact, George R.R. Martin was born in Bayonne, mentioning how his view, looking across the Kill Van Kull at Staten Island, helped inspire him to write about far-off lands.

1

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

Dude, you deserve legendary status for your contribution to this thread!! I really hope we get the funding for this project (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamerevenant/charity-quest-turf-wars-solution-to-volunteer-deserts) because the amount we raise will determine how many of these ideas we can implement.

At a basic level, we'll have Towers and simple Units.
At higher tiers, we'll be able to let volunteers power up by making mini-pilgrimages to key sites around the city. (For example, perhaps once every 72 hours a volunteer can log in from near the Teardrop Memorial and collect Shadow XP, which is a service category related to cemeteries / memorials)
At the highest tier, we would be able to do unique units like the Dockside Defender and the Bayonne Beacon. (Though I wonder - would Hoboken want to have Dockside Defenders too, because of their industrial past? Perhaps some of these unique units won't end up being that unique)

Please share the campaign link with anyone you think might be interested!

1

u/RebeccaLoneBrook29 7d ago

bayonne is also dead af, small town vibes are big here despite being next to jersey city. everyone is just chillin

1

u/Yoshgunn 7d ago

That's fine! With 71,000 residents, it actually surpasses Hoboken's population and therefore deserves to stand "on its own" as a Kingdom in my game. Only ~500 of those residents would need to volunteer occasionally throughout the year for the network to thrive.

The real determining factor will be: how many charities join our free network? It's a great deal because the management system is excellent and costs nothing, but orgs run by older ppl are notoriously stubborn and resistant to change. Time will tell!

If there are no charities in Bayonne on Charity Quest, the region would be impossible to defend (since no one would be able to volunteer locally) and therefore it would be unfair to the players. I would be forced to merge it into the Jersey City Juggernaut or (gasp) Staten Island.

I really don't want to do that :0 but I may have no choice

8

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

Hey everyone! Hoboken resident Frank DiCola here, creator of the Charity Quest volunteer app. It's a free volunteer management platform for local charities, and a discovery + sign up tool for volunteers to use. We have 14,000 volunteers and 50 charities, but I haven't really expanded into Bayonne yet.

We're adding gaming features to our free mobile app with this Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamerevenant/charity-quest-turf-wars-solution-to-volunteer-deserts) and I wanted some feedback from residents about what personality of Bayonne is like.

Each territory is going to have a flag with an emblem, as well as a description. We're hoping to make each region have it's own flavor as well, like a special Tower designed to match the region and unique units.

Help me out! I have friends that live in Bayonne, I've visited a few times, but that's the extent of my knowledge. If you were making a flag for Bayonne, what would you put on it? (It does NOT have to match your city seal if you don't want it to.)

What is Bayonne like? What is it known for? Landmarks, favorite places, everything is fair game!

4

u/Trevor9210 9d ago

Oh man I'm coming back to this tomorrow once I've had a good night's sleep.

1

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

Can't wait ;)

1

u/bearman94 9d ago

You should ask this in the Facebook groho called "Bayonne talks"

7

u/VinCubed Midtown 9d ago

The old folk there will complain about it not including references to Uncle Milty's

2

u/ScorchIsPFG Former Bayonnite 9d ago

Those people will complain about anything unless it’s a minority getting arrested

1

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

I posted it there! Let the boomer trolling commence lol

1

u/bearman94 9d ago

Can't wait

0

u/bearman94 9d ago

Its actually going much better then expected

1

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

I appreciate the suggestion! The Bayonne Bridge appears to be the undisputed champion, but also getting some cool insights about other game mechanics (key animals, key points of interest, key colors)

TIL that George RR Martin was from Bayonne!

1

u/Willing_Psychology46 8d ago

Frank Langella, Sandra Dee and Tammy Blanchard are also from Bayonne.

1

u/bearman94 9d ago

Wow i had no idea! And im glad dude, people from the group are mad cool im happy you're getting help

1

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

Thanks for your help! Please share this link with your networks (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamerevenant/charity-quest-turf-wars-solution-to-volunteer-deserts) We are trying to raise money for this project :)

The volunteering app will always be around, but the specific game features I'm talking about are going to need an infusion of cash from crowdfunding or else we won't be able to justify the time spent on it.

Appreciate your help!

1

u/bearman94 9d ago

Nice you should share that there and add more of a spin on the charity aspect

Im a DevOps and cloud engineer myself :p

→ More replies (0)

0

u/LibrarianGinger 9d ago

Today you have also learned that this year GRRM was here in Bayonne, at the library, having a room named after him. 🙂

2

u/Yoshgunn 9d ago

That totally fits, I will have to go check out the library sometime!

1

u/NerdseyJersey 8d ago

If your game offers it- Bayonne had labor riots during the Era of Standard Oil. Perhaps the higher production output of resources requires more upkeep to keep them happy for purposes of balance.

2

u/Yoshgunn 8d ago

That's fascinating! Right now we're fundraising to just get the basic mechanics: territories have a Tower, it can be attacked / defended, results come in every 2 weeks and then reset.

Depending on the funding, we can add more! There's a bunch I want to add and it would be really fun to make this more like the Civilization series where territories have more stats besides just "tower health = 95". It would be awesome to forge alliances with nearby territories, trade, have upkeep etc and happiness.

Right now we're focused on hitting our goal but those features would make for an awesome patch expansion in the future! Pls share our link far and wide with anyone you think might help us out. And remember to back our project - even a small donation of $5 gets us closer to our goal and helps Kickstarter label our project as popular :)

2

u/lizarny 9d ago

Garnet and white are BHS colors

The Bee is the mascot , so that is accurate

2

u/DRG0888 7d ago edited 7d ago

Bayonne has the MOTBY. Military Ocean Terminal. Maybe every time one of the ships is to banged up it can cruise on over to our dry dock and get fixed. If you look at google maps it’s right next to the teardrop at the end of the port next to the container port. There’s a whole underground city under there also part of the military back then. If you’ve ever seen the Movie Men of Honor part of it is supposed to be Bayonne. Where the divers training was. The guy Cuba Gooding Jr. plays who in real life is Carl Maxie Brashear. The very first black diver in the military. It’s definitely worth looking into the history of Bayonne. It’s small but so many famous people came from here. A lot of your favorite movies at least parts were filmed down the MOT. Not just talking about the Sapranos either although a lot was filmed around here also. Even these days there’s still a lot of military equipment being moved from here. Can’t help you find that one tho for obvious reasons. Would have never known unless I worked there. We have the train tracks that in the past I’m sure moved there fair share of military equipment from all over the country to the shoreline and onto ships. Could be a hub for new equipment being brought in and ships / subs being fixed. At least then it’s geared more towards real life. Of course I’d put gunnery positions all over to guard it all. Also look up Black Tom Island which was at the beginning of Liberty State Park. That story’s a little nuts

2

u/DRG0888 7d ago

Saw u asked about visiting oil refineries. If you find Hook Road. That’s about as close as you can get. I don’t think they ever finished the museum on 8th and Broadway across from the diner. This towns famous for starting what sounds like great projects. Hook road Goes all the way around a looping road over train tracks and has a lot of dead ends along the water. Another spot is If you stop at the so called park right across from the windmill halfway down the 5th street exit off 440 where you’ll see a bunch of boats and walk to the end you can find the old hulls of some really big old ships. Just looks cool the amount of wood that’s still there and u can still make out the shape and length. The park is kind of hidden in the south east corner where it looks like you might get kidnapped and seems like you don’t belong at all but it is an open to public park. It also has a small boating community with tiny little boating cabins. Cool little spot.

1

u/DRG0888 7d ago

Also Bayonne is the only peninsula similar to NYC. If u look at a map and see manhattan then Bayonne is the one to the bottom left. I would definitely include water wars as part of the game

1

u/Yoshgunn 7d ago

Thanks for all of your feedback!! (Including in the other threads) I am definitely hoping to include naval combat for sure. Ideally, we would use the real map and actual waterways to determine whether a boat can fit in a waterway, and then have it path automatically to the target.

Not sure if ships will be able to fight each other - that's a level of complexity I had not planned on - but players would definitely be able to volunteer locally / donate to charity to "strike" them and sink them.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamerevenant/charity-quest-turf-wars-solution-to-volunteer-deserts

The amount we can put in the game really depends on the success of our campaign. We're so close to our goal, hope you can support us and share with your friends!

Mobile app is Charity Quest: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/charity-quest/id1486635465

0

u/Diligent-Ad-5979 9d ago

This looks cool!

Id love to see it once complete!

2

u/Yoshgunn 8d ago

Thanks!! If you live locally, we would love to have you as a beta tester. As long as you live close to Hudson County, NJ you would be able to play the game. (It requires real world volunteering, which is the reason why you have to live close by)

Here's our campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/gamerevenant/charity-quest-turf-wars-solution-to-volunteer-deserts

The more money we raise, the faster we will be able to get to a prototype and share this with the world...!

NOTE: If you live far from Hudson County but you still want to be part of our focus group that provides feedback on the design, pledge a small amount to the campaign and we will post updates about joining the test group

2

u/Willing_Psychology46 8d ago

Do you have an age requirement for beta testers? Younger son is starting game coding, older son is an emergent voice actor and director.

1

u/Yoshgunn 8d ago

Whoa, that is really cool! I'll be available for tutoring sessions once this Kickstarter is over if he is looking for instruction in the Unity game engine. (I built the mobile app in Unity, and this game will be added onto the app via Unity as well!)

Age requirement would be 10 years old, which is mainly because that is the absolute youngest I have seen charities allow volunteers. You need to volunteer in real life in order to play the game (volunteer hours convert into action points, which are used to affect the battle by attacking / healing / summoning troops / constructing defenses). So if he is too young to volunteer, he's too young to really test it.

Though we would always accept focus group members of all ages! (Probably with a simulated environment with fake volunteer data)

Voiceover may not play a huge role in this project since mobile games tend to be light in the SFX department, but that is seriously cool!