Monthly Archives: October 2021

WEEK 7: Games and the Magic Circle

Group Challenge:

Change the Rules:

Defining Rules:

In small groups take the game Monopoly and change some of the rules to see how the changes affect game play. The rule changes should be given a conceptual focus. For example, how can you make Monopoly more interesting for all the players. Each group must write the complete rules for its game variant and watch other groups try to play their games with only the written instructions as a guide.

According to Rules of Play by By Katie Salen Tekinbaş and Eric Zimmerman

Rules limit player action
Rules are explicit and unambiguous
Rules are shared by all players
Rules are fixed
Rules are binding
Rules are repeatable

Homework: Using the MDA Model please brainstorm ideas for a game. It should be a cooperative game. THIS IS A DRAFT … you will work on prototyping in class …

Step 1: Warch Matt Leacock’s presentatation:

Cooperation and Engagement: What can board games teach us?

Designing Pandemic – Matt Leacock

Step 2:

Brainstorming and Ideation

Come up with the ideas based on a theme or topic of your interest.
Flesh out the idea thinking about the mechanics of your game.
Determine the age range of your players.
Set player, time, and size limits for your game.
Points to Consider:

How many players will there be?
How long should the game be?
What choices will the player make, and when will they make them?
How will the player make these choices?
How will one player’s choice impact the other players?
How will the players interact with each other?
Are there any choices that can be made by one player, but not by the others?
How does the game progress? Is it strictly turn-based, or is it in rounds with phases?
What actions will the player be able to take?
How will the outcome of an action be determined?
What is the player’s goal?
How can the player win?

Drafting your proposal:
Your draft should include the following:
THEME or TOPIC (used as the inspiration for your game)
TITLE (come up with an interesting title for your game)
GENRE (what type of game it is)
DESCRIPTION (in your own words, describe your game)
DEFINING TRAITS:
– Goal ( what is the specific OBJECTIVE that players will work to achieve).
– Rules (how the game is played and how the elements of the game take actions).
– Feedback System (what information visual or otherwise the game gives to provide information
on their performance).

Constraints (Mechanics)
Interactions (how do players interact) (Dynamics)
Rewards and Punishments
ELEMENTS OF THE GAME:
– Objects (are the elements with which the game is played) Describe and explain.
– Actions (are the things players do while playing the game. Often, these involve using the objects in varying ways).
– Playspace (is the area within which a game is played) Describe in detail.
– Players (are the participants in the game) Describe details.

WEEK 6: Presentations … Moving on to Game Design!!!

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I’m excited to finally see your presentations!!!

Next week I would like to have 5 minute midterm conferences with students during class. So please make sure your folders are in good shape and you have everything uploaded!

Homework:

Analysis of your favorite (analog) game
– Select your favorite game (not a card game, sports game or cue sport game)

Give an analysis of the game including the following points:

History (Brief introduction to the origins of the game)
Description (As best as you can describe the game without going into details of how is played)
Objective (What is the goal of the game)
Rules (What are the rules to play the game)
Feedback System (The manner in which the game informs its players about their performance)

The Analysis should be typed and include a couple of images to illustrate the game.
Type your name, name of the game and date at the upper left corner of the page.
Save your document in PDF format.

Please Read and write a .5 -1 pg response to the paper.

MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research Robin Hunicke, Marc LeBlanc, Robert Zubek

Class Challenge: The Exquisite Corpse Game Game

Design Focus: Rules on Three Levels

I’ve adapted the exercise for Miro:

The first person in each group secretly writes down two game rules for a game that could be played in the classroom, each rule on a separate post-it note in Miro.The top rule is covered up with another post-it note and the second is left visible.The second person looks at the second rule and writes two more. They cover the two first rules with a post-it note and leave the last rule visible for the third person to write one more rule and a winning condition.

The rules are then revealed and the group has to fashion a game out of the total set of rules.

The goal of the exercise is to see how rules interact with each other within the system of a game, and to explore the limits of ambiguity and specificity in rules.