So somewhere along the lines I forgot about blogging about school stuff and went on the do my own analyses of games. Here are some snippets and thoughts behind the recent weeks.
In the recent 3 weeks we've actually had quite a lot work done. Assignments to be presented the day after receiving them, writing of essays. So I'm just gonna write about the recent happenings and my thoughts/reflection on them.
Sissyfight
We played Sissyfight and then we added a new mechanics to it. Our group actually forgot to play test which we learned later was a really valuable experience to keep in mind. We thought our mechanic was pretty solid, instead of life you have walls, and when the walls are lowered you can 'Assasinate' an opponent. This mechanic didn't change even after play testing.
Then we got the memo telling us to add collectibles to the game. This confused us since we didn't know if it meant TCG collecting or game mechanic collecting. We went for the latter and added coins to the mix. When attacking another player, you get coins equal to the damage dealt. We didn't have enough time to come up with good ways to use coins, so we just added a bribe mechanic, tested it out and said that it works. I would really like to go back to the coin mechanic and change it. I feel like I have much more experience and could make something much better now.
Earnets Adams Workshop
Earnest Adams, author of "Fundamentals of Game Design" arranged a workshop where all students were divided up in teams and made a game concept based on a dream. Our group got "I want to be a real cowboy (not a gunslinger). We also had roles. I was the mechanics designer which I still don't really get how it works. It felt like I decide mechanics, then the UI designer translates them into buttons, then the level designer does the implementing. But there is a discrepancy on the way. For example when the UI designer decides the whip is controlled by circling the right control stick.
It felt like a slow process where no one really had a grasp on what the others were doing and I didn't see it go in a good direction. During the presentation there were some mixed results from the other groups. Some had really interesting ideas while others just went for the standard approach. It made me wish I had gotten something more interesting than cowboy. I also think me and others interpreted the assignment as serious business sine it talks about dreams and then really wanted to replicate a simulator type game.
The game with trolls and steamroller was the most interesting imo.
Adam Mays spontaneous assignment
Next Monday after the workshop: "Make a game, come back tomorrow."
New assignment. Make a paper prototype of a digital real-time game which captures the core experience of that game. Our group chose Skyrim.
This was actually the most fun assignment yet. It was the same group as the workshop and we were all very motivated to succeed. The group: Me, Anders Hagström, Erik Starander and Emil Nyström worked hard on our board game version of Skyrim. I made most of the mechanics and balanced the monsters powers, Anders helped a lot with the overall design of the game and came with good opinions and changes along the way. Erik made a beautiful world map which perfectly captures the Skyrim feel. And while Emil missed most work time because of an appointment, but he made one of the most important touches on the game before it was finished, he made the player avatar out of his snusbox, and it fit perfectly. After sleeving the cards with padding of magic cards, the game looked and felt really good and fluid. I was happy.
Essays
We've had two essays recently, with the creeping doom one in game design. I think the thing I learnt here was that if you stop and really think about it, you can come to a good conclusion. If you look at fear and what situations can arise, then think of how to represent that in a game, the assignment is easy. Though it still meant correct writing, which went fairly well in my case. Interesting topic this one.
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