Week 2 Progress

Goals This week:

1. Construct paper prototypes testing out different game mechanisms and ideas

2. Playtest those paper prototypes internally and externally

3. Refine plan for the rest of the semester (!!! - didn't do)

What I Accomplished:

Building off of a concept I had drafted last semester during feasibility testing, I brainstormed different ideas for gameplay. I crafted a paper prototype and this allowed me to go through each idea and tie some of them together.

I then was able to go through and "play" with others and see it all in action.

I then was able to take feedback from that first round of playtesting and modify the board a little bit more and do another round of playtesting with a different person.

Research!

Feedback and Changes:

I thought it was too early in the process to do paper prototyping, but honestly, having to do it off that bat was so helpful. It allowed me to mentally get over that block since this was a step that seemed daunting to me.

Overall, people responded well to the idea of the game. They liked the humor of the cards that exist and are excited about the game's potential. As it is right now, there are elements that are really repetitive specifically in terms of the board. I have these different rooms representing different sins. Finding ways for people to interact with each room in different ways as well as the spaces outside of the rooms, can make it a little more interesting. I rearranged the rooms and provided more opportunities to gain/lost points.

Summary of Feedback/Findings from First Round:

-Enjoyed the cards themselves (though hard to read bc handwritten)

-Liked being able to choose where she could go

-Was confused by the different colors, felt like more should happen in blue zones

-Would like more individualized goals and actions with character cards

-Would like more opportunities for direct interaction with other players (rather than doing things on own)

-Hard to get sin chips.

From feedback, there was also expressed interest in having more personalized goals. For my second round of playtesting, I drew up more defined character roles and tested those.

I also created more spaces on the board (specifically the blue portion) for gain of chips.

I updated the draw cards to be more legible and to include images of the art.

Part of the game is that you have to go to each room. I created a better way to keep track of that (still not perfect) but it was easier to test this way since before I was using dice and that got confusing.

Second Round of Feedback/Findings:

-Highlights included the cards and the gambling room

-Was confused about the different actions could take on turn

-Was confused about how to get sin tokens and feels like they were too easy to obtain

-Unclear on when could start a room event (same as with first round).

-Clarify endgames

-Slightly too easy to get sin chips now.

What I learned:

This process ultimately clarified for me what gameplay would look like as it was the first time I was using physical items. I also gained insight into what other people thought as they played it even if it was a rough concept and not a full play through.

Because this is my first time designing a board game, it honed in the importance of having a set of design goals and values. This process showed me how easily it is to get carried away.

In general, I have a clearer idea of what my game will be. Playing it with people was invaluable. It showed me what works and what is interesting and what doesn't. Most importantly, it provided me a path forward.

Currently, I have three different point systems: sin chips, reputation chips, and sin tokens. The goal of the game is to have as many reputation chips and sin tokens as you can while have the least amount of sin chips you can. The amount of reputation chips will correspond to a "fate". This is currently, the aspect of the game I am least clear about and will be working on more next week.