Game Craft Chronicles

For my playtest, I recruited my cousin who is luckily in our target demographic! He is a 19 year old Freshman and plays games on a regular basis. He has also participated in our previous feedback survey so he was already familiar with the concept of the game. The test was administered asynchronously, I sent him the instructions, game link, and survey through a text. He was able to send the survey back to me within a few hours.  My cousin is in the middle of finals right now and sending him the game to play at his convenience was the best way to accommodate his schedule. Because this was done through a text, I did not have a traditional experience of running a playtest. In the future, I would definitely try to set up a time where I can be with the player as they play through the game so I can answer their questions more directly and experience their reactions.  Even though I wasn’t able to be there when he played, I think he still was able to give quality feedback.  Here a...

  Designing a game solo vs with a team are totally different experiences!  Overall, I have enjoyed the process and it has been awesome to see other approaches to design. I think we work well as a team and have been able to problem solve through challenges such as figuring out how to translate practical geography lessons into a game and pivoting our original idea after Dr. Larsen’s feedback.  During our group meetings, we all worked together and each had a say in the narrative design and mini quest assignments. However, I primarily contributed to the storyboarding and prototyping. For storyboarding, it was mostly taking the narrative design from Nicholas and translating that into what it would potentially look like in our prototype.  The part that was the most difficult in my opinion was that for long time we did not have a solid idea of what the game was going to be about.Then, because of the way we divided up the work, there were times where some of us were not able...

   Part 1: Reflecting on myself and others:  I took some time to think about what is important to me when I play a game (educational or entertainment) and the things that I dislike: -I want educational games to still be fun. -I like a good narrative but this is not super important to me. -The rules/directions should be easy to understand (should be able to play without taking too much time to learn). -Feedback should be given- I like when I can see how previous attempts compare. -I like when I can explore a game environment and find new things (this might be cool for a geography themed game because exploration goes hand in hand with geography).  Reflecting on others:  Gathering information on our audience was somewhat easy for me as I was lucky enough to have a first-hand source, family members who are freshmen in college! Not only that, but they are college students specifically interested in gaming, who then volunteered to send the survey out to their friend g...

PART 1: World Geography Games  Found on https://world-geography-games.com/   I found that these games are good for learning more about country/continent/flag identification but not necessarily garnering interest in the subject as a potential major.  Intended audience- This site claims that their games are for people of all ages. I think that is accurate but I do not believe high school/college students would be interested in these types of games.  After realizing that I was not having luck by searching for geography games, I was browsing Epic and I noticed that there are some word building type games that could be somewhat relevant.  Island Idle RPG https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/island-idle-rpg-350c2e    Found on Epic  Island Idle is very similar to the My Island game I mentioned above. While this game is also a casual game that revolves around world building, it is also listed as a simulation. In addition to managing resources to build, yo...

  Hey, everyone! I am happy to be back for another great semester!  Here is a quick review of three different typing games (not simulations) TypeRacer, Epistory, and Typing Paragraphs for Accuracy: Historical Figures Savanna.  Title : TypeRacer Summary : This is a typing game where the player has the option to race against others or on their own. This game assesses the players typing speed (in WPM), completion time, and accuracy. It also shows how the player fared against the other players.  Goal : When in a typing race, the goal is to type the paragraph faster than the other 3 competitors Core Dynamic : The core dynamic here is to finish before the other players. Main Mechanics :  The mechanics that govern this game are typing, speed, and accuracy. Pros/Cons :I like that the game allows the player to compare their progress to the other players, however, it would be nice if the player could see their personal score from previous rounds to see how they have impro...

I am extremely grateful to have had this game design experience. I feel that it has not only given me more insight into what it takes to be a game designer, but it also helped to instill good design practices.  I have much more confidence in my ability to design games that specifically cater to a larger purpose . However, I still find myself struggling to come up with impactful learning objectives, especially when using higher order verbs.  I also find it hard to include all of the many elements required to facilitate learning and often found it frustrating when I had to make a change to the game play or narrative in order to make sure I accomodated the learning.  I think the most valuable skill I have learned is going from idea, to rough draft, to a working prototype.  I did earn multiple badges throughout the course such as trainee, analyzer, deviser, prototyper, designer, and soon creator and enthusiast!  I do plan on working in the game industry and I really...

Progress on my new game, Skillville Manor is coming along nicely! Here are some updates!  I am still keeping the same title, I feel that it fits well.  The game is about an old lady who needs some help around the house, in exchange for your help, she offers to reward you with a special prize for each room you complete a task in. As you go room to room, you'll find a new task related to a skill such as organizing dishes or folding laundry and putting them in the correct drawers. After all the tasks are complete, you learn that the old lady is actually a witch and all the small rewards are ingredients to a potion just for you!  Core loop- The player moves  the character from room to room. In every room, the player is prompted with a task that relates to different life skills.  Subject area- Life Skills  Knowledge domain- I believe the psychomotor domain fits best for most tasks in the game but because this game is meant to have multiple rooms with a different...

 In a previous post, I reflected on the design process for my board game Portals, Please. Well, I am pleased  to announce a new update! I have completed a rough prototype of the game board, game pieces, and challenge cards. I have also typed up a draft of the game instructions.  Check out a walkthrough of the game here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49wCMV7n5Oc   Click here to read the instructions:  https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XOdiGEHcx0EgWKRi45dp3HzZo2E_G0eUvOagMQAqXBE/edit As always, I welcome comments and feedback so I can make the game the best it can be!  Stay tuned for future updates and progress!  Reply from Rachael Strauss