“The best way to learn games is to play games. The best way to make games is to work.” – Alan Emrich
Your Homework Game:
Using the Concept Document that you handed in this week (or starting from scratch, if you like), you will create a ‘mini’ game prototype and hand it in at next week’s class. By ‘mini’ game, that means the playing surface (map / board) cannot exceed 11” x 17” in size (8.5” x 11” is recommended). The number of units in the game cannot exceed 100 (you shouldn’t need more than 60, really). Blank templates for both square and hex grid boards, square counters, and various-size cards are available in a .zip file download here.
The game’s subject (or theme) is on some sort of conflict that is common knowledge or can be easily researched*. That can range anywhere from a bar fight at Mos Eisley spaceport (Star Wars), to the War of 1812, to a fantasy duel between two wizards or a party of six adventurers versus a horde of ware rats, to Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Specifically, you must turn in the following prototype-quality game components:
A playing surface (game board)
Playing pieces (units); when you hand these in, make sure they are on 8.5” x 11” sheets of paper and not cut apart individually.
Any player aids required (charts, tables, organizational aids, etc.)
The rules; these need only be sketchy and in a rough format, but should include:
o The game's title (and subtitle)
o Your name
o A brief introductory paragraph as to what the game is about (i.e., the topic it covers)
o The sequence of play
o An explanation about how the components work together (i.e., what the unit values mean, how the terrain works, etc.)
o The core systems and mechanics as briefly explained rules
Important: You should go through all the steps of foundation, structure, and details to get the highest score possible on this assignment and to be as prepared as you can be for next week’s midterm exam (where you will do all of this again, but during that class period only). Please note that this assignment is worth approximately 36% of your midterm grade (16 points out of 45) broken down as follows:
Physical presentation (3 points): don’t make it incomprehensively ugly; playtester will need to be able to minimally understand your game in terms of its graphic representation
*Research (4 points): If you pick an obscure topic, you’d better provide some photocopies or printouts of the research that you used so that this grade can be validated
Documentation (4 points): As listed above, try to use complete sentences; this is an exercise in what game design is primarily an act of – communication
Systems / Perceived Fun (5 points): Does this game seem compelling to play? Does it have interesting / fun looking core mechanics or systems? Look at one student's example by clicking on the picture to the right...
Your individual live game prototyping exam is next week:
Next week is your individual live game prototyping exam (worth 25 points). You will repeat this homework exercise on a topic of the instructor’s choice and have only that since class period to complete it. You will only have materials brought to class (either by you or by the instructor) to work with (i.e., tokens, scissors, colored paper, etc.). During that single class session, you will create a complete game prototype (similar to this week’s homework assignment) and turn it in before you leave as your exam project. The pressure’s on!
P.S., if you arrive at class early next week, you can get started right away and thus have more time to do the job!
Class Support Material: Assorted blank grid sheets, cards, and counters
This free download is a .zip file with square- and hex-grid paper, blank card templates, and blank counter sheets. Each is presented in MSWord .doc files and is presented in various sizes in an 8.5" x 11" format. You can easily manipulate every file.
