“The best way to learn games is to play games. The best way to make games is to work.” – Alan Emrich
Your Weekly Homework Game:
Since your Weekly Homework Game is about ships, it won’t be completely abstract. Therefore, your task this week is to try to develop the game’s Theme a bit more by improving its elements of Character, Story & Plot.
This week's homework builds on your Weekly Homework (i.e., “Ship”) Game’s current Concept Document (i.e., its Title, High Concept, Hook, One-Sentence Marketing Description, and a single paragraph description of the game’s setting, Epoch, scope, scale, and who the player represents). You're required to hand in a written document that includes your name plus the Concept Document information from last week’s homework assignment (with the Ship Matrix, Victory Conditions, Conflict Resolution, Economic Model, Magic / Technology Tree, Special Abilities, and Random Events).
After copying and pasting that information from last week, you’re going to extend that Concept Document by adding this week’s homework assignment information at the end in a two new sections.
The first new section is entitled, “Week 8 Homework: Story Hype” and, specifically, you must write:
· A narrative “word picture” or “bullet point” listing of this game’s setting, characters, story, plot, theme, genre, and so forth. Sell these elements to me like the text would on the back of its game box –make these aspects of the game sound exciting, adventurous, and wonderful.
The second new section is entitled, “Week 8 Homework: Story as Game Play” and, specifically, you must write:
· A paragraph or two with a short description of how your Weekly Ship Game incorporates these elements of character, story, and plot inherent in it. In other words, not just what is in it (as listed above), but how it works in actual game play. Explain how these exciting elements of character, story, and plot in your game add more player role-definition, immersion into the subject theme, and/or better focus players on the ‘story’ you’re trying to tell in your game design.
Use active verbs stating what the player will, do, see, feel, and so forth. For example, “In Pirates of Pissants, the player assumes the role of Jean le Foot, the barefoot pirate, and sails across the Spanish Main in pursuit of adventure, excitement, and really wild things. As Jean, you must bravely buckle your swash and fight the likes of the Royal Navy, the town of St. Éclair, and your arch rival, the Dread Pirate Bob. Rapier, pistol, and cannon supplement your wit and daring as you loot, pillage, and burn your way across 27 missions of eye-patch-melting, parrot-pummeling action.”And this will conclude the graded assignments based upon your Weekly Homework (“Ship”) Game. As you’ll see when you complete this assignment, you’ve thought through this game a great deal and have envisioned all of the general concepts in it. By virtue of having them all written down, this roughly equated to the completion of the Pre-Production Stage of a project (although, if your Ship Game was going to be digital, the Design Doc itself would need considerably more definition and detail – but all of your thoughts are well outlined already, which is an excellent start).
Sample Weekly Homework ('Ship Game') Assignments
are available for your inspection!
Outstanding sample homework files are included inside this .zip file. It contains complete sets of homework assignments for this course from several award-winning ship games including: Alien Colony, Extreme River Rapids Racing, Hive Mind, and Outlaw Star. Peruse these to see what is expected from you each week!
Your Graded Course Project Game:
Completion, Part I: In-House Playtesting: Last week, you did some Gross Playtesting where you, playing solitaire or with your must trusted playtester / developer, played your Graded Course Project Game to make sure that the larger systems and mechanics in it actually worked together and to find and correct the most egregious errors it had. This should have caused you to iterate new versions of your game rules and components, and thus get the game in better shape.
This week, you move from Gross Playtesting to In-House Playtesting. This is where you don’t necessarily play the game, but you con a few trusted friends and playtesters to give it a try under your direct supervision. That is, you teach them how to play (and can join in, if you like). Again, your goal is to get the game into better shape – developing it to an improved (Alpha) state where you can inflict playing it on blind testers in class during Week 10.
So, this week; bring the ready-for-in-house testing (Alpha) version of your game to class next week. We’re having a (roughly three-hour) playtesting jam session in class and the feedback your fellow students will provide upon playing your game (and your observations of their play) will prove to be very valuable toward making a good game. The instructor will be available during this playtesting period to provide addition comments and award extra credit points to playtesters who make particularly valuable suggestions.
Article: Playtesting by Steve Peek
Steve’s thoughts and my comments about playtesting a board game have important ramifications for your future success as a game designer.
