Board Game: Final Outcome

Im really glad with our final outcome, the final piece looks really professional but is also really fun to play especially with a larger group of friends. In addition to this, I think the group worked well together which is one of the main reasons the final outcome is of such a high standard. My favorite part of the game are the models of the robots that you have to build to win the game, I think these and the body part cards really tie in well together which really makes the game seem professional.

Board Game: Play Testing:

With each person pieces of work completed we were then able to play test the final design, to check for any final bugs or problems with the game design or mechanics. The game was won within an hour and ten minutes, which is a good time for a game appealing to a wide age range. The game also played really smoothly with little problems with the gameplay. The main problem we came across was with the chance cards with one of them especially being too extreme on the player and basically causing them to start again. To remedy this we simply removed that card from the game which allowed the game to progress at a much more competitive rate and causing the game to have a much more 'aggressive edge'

Board Game: Money Design:

After being tasked with designing the two different credit notes for our game I began by looking at money that already existed in games such as that from monopoly and stock exchange. Both sets of money were fairly similar in design with a single colour used to represent value and a fairly plain and boring design printed around a large centralised number. From this I went on to look at real Sterling and compared this to the replica games money. For my design I wanted to have the intricate detail and style of the Sterling but shrink it down to the size of the board game money.

I started off with simple sketches, working with the 1930's style and concentrating around the image of a Zeppelin. I wanted to stick to the colour schemes of the £20 and £50 notes in an effort to make them easily recognisable to players. In addition to this I also wanted to make the 500C note a lot more detailed than the 100C note to make them easily distinguishable as a different amounts.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the final outcome, and the overall feel of the two different notes. However I feel that the 100C has a more professional feel.

Board Game: Presentation Day:

Todays group meeting was really usefull, after doing the group presentation to the rest of the class we were then able to pick one theme to work on whilst taking ideas and inspiration from everyones games and work so far. The theme we eventually went with is a 1930's Art Deco Sky City. From this we then went on to test the game mechanics by having the group and other groups play the game, which yielded some rather interesting results:

• The game didnt seem to move forward due to too many destruction or removal spaces.
• You often missed the body parts space and so would continue moving around the board.

To fix these problems we came up with the simple idea of introducing two packs of cards. One pack would be body parts for the robot and the other pack would be chance cards, consisting of both pro and con cards. Hopefully these simplifications of the game will create a smoother gameplay system.

Also out of todays meeting  we were all given our own individual jobs to focus on. My jon is to work on some money concepts focusing on a 1930's style including an image of a zeplin. The money comes in 100c and 500c notes.

Board Game: Logo Design:

Now that I have the basic idea down for the rocket style and design, and how its actually going to work I can now move on to design some more of the concept artwork for the rest of the game. Im going to start by looking at the artwork for the centre of the board and possibly for the front of the box. Im then also going to look at some possible counter designs.

So far I think that I am progressing well within my own personal project, however I feel that the team need to start moving forward on a team project rather than our own individual ideas.

Board Game: Rocket Testing:

Sources:

• http://www.groeg.de/puzzles/rocket.html
• http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_6387095_build-toy-rocket.html

Trial One: Bellows:

My first trial is a rocket made using fairly complicated origami to make a set of paper bellows which can be used to propel the rocket through the air. The main problem with this idea is that the bellows are very delicate and so could be easily broken. Another problem is that the site stated that it would send the rocket 5m in the air, which is too much for a board game, however this could be easily fixed by just adding more weight to the rocket.

Trial Two: Straw:

My second idea is a more simplified version of the bellows and consists of using a simple straw to 'launch' the rocket. although this is a much simpler idea that would do the job just as well, i think there are a lot of downsides to this version. Not only does it look less attractive, and wouldn't fit in with the rest of the board game still. Another big downside would be the fact that the paper rocket is likely to get 'soggy' very quickly and so replacements would need to be bought.

Board Game: Beginning to design:

Today was a really good day, and it seems as if we've finally started to get somewhere with the project. As well as this it feels as if the group has finally started to gell together. The main outline of today was to get  the basic principles for our game down, by this I mean how the game would be played and the games core mechanics. With this all down, we could then go off and design our own versions of the game from a basic game board.

My design for the 'Build It Up' concept was based around building a rocket. The main draw of the game being the ability to launch your rocket at an opponents rocket once you have completed yours, causing you opponent to have to rebuild their rocket from scratch. I really like this idea, but it needs a bit more fleshing out so that it has a bit more depth. I also need to work out how the how thing would be built, and if its possible for us to build it ourselves. I think also the hardest part is going to be finding a way to actually launch the rocket in a way that wont be a health risk.

Next Step: Research:

From here I need to work out the mechanics of the rocket, I need to find a way to launch the rocket and also need to find a material to build the rocket from which will be tactile enough for people to use but also light enough to be launched.

Board Game: The Meeting:

Today we had a group meeting to go over the research that we had all done so far, this then allowed us to find a new direction for the group to go in and from this we could then give out specific bits of research to different members of the team. I think the meeting had a really positive outcome with a lot of in-depth research being put forward and some good creative ideas coming to the surface. The two new areas that I have been given to research are the different genres of board games that are available, and the different materials that are used to produce board games, and compare that through the ages.

Source:

• http://www.boardgamegeek.com/wiki/page/Game_Genres
• 
  

Secondary Research: Game Genres:


Board games can be split into two very easily identifiable groups, mainstream and Hobby. Within both of these groups games can then be split even further into more specific genres. Hobby games are those that are targeted at players who see gaming as their dedicated hobby, and because of this these games are often much more complex and difficult than their mainstream counterparts. Hobby games can then be split down into four main genres:

• Thematic games
• Eurogames
• Wargames
• Abstracts

Mainstream games are focused more at the general public, and due to this have a much simpler game play system and focus on mass accessibility. Mainstream games can also be split down into four main genres:

• Family Games
• Dexterity Games
• Party Games
• Abstracts

Results:

By having a better understanding of the genres of board games, and how they all work together will really help us when it comes to designing our own board game, as it will allow us to pin point our target market and therefore design the game accordingly. 

Source:

• http://www.bgdf.com/node/1475
• http://www.tradgames.org.uk/features/board-games.htm

Secondary Research: Materials:

The materials games are made from has changed drastically throughout time. To start with many games were played using the materials people had around them for example early versions of Mancala were simply dug into the ground with beads consisting of pebbles and seeds found around them. After this games became a lot more detailed and intricate, moving into actual worked products. Often made from woods and stone. This along with the change in social hierarchy meant that a range of versions of the same game could be produced ranging from simple hand crafted from the lower ends of society to jewel incrusted versions for the higher end of society.

Nowadays hand crafted versions of games are often kept for very expensive versions of old games such as chess and checkers. Most games of today are made from plastics which are often either vacuum or blow moulded. In some ways this is better for the consumer as it means that prices can be kept low, but it also means that many more interesting games can be produced for the mass market.

This is something we need to think about for our project although many of our prototypes will be hand made for speed, our final piece would look a lot more realistic if we're able to get some of the pieces vacuum formed.

Board Game: Evaluating Work so Far:

Spider Diagram:

I started to evaluate my ideas by using a simple spider diagram. I would to further into the idea that games through out time had relied upon a few basic principles in order for them to work well and be classed as 'good' games. The main ones that i looked at were Rules, Age and interactivity. I really wanted to see how these affected the gameplay and if these were the actual reason for certain games still existing now.

Results:

From the spider diagram I was able to refine my ideas, and apply them to modern games in order to prove my point. Below is a list of, what I believe, to be the basic principles that are needed by most games in order to be successful:

• Teaching: Many of the worlds first games came around in order for children to learn and practice new skills in a way that they wouldn't get bored and that it would stick in the mind. For example chess teaches strategic thinking and competitiveness, whilst Monopoly teaches trading and bartering, all of which are useful in day to day life.
• Rules: Many of the games that have survived from the past and many of the best games from today have very simple rules which allow the game to be easily set up and played, and also allows constant flowing gameplay.
• Interactivity: Keeping a player interested and wanting to play on is a key part of every game, and to do this many games have some interactive elements, for example in chess once a piece is taken the player then removes that piece an early form of interactivity, whilst in more modern games such as monopoly you can now have credit cards which have to be balanced as well as varying types of house and hotel. All of which help to keep the player interested.
• Competition: Competition is the point of most games, to crown an eventual winner. This can be seen in any game from Chess, Scrabble, Zombies and Monopoly. This also links back to the idea of teaching as it teaches the child/player to have a good competitive appetite wether that be through strategic thinking or efficient playing.

Board Game: History of Board Games:

Source:

• http://www.blogger.com/goog_723811613
• http://www.techitoutuk.com/projects/boardgames/history.html

Secondary Research: Background research:

• Games began to develop as soon as there was a moment of leisure time not devoted to survival, and as as communications between individuals got beyond the basics of conveying elementary needs and movements into the realm of intention and ideas.
• Games have also been used through out history as a way of teaching children important ideas about life, giving them vital skills such as strategic thinking, coordination, rhythm as well as thinking ahead, all of which would have helped them survive daily life.

Secondary Research: The Royal Game of Ur:

Found in the Royal Tombs in Iraq in 1926, the game dates back to more than 2500BC. Four versions of the same board were found within the tomb, each made from slightly less expensive materials and with slightly less decoration. This shows that game spanned the a range of people, in case a range of classes, which is still a very important aspect of todays modern board games.

Results:

From looking at games from both the past and present it's interesting to see that many of the core ideas and concepts of board games still exist today. From this we can assume that these core ideas and components must be what are needed in order for a game to work well and appeal to a mass market.

Next Step: Evaluating work so far:


After looking at both games from the past and the present, I think it would be a good idea for me to look in more detail and expand upon the idea of the core concept and ideas carrying on throughout time and how they are still relevant today.

Board Game: Monopoly:

Source:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopoly
• http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeksearch.php?action=search&objecttype=boardgame&q=monopoly

Secondary Research: Research:

• Published by Parker Brothers a section of Hasbro, Monopoly was redesigned from a game called 'The Landlords Game' first published by political activist Elizabeth Magie. She designed the game to teach people how monopolies bankrupt the many and give extraordinary wealth to the few.
• Since the game was created in 1903, more than one billion people have played it.
• In 1941 the British secret service had a special version manufactured for prisioners of war in Germany, which contained maps, compasses, real money and other useful objects used to escape.

Primary Research: Playing the game:

Although monopoly has a rather long setup time, with the dealing out of money and the obvious fight for the racing car piece, it seems a lot more enjoyable than that of the setup for Scotland Yard. However, once Monopoly begins the game becomes instantly more interesting the race to earn enough money and the luck of landing on good property to buy all and to the intense thrill of the game. This is hightened further by the use of the chance and community chest cards as well as the annoying tax spaces, all this coupled with the competitive nature of the game create an enthralling experience which will encompase a range of ages. However, there is one downside to the game in that it can sometimes remove players early on in the play through just the bad luck of the player.

Results:

When designing our own board game there are many things when can take from Monopoly. I think the main thing with this game is its interactivity, the use of fake money and and the miniature houses and hotel give the game a completly different feel to many other games, and I this would be a good thing to try and include in our game. Also, I really like how many people who play Monopoly adapt the rules making the game much more personal to them in a number of different social circles. This ability to adapt really helps Monopoly be one of the most iconic board games ever and is something we should try and include in our game.

Next Step: Further Research:

After looking at two very iconic games, I want to look back at games from the past to see if many of the concepts I have spoken about so far existed then, I also want to look at games in a more cultural way to see how they have changed over the years, and how the audience has changed.

Board Game: Scotland Yard:

Primary Research: Playing the game:
After playing through Scotland Yard, its very obvious that this is a board game of two halves. The game starts with a very confusing set of rules that instantly baffles first time players and makes vetran players stumble out of the starting blocks. However, once the game is up and running and players are familiar with the simple game play, it becomes much more enjoyable and a hugely enthralling game. The team work and cunning used to win the game lends itself to a slow build up and a final hectic dash to chase down the ellusive 'Mr.X'. Another good part of the game is the two possible outcomes of the game, with either the 'hero' detectives of 'villian' Mr.X coming out on top.

Results:
When designing our own board game we need to take care not to make the same mistake of overly complicated rules, but also take on board the the idea of creating a sense of suspense through the pace of the game. I think that overall, Scotland Yard is a really good game it just has a few problems that hold it back a little.

Next Step: More Research:
Today has really moved me forward, and started the project off well. To further my research I need look more indepth at current day games and then move on to the history of games, from there I will be able to take a more difinative path.