Author: cmust122

Question Set 1

1. What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer?
   • Some Mechanics I would use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer would be themes like dynamic movement and environmental gradients, with the main focus being color and clear symbols on the game pieces and board. This functionality would enable the user to intuitively interact with the game’s function and meaning, which correlates with the environmental factors. The elements and themes were taken by Werner Hodel’s Mississippi Queen, where “speed” is the key to energy and movement, as well as the idea of a changing environment, which alludes to the idea that “luck” has a component in the game.
2. Who are you making games for?
   • I am making games for the newcomers and myself. Games that are designed as the “whole package” where the sole purpose is to provide entertainment and an escape from their lives. It also provides social interaction, giving the audience a reason to play.
3. Who will be your play testers outside of class?
   • My playtesters outside of the class will be friends, family, my significant other, gamers, and non-gamers. 

Question Set 2

1. Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules?
   • A game I was able to play without referring to the rules had to have been Uno, just because of how well-known it is, but also, I feel like it could also be one of those Gateway Games where somebody always knows how to play, and once you learn it, you never forget it.
2. How do you define what a game is?
   • As James Ernest defines it, “A game is a way to play by a set of rules”. But not only does he say that, he goes on to explain that it’s the package as a whole, not just the rules. The whole package is the theme, mechanics, a brand, a hook, and a lifestyle. As well as mentioned previously, something that draws attention with a reason to play and escape.
     • “A game is an interactive mathematical system, made concrete, used to tell a story.”
3. What features can make your games more intuitive?
   • From the reading, what I gathered was that the biggest thing you can do to make a game more intuitive is to have the physical components and graphics that the game should be able to be played and directed simply by the pieces.  Keeping colors consistent can avoid confusion, as well as how form follows function, and how size can come into play, especially with a clear game layout.  The components should be a reminder of the rules how each piece looks and feels should explain or give narrative to the rules. 

Question Set 3

1. What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming?
   • Uno was my Gateway game, but honestly, I think now SushiGo might be my new Gateway game. I honestly want to start making people play SushiGo, obviously that, and Uno, to introduce gaming to other people.
2. What features do gateway games share?
   • Some features that the Gateway game shares are the idea of playing by luck, as well as ease of learning, interactivity, and duration.
3. What are the 10 beautiful mechanics and what should you aim for with your own?
   • Kingmaker’s Noblesse Oblige, BattleTech’s Heat, Set’s Set-Making, Magic’s Card Tapping, Battle Cattle’s Cow Tipping Rule, xXxenophile’s Popping, Bohnanza’s Hand Order Rule, Mississippi Queen’s Paddlewheels, Time’s Up!’s Communication Breakdown, and  Dominion’s Constant Shuffling
   • I should aim for forcing hard choices as well as simplicity, intuitively, engaging, purpose/theme, iteration, and replayability for my own game.
4. How does luck and strategy factor in to game play?
   • Luck factors into games like Gateway Games, which can introduce non-gamers to games as well as leveling the playing field, making everyone feel included and have a chance to win, which again leads to small victories.
   • Strategy factors into gameplay with the idea of stealing the fun and plays into elimination, which can obviously, further down the line, lead to player discouragement and fewer people playing.
     •  However, when you integrate both look and strategy, you can prevent stealing the fun because all players feel like they have a chance, which then avoids elimination, and no one person wins or holds all the power, and reduces the chance of discouragement. 

1. Was it fun?
   • I have played many times before, but I played it last night, September 3rd, with my roommates.  I have played this game before with my now boyfriend and have since bought one of the other expansion packs, so I would say this game is definitely fun.
2. What were the player interactions?
   •  As far as this round of playing the game, the player interactions start from very trivial questions about each other, sort of seeing you know what surface-level questions you can assume about the person, and eventually dig deeper into some really reflective topics, all the while learning about yourself and the other person.
3. How long did it take to learn?
   •  Honestly, playing this with a bunch of people took a little getting used to stepping into each round, but no more than 3 minutes, and that’s even being generous on how long it took us to learn how to play the game. I honestly think the goal of the game is to learn something new about another person or find a little bit more empathy for others.
4. What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
   •  The most frustrating moment of this game was trying to get through the game without pulling wild cards. I understand their point; however, I feel like when people play, that’s not the focus or any really important part of it.
5. What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
   • My favorite moment about the game was probably during the second level, where I think a lot of the emotions started to kick in. This is where I sort of got to step out of my own person and see how others viewed me as well as how I viewed them, and I think that’s a really special moment to share with people you love.
6. Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
   • I really wanted to be able to keep some sort of answering structure within the game as to who answers what questions during the game.
7. If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?
   •  If I had a magic wand to wave and I could change something from the experience of this game, I would honestly say it would be to remove the wild cards and maybe make clearer instructions on how groups of more than two should approach answering these questions.
8. Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why
   •  Obviously, this is something I would play again and would love to continue purchasing expansion packs simply because there has never been a time when I played this game and didn’t get something out of it or learn something about myself or another person.
9. Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
   • As far as this game running in the three act structure I think especially the way the game makers wanted people to interact with this game was through the three questions obviously with the first level you’re getting to know people by surface level questions then you move on to little more touching subjects within the second act and then within the third act it’s a reflection of what you learned from yourself and the people around you and how everyone answered their own questions that you begin to discover more about everyone in different ways.

1. Was it fun?
   • I actually really enjoyed playing this game more than I thought.  I thought it was going to be something more like Fluxx, but I think what really helped was the theme and the characters, which makes sense why it was a Gateway game.
2. What were the player interactions?
   •  In the game, The Players interacted by passing along their cards after selecting one from the pile that they were given, almost like take one and pass it down. Another aspect of player interaction had to do with after the card got passed down, you sort of had to make a guess as to how you could use those cards to your advantage so that another player doesn’t get that card.
3. How long did it take to learn?
   •  The game took us to learn all of 5 minutes, and we played two whole rounds of the game. Once you sort of just looked at the basic directions, it was not hard at all to put together.
4. What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
   • I would say the most frustrating moment or aspect of the game that we played was the putting card, because truly that could make or break the entirety of your game; however, I did think it was an interesting add-on.
5. What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
   •  My favorite moment of playing the game was honestly seeing how many of each I could stack on top of each other with the sashimi because once you hit three cards, it’s equivalent to 10 points, and also strategizing what is the easiest way to make the most points.
6. Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
   •  Honestly, with this game, there is nothing I would change, but maybe the pacing of the game and the playing of a total of three rounds, sort of like rock, paper, scissors, but I think it was interesting.
7. If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?
   •  If I could maybe wave a magic wand and change something with this game, I would definitely change something with the pacing of each round. I’m not exactly sure how I would change it, but honestly, I think maybe going through the whole deck would be quite fun, just dividing the entire deck amongst all the players.
8. Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why
   • This is definitely a game I would play again, and I actually considered looking up where I could buy this game because I think it’s something simple and easy to take your mind off of things, and it is very much lighthearted and for all audiences.
9. Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
   •  SushiGo in the  3 act structure, follows the beginning where each player is dealt a certain amount of cards and they must decide which of those cards is the most valuable to place then, the middle act involves deciding what strategy would it be best to take as far as what round you’re on and where each player seems to be going with their drawing patterns.  Lastly, I would say the final Act truthfully comes down to the rice pudding as well as the anticipation of what final card you will draw and have no other choice but to place down.

1. Was it fun?
   • I actually really enjoyed this game, though it was intimidating at first. I would go out and get this game myself to play.
2. What were the player interactions?
   • The player interactions were between different trades, which got heated at times. However, I think we played fairly nicely and generously simply because there was a goal in mind.
3. How long did it take to learn?
   • Overall, I believe it took us 15 minutes total, including the video instructions we watched to learn how to play the game.
4. What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played?
   • The most frustrating moment of the game was honestly figuring out how to play, but once we got in the swing of it it went by. The only other thing that was frustrating was that we had to cycle through the deck three times, which seemed like a long, drawn-out game.
5. What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played?
   • My favorite moment was cashing in my harvests for coins. Also, I would say that getting close to harvesting was a rewarding experience.
6. Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t?
   • One thing that came up a lot was getting to place down a card that I just picked up also placing down 2 cards to grow per turn.
7. If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be?
   • I would not let there be a card limit to what you can place down per turn. 
8. Is this a game you would play again? Yes _____ No ______ Why
   • I would definitely play this game again simply because when everyone gets into the flow of things, the game moves, and you can’t help but wait for your next turn or when you can trade. This is very engaging.
9. Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
   • The beginning of the game is the conflict of which bean you should place and if you should play a game that has a high card amount or a low one. The middle of the game is the conflict of deciding when to harvest your beans or to see if you can keep adding and praying that someone either takes or trades your cards. Lastly, the end of the game occurs when you have reached your third deck of discards and there are few cards left; however, you must decide whether to keep playing low-card beans if any are left and if it is worth it to the harvest. 

1. Blind, Deaf, and Mute scavenger hunts around campus.
   • Requires a disability of some sort for teams to work together to find and do all the tasks before the clock runs out.
2. Just Dance, but all the dances are previous Greek Week Airband Dances.
   • Taking Just Dance to the next level, except we are taking RMU Greek Week Airband Dances and making the user dance without music, and matching that dance to the song used.
3. Haunted Bouncy House obstacle course on Nicholson Lawn.
   • Think Temple Run, but within the Bobbymania verse and their bounce houses to connect them all. This takes place around dusk, being chased by Romo, and you have to escape his obstacle course.
4. Fortune Teller Bingo.
   • Make a Fortune Teller out of paper with a custom bingo of your own creation, and match the cards to something on the fortune teller.
5. Fortune Teller code cypher to decode messages based on what numbers come out of your fortune to diffuse a bomb or escape.
   • Create a paper Fortune Teller around clues and riddles with a cypher code the user has to solve in order to diffuse a bomb or escape a room.

The goal of this project was to combine self portrait of my life and growth throughout my Freshman year dealing with self-isolation and loneliness. I combined the self-portrait aspect with the 360 camera and documented my work in the Dome. I hope you find something within this piece whether it resonates or you have experience something similar.

Idea 1: What it means to be Alive (Self Portrait - Dome)
(Self Portrait Critique of my life and society)
Concept:
 - the journey of stepping into summer very isolated to moving through college finding my sparks through crochet, friends, and the gym, finding times where I felt most alive.
Flips back and forth from own habits on social media to actually living
 - Chest Strap? Head Strap?

Idea 2: Journey through life (Narrative - Dome)
Concept:
- One Person walks up the rotunda through various times in the day. Representative of life’s journey and the climb to success (success being the development into one’s self)
- Angles? Camera follow?

Idea 3: Creation (From creator to creation)  (Stop Motion - Narrative)
Concept:
- Crocheted stuffed animal animated
- Process of life in the development of stuffed animal through either the creator lens or creation life

Idea 4: The Dogs’ Journey (360 Dome - Narrative of time)
Concept:
- Following the adventures of 2 Corgis
- When they wake up and how they get through the day
- The camera strapped to the corgis

Idea 5: IRL (Narrative - Dome) 
Concept:
- Similar to Idea 1
- Live life through social media
- POV angle watching aesthetic life videos online
- Tries to replicate that IRL
- The hidden struggle back cuts that sort of jump in times of struggle or failure

“The Power of Darkness” is a short film create by Christine Ursiny that answers the question ‘what power does the dark hold over us?’ The honest answer I found when filming is that the dark holds our thoughts and emotions. Why do I say that? It’s the culture that surrounds the dark. When the street lamps comes on its the cue to go home, for some the dark represents peace for other it represents fear. The truthful answer is the power of being alone. Alone with our thoughts when the world quiets itself. The dark though beautiful as it may be it carries an air of self-reflection. The time of day when everyone returns from whence their day started.