- A side-scrolling 2D platforming game like Super Mario Bros. where you play as an underprivileged person in an area going through war right now such as Ukraine or Palestine where your goal is to avoid being bombed or shot.
- The Faux News Game: Similar to the McDonald’s Game, tycoon style game where you build up your station and get rewarded for spreading “news” (hate. violence, endorsement of a certain orange political candidate).
- Funny Cards: A card/video game that explores the legitimacy of tarot, fortune telling, palm reading and more. For example, you go see a fortune teller and they pull the 2 of Krakens or something and them all of a sudden water fills the fortune teller shop and you have to try and get out alive before krakens appear and eat you. Or, if you do die it was all a dream or it didn’t happen at all. Or the card did nothing at all in the first place.
- Help Our Guy: You play as a large corporation, and your goal is to help your childhood best friend become president, but the game gets more unhinged as it becomes clear his policies are just purely evil but he promises to keep your business alive, and it’s just this tug-of-war of lobbying where no one really wins in the end.
- A board game where you and your opponents work in competing sweat shops making products like crappy clothing and cheap smart phones and you have to become the most productive without overworking yourself and literally dying.
Week One Questions 1/23/25 – Colin Kenny
What are the issues Ian Bogost raises about social games with Cow Clicker?
He raises concern over social existing not to provide entertainment solely, but to keep the user engaged and coming back. The enframing of friends and the perpetual compulsion to play every second you aren’t playing leads to mental health effects.
How do social games like FarmVille enframe friends?
Social games create the “features” of friends as resources for both the player and the developer. Players have to ask their friends for help not out of enjoyment for the game but to get something out of them. Developers use this tactic to become viral, ever spreading like an actual virus.
How do social games destroy time outside of the game?
Due to their endless nature, so much time is spent in the game that all time spent outside of the game is hijacked by thoughts and ideas about the game. Media like movies and TV shows are contained within a finite experience, but since these games have no defined end, players will feel compelled to play ad nauseam.
Endless Game Ideas- Colin Kenny
Group: Gideon, Kelsey, Colin
- A computer game where you play as a drop of water on a table. You move around trying to gain mass and spread out.
- An AI powered game where you type in a scenario of your version of “the best day ever”, and it is the AI’s job to respond every time with a way to ruin it.
- A digital game where you play as an annoyed landlord who must keep fixing the stupid tenants’ problems.
- A phone game similar to Pokemon Go where you use a LiDAR Scanner to “collect” objects in the real world which can range from rocks to chairs to devices to locations and statues. Every item is worth a point value for a competitive league, or you can play on your own and just have a personal collection.
- An idle game similar to Cookie Clicker where you rub an egg with your computer mouse or on your touchscreen to hatch a bird. Alternatively, you spin a coin to gain money and upgrade it to more valuable coins such as a penny, then a nickel, then a dime, then a quarter, then a silver dollar, then a gold coin, etc.
Final Game Documentation of Type Test -Colin Kenny
Game Review of Sara and Amber’s Rotten to the Core- Colin Kenny
Was it fun?
I might not have been the best audience to play as I often get anxious and scared thinking about death stuff but I think a lot of people could have fun playing this game.
What were the player interactions?
When I played it was light-hearted discussing the situations on each card and our opinions on things like insects and fungi.
How long did it take to learn?
It took around 5 minutes to learn, very simple rules.
Would you play it again?
Maybe one more time as another tester, but I would need to consider it and make sure I’m in a good headspace first.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure.
We started off by just taking turns and moving down the board. It was really anyone’s game to win or lose. We then started drawing cards that would eventually cause us to lose spaces at the end of the game, and although Gideon and I were behind getting to the end, it looked like one of us would win. We finally all reached the end and tallied the points and sent us back to were we should be, and it turned out I won. I forgot to tell Ames afterward, so Ames if you’re reading this, I would love some more invisable and imaginary points please and thank you.
Game Maker Notes, Type Test, 11/19/24 – Colin Kenny
Game Maker Notes & I Voted Sticker
Game Rules for Type Test- Colin Kenny
Players create a group chat through text messages or any application they want. The player who spends the most time on their phone is the first prompter. The draw a prompt card from the deck and copy it exactly into the group chat. As soon as the message is sent, all other players race to type and send the exact message back to the group chat. The first to do so end gets the card as a point. If there is an issue, the first message to pop up on the promoters end wins the point. They then become the next prompter. Each player may only send one message per prompt. If they are incorrect, they are disqualified from the round. If no one is correct, the prompter draws another card and repeats the process. The first player to get 4 points wins.
Game Notes Part 2- Colin Kenny 10/15/24
Game Rules for Art Heist- Colin Kenny
How to play Art Heist
For 5 players
SET UP
Place the five decks of cards (paintings around the room, front side facing outwards. At the start of the game each player is assigned a number from 1 to 5. Each player takes a voting card (ace through five) of every value other than theirs. This becomes relevant later.
Then each player draws a roll card. If you draw a king, you are a museum-goer, and are on the innocent team. If you draw the joker, you are the thief.
HOW TO PLAY
The thief must try to inconspicuously “steal” all five paintings by flipping them so that their back side or ‘imitation’ side is facing outward. This game is best played at a party or other crowded social gathering so that players can be easily distracted. If the thief steals all the paintings or 20 minutes has expired, they win!
The museum-goers’ goal is to catch the criminal in the act and get them voted out of the museum. At any point when someone spots a stolen painting (yes, the thief can self report) or someone catches the thief in the act, the timer is paused and all players must gather. They will have two minutes to discuss who they think the thief is. After two minutes have elapsed, the players will vote using their voting cards for the player they think is the thief.
If the voted out player was a museum goer, they are not out of the game and can still vote, but they cannot speak during the discussion periods anymore.
Game Notes Part 1- Colin Kenny (10/22/24)
Game Maker’s Notes and Game Review Notes
Looking back on the notes I took last Tuesday this may be a bit harsh so I’m sorry in advance if any of this critique went a bit to far.
Review of Evan’s music game – Colin Kenny
Sorry if it’s too mean Evan
King of Tokyo & Bonanza Game Response/ Collecting Game Ideas- Colin Kenny
King of Tokyo Response
Was it fun? It was, but not my favorite.
What were the player interactions? It always felt like we were attacking each other no matter what.
How long did it take to learn? 10 minutes
Would you play it again? Yes
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Start of the game we decided whether to go for points or taking out other players. Then people started to be killed and it became a battle between just two people and then one eventually came out on top.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? It was purely competitive, but it was quick enough to make you want to try again
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I guess there was no real metaphor except for giant monsters trying to kill each other. The dice rolling mechanic for points, healing, or attacking combinations was the main focal point and a fun alternative to always just drawing cards.
Bonanza Response
Was it fun? Not really
What were the player interactions? We spent so much f*cking time trading and talking that we only got through the deck once and had to end the game.
How long did it take to learn? 10 minutes, with help from Ames
Would you play it again? Nah
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. 1. Figuring out how the game works and the best bean combinations, 2. Getting the hang of the order of operations and beginning to trade better. 3. Realizing the game is too close to call and finding out who has the most coins
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Trading was a key element and as I said we spent much more time than we probably should have trying to trade and team up.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor I got from it was “Don’t play games with the theme of f*cking dumb*ss beans.”
5 Game Ideas
You’re a Geologist! – Players take rocks from a limited selection and try to keep the other players from stealing them.
Ooh Shiny- Players must avoid being distracted by shiny objects and get out of the treasure cave alive.
Swap Meet- Players buy and sell good to and from each other to get the best collection sets for the most points.
Tooth Fairies- Players draw card sets and compete to try to collect an entire set of teeth.
Knick Knack Tower- Players play card in their hand to build their knick knack tower the highest or with the most pieces.
Takenoko Response & Game Ideas – Colin Kenny
Was it fun? It was long but it was fun strategizing.
What were the player interactions? There weren’t really any direct player interactions because everyone was only capable of controlling their own actions. Some effects caused some players strategies to fall through but that’s about it.
How long did it take to learn? It took about 20 or so minutes to learn.
Would you play it again? I think I would consider trying it again if there weren’t many options. but to me it wasn’t that compelling.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Act one I would say would be us starting to build the bamboo garden and trying to understand how to achieve the goal cards. Act 2 we started to achieve the goal cards and set up ways to get and achieve more goal cards. The game still felt close as Amber and I were each at 3 or 4 goals met. Then Act 3 I made a push to meet a couple more goals and although everyone got one more round of actions, it was kinda clear I was going to win.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Weirdly, although this was a competitive game, we ended up helping each other at times to follow the rules and make the best possible moves. The overall experience was very casual and though we had some disagreements about the rules at times, we still remained respectful and tried to enjoy the experience for what it was.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I think one of the game’s main metaphors was that forces outside of our control and other people can mess with our plans, but we just have to redirect and not get distraught by our downfalls. One mechanic I found really fun was the giant panda running around the garden to eat pieces of bamboo, and when a storm came the panda would run away scared and you could move the panda to any space on the board.
Game Theme: Art
- Art Heist: At a party, players set up paintings around the room like an art gallery. One player must switch the paintings out for “fakes” without getting caught. Play can last as long as the party goes on or until the thief switches out all the paintings.
- Pictionary Art Gallery: Played in rounds, a prompt is given to some players. They must draw or paint this prompt in the allotted time. All other players then vote on who’s “painting” is the best. First place gets 3 points, second 2, third 1. After everyone has had an equal number of turns to draw, the player with the most points wins.
- Abstractism: Players compete to build the best abstract painting by drawing and playing cards and filling their canvas proportionally with shapes and colors.
- Color Bomb: Using some kind of catapult of other small plastic apparatus, players take turn launching small balls covered in paint or filled with paint at a wall or canvas. Whichever player has the most area of the board covered by the end of the game wins.
- Drippy Crayons: Players compete to answer questions to get their crayons to drip further down a canvas. But one player HATES art and is preventing this project from being finished at all costs. They must sway the others in the wrong direction so they answer their trivia questions wrong. If the project gets finished in time, the artists win. If not, the hater, or critic, wins.