All players are given a pen and piece of paper per round. On their turn, players draw a card and read it aloud to the group, as well as its category, either public or anonymous. If public, all players write their names in the corner of their paper. If anonymous, players should only write their answers. Once everyone is finished, they drop their papers into the barrel, the card drawer closes the lid, shakes it well, then removes the lid and reads all of the responses. Then, players are encouraged to discuss and have meaningful conversations regarding the topic and responses. Play continues clockwise. Play ends when players feel they know each other much better.
Review of Evelyn’s “Around the World in 80 Days” -Colin Kenny
Rules for Barrel of Truth (Version 1)- Colin Kenny
Each player is given a Sharpie or any type of pen, but all of them must be identical. Each round, the host (me) hands each player a slip of paper and asks them to respond to a question or prompt pertaining to the other players. It can be in the form of an assumption, and opinion, a secret, etc. No direction is given whether the responses SHOULD be positive or negative. Some rounds will require players to write their own names on their slips along with their answers, other round they must be completely anonymous. After every player has answered, they will put their slip in the barrel, the barrel is closed and mixed, and each answer is read aloud by the host. The players are suggested to share thoughts and feelings of the responses. Once everyone is ready, the next round begins. The game ends whenever the players either hate each other or get bored.
Play Test Notes for Barrel of Truth- Colin Kenny
Review of Sara and Amber’s Game, Cry Me A Pond- Colin Kenny
Review of Sara’s Don’t Judge a Book by it’s Cover
This was a few weeks ago at this point but it was fun and I still want to post about it.
Review of Gideon’s The Unseen Directive – Colin Kenny
- What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Trying to scan the QR codes and then being met with requesting access to a Google Drive every time, and the thinness of the paper making it difficult to pull a card out and put it on the table.
- What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The narrative and the reveal at the end were very clever. I played with Kelsey, and throughout the game we new something was up and that the colors and the action of grabbing the right color meant something, we just didn’t know what.
- Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Well maybe being able to read all of the cards but for time we couldn’t.
- If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? It would be cool to see this as a computer game or something that doesn’t require a moderator to give the list of colors.
- What should be improved with the next version? Better materials and better graphics, but I’m confident Gideon can do that.
- Describe the game in 3 words. Color Match Mystery
Review of Ames’s Civilization Simulation Game – Colin Kenny
- What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? The lack of knowledge of what we were “supposed” to be doing. The testing phase for this game still felt very loose.
- What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? I liked the dedicated 3D printing style. The pieces and board just had this interesting aesthetic that brought me into the world a little more. I also enjoyed taking out the civilians before they could reach the edge of the board and adding them to my collection.
- Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I’ll be honest, I did kind of fudge the number of moves I had to do the things I wanted to do. It was hard with 6 players taking loooooong turns to think ahead and make moves that feel like you are actually progressing.
- 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 try my best to keep the turns moving quickly somehow, or just limit the max number of players.
- What should be improved with the next version? I don’t think we were necessarily the right audience for this game, but if it was for us I would say simplification of things like goals, actions, amount of times you could roll the dice, etc.
- Describe the game in 3 words. We Live Inasociety
Persuasive Game Ideas- Colin Kenny
- 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
