Category: Reading Questions

• In your opinion what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?

In my opinion I think every game should have an objective, multiple solutions, and some sort of suspensefulness/build up. A clear objective gives the player direction and purpose, while multiple solutions allow for creativity and different play styles. The build-up to a goal makes the experience rewarding, because it creates tension and anticipation before the big payoff. My favorite game is 500 Rummy, and I like this game because you have to play multiple rounds (the build up) and play your cards strategically to reach 500 points. I like the aspect of chance and strategy that is in Rummy, also I personally enjoy games that have a point system and Rummy is all about gaining points. 

•  List the games you’ve played and currently play.

Fluxx, 500 Rummy, Poker, Bullshit, Black Jack, Chess, Checkers, Minecraft, It Takes Two, Unraveled, Fortnite, Gang Beasts, Slime Ranchers, Monopoly, Candy Crush, My Singing Monsters, Hayday, WII sports, Mario Kart, Sims, Wavelength, Uno, Sorry

• Can you apply the three act structure to your favorite game? What is its pacing and how long do you find yourself in each act?

For my favorite game, 500 Rummy, I would argue that it does apply to the 3 act structure to some degree. First is the set up, you set up all the players with their cards and they begin the drawing of cards, creating sets, and discarding. The beginning introduces the situation where the stakes are low, and the game starts taking direction. Next for confrontation (mid game) the game becomes more intense with more sets forming, the discard pile growing, and players hands getting smaller. At this point of the game there are risks and strategic moves that players make. Lastly, the resolution of the game is whoever goes out or the deck runs out. This is when the scoring comes into play and resolves the conflict. Even though Rummy does not have a narrative or true story, it does have a natural rising of tension and resolution like these steps include. 

• When coming up with ideas where do you find you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic? 

When I come up with ideas, I feel like I could start with either a metaphor or a mechanic, but I usually begin with the story and concept before thinking about the mechanics. I think this way because it is easy for me to come up with ideas/stories and bring them to life after thinking of how I want the storyline to go, characters to look, and overall vibe of whatever I am creating. 

• Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?

I would like to collaborate with anyone, I don’t have my eye set on anyone in particular because I feel that everyone in this course has great insights and skills that would be interesting to work alongside.

1. Every game should have a clear point that is engaging and fun. There should be enough rules that are easy to follow so it is enjoyable and doesn’t hurt your brain. I like my favorite game because it is simple to understand yet has several parts and strategy involved in it that keep it interesting.
2. Board Games: Sorry, Monopoly, Shoots and Ladders, Candy Land, Safari, Herd Mentality, iKnow, Poetry for Neanderthals, Hues, Clue, Telestrations, Yatzee, Chess, Checkers, Chinese Checkers, Parchisi, Balderdash (etc)

Card games: Spit, Dirty Bridge, Uno, Solitaire (double, triple, etc), Black Jack, Poker, Phase 10, Crazy 8s, Tacocatgoatcheesepizza, Michigan Rummy, Sabot

PS2/PS5/Xbox/Wii/Switch/Mobile Games, etc: Minecraft, Fortnight, Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2, NASCAR racing, ATV adventures, Gang Beasts, Breath of the Wild, Skyward Sword, Tank Warriors, Blazing Angels, Mech Arena, Candy Crush, Merge Dragons, Fruit Ninja, Temple Run, Farming Simulator, Wii Sports, Wii Resort, Wipeout, Wordscapes (etc)

Misc: Jackbox Games (T.K.O, Quiplash 1+2, Drawful, Murder Trivia), Kahoot, Gartic Phone, Charades, FishBowl, Pictionary, the laughing game, Sharks and Minnows

3. Dirty Bridge Card Game: Each ‘act’ lasts a few minutes each and there are two different phases of the game each lasting also a few minutes each. It’s pretty fast paced and engaging

4. I start usually with the metaphor and concept or theme of the game and then figure out how it actually works

5. I’m not sure what this means by who you want to collaborate with but I am open to working with anyone really.

1. Using Kobold’s guide as inspiration, every game should have an identity. James Ernest’s segment on the distinction between rules, mechanics, and the key to “good” games explains that games are not the sum of their parts. Each game has an identity that justifies its mechanics. If a game’s mechanics are not in tune with the game’s identity, then players may not find it interesting. To support this, James claims that mechanics are identifiable, yet are not entirely transferable. All games have mechanics, but great mechanics work in tandem with the game’s identity. You cannot create a great game from analyzing the exact mechanics of another. I like my favorite games because every aspect of the game is made with identity in mind, mechanics are thoughtfully implemented to create a specific experience.
   
2. Here is a small list of games from my steam library
   Furi – Onnamusha
   Ready Or Not
   Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game
   Dungeons of Hinterberg
   PC Building Simulator
   Balatro
   Resident Evil 4
   Valheim
   Noita
   ULTRAKILL
   GRIS
   RESIDENT EVIL 3
   RESIDENT EVIL 2 / BIOHAZARD RE:2 Standard Edition
   Resident Evil 0 / biohazard 0 HD Remaster (ROW Launch)
   OneShot
   Furi
   Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition
   Resident Evil / biohazard HD REMASTER
   Resident Evil 6 Complete
   Kerbal Space Program
   Star Birds Demo
   3DMark Demo
   9 Kings Demo
   The Last Stand: Aftermath
   Nitro Express
   Risk of Rain 2
   R.E.P.O.
   Haste
   Demon Tides Demo
   Solarpunk Demo
   Am I Nima Demo
   Warfare Legacy Collection Demo
   Machine Mind Demo Demo
   Icaria Demo
   Mech Havoc Demo
   Heroes of Hammerwatch II Demo
   Sky: Children of the Light
   Awaria
   Stacklands
   Inscryption
   Slay the Spire
   Hades
   Rebel Inc: Escalation
   Darkest Dungeon
   Risk of Rain
   Factorio: Space Age
   Mullet Mad Jack Demo
   Retrowave
   Realm of the Mad God
   Frostrain
   Lethal Company
   Hearts of Iron IV
   Bitburner
   SIGNALIS
   Farlanders
   Against the Storm
   Unsighted
   Into the Breach
   Frostpunk
   OpenTTD
   Quasimorph: End of Dream
   Steam Engine Simulator
   Sonic Generations Collection
   Factorio
   Stoneshard: Prologue
   Hyper Light Drifter
   Enter the Gungeon
   The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
   The Complex: Found Footage
   Tomb Raider
   Space Engineers
   Destiny 2
   Destiny 2: Legendary Edition
   STAR WARS™: The Old Republic™
   Apex Legends
   Splitgate
   Arid
   Muck
   Dead by Daylight
   Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege – Deluxe Edition
   Oxygen Not Included – Spaced Out!
   tModLoader
   Craftopia
   Among Us
   Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Free Edition
   Uno
   The Forest
   The Colonists
   Absolver
   Scrap Mechanic
   Fallout Shelter
   Rust
   The Long Dark
   Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (NA)
   Sheltered
   Warframe
   ASTRONEER
   Oxygen Not Included
   Don’t Starve Together
   Plague Inc: Evolved
   Garry’s Mod
   Geometry Dash
   Terraria
   Unturned
   
3. While my favorite games often blur the distinction between “acts” or definite moments in the player’s story or progression, my favorite games do one of two things. They either leave the story solely in the players’ hands, or they craft enough of a structure to entice the player to play the game and experience the story. A game like Minecraft has no definite strory, it encourages players to make their own. Progression in the form of better tools, weapons and armor encourages the player to seek better materials all while they shape the world as they see fit, creating a story of surviving and thriving. A more story-driven game like Pokemon entices the players with interesting premises and innovative gamplay to encourage the player to stick around.
   
4. Both approaches are effective ways to create a game, as long as they service each other. I personally like to create ideas starting from it’s purpose. The metaphor can help guide the subsequent mechanics, story, and theme. With this approach you can ask whether an implementation sucessfully highlights the metahpor you are trying to show. But, the opposite approach is valid. Large games evolve from simple mechanics all of the time.
   
5. I think it’d be interesting to collaborate with other classes or campus organization to create official art or garner support for the games we make.

1. Every successful game must keep players engaged throughout. If a game struggles to hold the player’s attention, it fails its primary purpose. Engagement means more than just hooking someone for a single play—it ensures they want to return repeatedly. For example, on page 5, part 1 in “The Kobold Guide to Game Design,” the difference between engaging and merely hooking is discussed. My favorite game, BLINK, exemplifies lasting engagement. It’s quick, replayable, and exciting, requiring few materials. I enjoyed playing BLINK at my golf course job while waiting for carts—its fast pace fit naturally into idle moments, and its replay value made it memorable.

When coming up with ideas, where do you find you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic? – I find myself on the mechanical side when coming up with ideas. I normally get inspired by something random I see and try to twist it into my own game or be the main attraction of the game. Once this idea or object is stuck in my head, I have to think about how to make a game around it. After I have figured out what I want from the idea, that’s when the skeleton of the game comes into play. 

The Kobold Guide to Game Design describes the three-act structure as beginning, middle, and end. The beginning of BLINK involves splitting the deck and explaining the rules: get rid of cards by matching colors and shapes. Conflict slowly rises as players become more competitive. The middle focuses on the struggle for victory when you try to keep up as the play speeds up. At the end, there’s a final push to victory as you race to place your last card, with the loser realizing the outcome. Pacing is quick once you understand the rules. The start is slower to find your rhythm, the middle becomes fast-paced, and the end requires precise actions as the game tightens. 

List the games you’ve played and currently play. – I have played Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Blink, UNO, War, Spoons, BS, Fluxx, The voting game, Life, Connect 4, Sorry, Rider, FIFA, Madden, Boggle, Hop Scotch, Tag, Shark and Minnows, Pig/Horse Basketball, Cross Bar Soccer, Tic Tac Toe, Cornhole, CanJam, BattleShip, Roblox, Among Us, Slither.io, Paper.io, Over the River soccer, Flying Changes Soccer, Go Fish, Kings in the Corner, Blitz, Would You Rather, Put a Finger Down, Minecraft, Blank Slates, and telestration.

Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why? – I would like to collaborate with Meredith because I think we would be able to come up with unique game ideas since we have different ways we go about finding an idea. But, when combined I think we could have an amazing game ideas and work well with each other.

1. In your opinion, what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?
   • Every game should have an aspect of surprise. Something the users don’t expect right away, with some build-up to it. My favorite game is Cards Against Humanity, which allows the user to shock other players with vulgar or weird answers. The element of surprise in the player’s control gives a game its wow and alluring factor.
2. List the games you’ve played and currently play.
   • Cards against Humanity
   • Fluxx
   • Apples to Apples
   • Minecraft
   • Exploding Kittens
   • Monopoly
   • Life
   • Fortnite
   • Roblox
   • Chess
   • Scrabble
   • Clue
   • Uno
   • Black Jack
   • Crapps
   • War 
   • Yattzee
   • Shoots and Ladders
   • Candy Land
   • Mario Cart
   • Super Mario
   • Chess
   • Rummi
   • Rock Paper Scissors
   • Tetris
   • Candyland
   • Temple Run
   • Just Dance
   • Go Fish
3. Can you apply the three-act structure to your favorite game? What is it’s pacing and how long do you find yourself in each act?
   • I would like to first say that, reading this part in the textbook, I couldn’t help but think of the game Clue. Now I am willing to give this game another shot with the right convincing, but I absolutely can’t stand that game. However, I seem to gravitate towards that game when doing the reading. I found the 3-act structure first in the establishing of the game and how everyone gets their own character, and you start asking the basic questions of who might have what object where when trying to establish the murder. Then, the second act in the middle is the struggle to remember who said what and trying not to repeat objects in rooms with the same person. Studying other players’ faces is another part of the struggle to tell if they’re lying or not. The final act, when all other possibilities are narrowed down and there are only so many turns left before someone is bound to guess it. The suspense comes from the right room and object, but they are struggling to figure out the person. Every person is frantic to get a turn in. Overall, the middle/second tends to be the longest, especially when playing with newbies to the game. I find myself in these acts for around 10 to 15 minutes, sometimes even 20, mainly because the first act doesn’t take all that long. 
4. When coming up with ideas, where do you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic?
   • When coming up with ideas, I think it can start either way. You can either have a story you want to tell, then come up with the mechanics, or vice versa. However, I will say coming up with the mechanics of a game vaguely might be the right start. Then, if you’re not sure how to proceed, move to the metaphor, and now that you have 2 vague aspects of the game, you can slowly fill in the rest. The metaphor and mechanic work together simultaneously, so if one doesn’t fit, the other needs to be tweaked.
5. Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?
   • Over the course of this semester, I would like to collaborate with anyone in the class, really. I do think it would be interesting to work with other classmates with whom we have the least in common to create a game, and one with classmates I have the most in common with and who know each other really well. I would like to see this simply because of what other people bring to the table, as well as how we can make ideas flow within different situations, which would be parallel to what we’d work on in our own professional jobs.