Play Test for Game 3
Color Game: Final Documentation
The color game was based on the simplicity of the game War and was used to teach players about color theory. When the game was played overall, there was some confusion about the color combinations, which was good since it allowed for a lesson to be taught about the game, which was the purpose. If I were to move forward with this game, I would focus on adding more color combinations worth more points and making the quality of the cards better.
Star Sailor: Final Documentation
Star Salior v3
The 3rd and Final version!
Some changes that were made: I removed the rockets as dice, as cool as the novelty was, in real life, they didn’t work out very well. They were loud and clunky, and after the playtest, they seemed to have more chances rolling a 5 and a 3, so they were unfair. The board now has color and a clearer path to follow, and the cards were removed to make it much simpler. The player cards are updated to have information about the landing mechanisms, instead of filler text.
Factorio: Game Review
I chose to play Factorio as part of the Games for Change review and podcast. It was a fun experience, and yes, it does make it clear how it feels about the environment. The basic mechanics of the game are to collect resources to expand your factory to complete all types of technology and all planets. However, in the process of doing this, the trees will die, the water will get polluted, and the local ecosystems of bugs will inflict damage across your base. During my playthrough, we didn’t get too far; we only made it about 5 hours in. However, I was playing with experienced people, so they helped me get some of the information. The game does a good job at making it clear what you are doing, and you start to feel bad as you see the slow progression of what happens to the world due to overmining and pollution.
The major mechanics are: mine and collect resources, grow your factory, and watch the pollution rise. There is actually a pollution meter in-game, as you can see how much damage you are causing, and what material is causing it. Overall, the game was fun to play. I am unsure if I would play it again.
Played a New Game
Name: 7 Wonders
Was it fun? It was very fun, I liked this game a lot
What were the player interactions? Player interactions consisted of dealing with the people next to you but still being aware of what the other players were doing – cards are passed around in a circle
How long did it take to learn? Maybe one game which is like 20-30 minutes, you start to understand the strategy and mechanics after playing a round and then more once you play a whole game
What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? There are a lot of little pieces and a few rules to remember so that is frustrating at first
What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The strategy is really fun, there are several different ways to get the most points and I think that is very cool
Was there anything you wanted to do that you couldn’t? Maybe like block the ability for your neighbors to buy stuff from you
If you had a magic wand to wave, and you could change, add, or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Make the rule book easier to understand lol
Is this a game you would play again? Yes, it’s complicated yet really quick to learn and play and comes with many different ways to win and get more points
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Well there are three distinct “eras” in the game so that’s probably what the 3 Acts would be, 1st era which is setup and gaining resources, then 2nd which is building more structure and then the 3rd which is gaining extra advantages to gain more points before the end
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? It is mostly competitive, trying to take cards that would benefit other players later and gain the most points, but a little collaborative with who you decide to trade with so you don’t lose too many coins
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor is trading and building ancient civilizations – the mechanic of passing the cards and taking one each turn is really simple yet effective and adds more strategy then simply picking from a card stack or other methods of gaining cards
Describe the game in 3 sentences or in the form of a haiku.
Seven game boards
To win with coins and cards
Defend your borders
In regard to meaningful games, I wouldn’t say it’s necessarily activist or trying to make you think about serious topics, but it does make you think and develop strategies so it could be a little bit of an educational game, learning about the seven wonders and trade and so on.
Final Presentation
Pets Aren’t Toys Case Study
All Game Final Setup
Simulation Ideas – Week 6
- A Poker Simulator – instead of just digital game or in person, people can play together in a simulation/virtual world of the actual game with players like “logging in” to play
2. Magic Learner – a game of learning magic tricks and gaining points by mastering certain skills – playing it as a simulation allows the player to see the steps in the process of conquering magic tricks in “reality” by lines of direction in what to move and do – I would rank tricks by difficulty and unlock harder packs once you conquer the beginning stages
3. History simulation – your playing through important historical events and they stick with you better by actually experiencing them and being a character in them so that you are faced with the decisions the actual people would have had to make but it’s in game mode and as a simulation
4. A life loop simulation – a game in reality but it simulates the work cycle of working to buy to work to buy, but that doesn’t necessarily become obvious til closer to the end – mechanics would work like everyone gets a job and then needs and the players take action based on what those different roles and needs are
5. I’ve never seen a simulation as an insect – i think it’d be cool in a virtual environment to play as a bug and your trying to survive against humans which are you enemies and the monsters in the simulated environment – you gain points by staying alive the most amount of days.
Week 14 Play Test Notes
Carbon Clash Cards iteration 3
Game Review Attentat 1942
This is a game that I actually played in one of my history classes where the game utilizes videos in a cinematic style to live through stories of WW2. It places the player in a nazi occupation where the player has to interact with his/her surroundings. You interact with witnesses and essentially get to live their memories and go through their families stories. I believe companies should continue to work with games like this because it creates a more interactive leaerning experience for the students.
Nintendo Labo review
For starters I think this is a cool thing that Nintendo did because not many other companys create things like this. My brother has this because he has always wanted to be an engineer ever since he was little. I wish there could be a more expensive option though so you can use material other than just cardboard. When we last used it, I believe we made a fishing rod and a piano. I think this is an untouched market for these game companies and I believe ive they should continue to make more things like this.
Game review factorio
I played this a few days ago at my friends apartment and to say the least its an interesting game. The goal of the game is to upgrade your factory to get it to generate material faster but at the cost of damaging the environment around you. It creates this story because for you to get better at the game, it changes and damages the area around you which creates these creatures that tries to damage your factory. Cool concept of the game, just not sure if its a game for me.