Category: Serious Game Ideas

Here is some brainstorming and research I did for the National Park game that I didn’t even end up making. I still might want to do this someday though, just not right now..

Short Summary

As rival funeral directors, compete to have the highest total score by appeasing deceased and loved ones’ wishes, while also trying to reduce negative environmental impact. 

This game is heavily based on the idea of green final disposition (a concept explained at the beginning of rule book). This game is both meant to get people to emphasize with people and think about how loved ones may have different wishes than the actually deceased and to also educate people about some of the harmful effects of “mainstream” final dispositional methods while also teaching about some more green alternatives!

Primary Audience: 13+ at minimum because it has some darker themes, particularly people interested in funeral services like people studying to become morticians, alternative people, etc. 

Design Process & Thought Process 

Iterative Design: 

For the initial design, I made different tile designs based on the different disposition methods. This was made using Adobe Stock Imagery, to get a baseline down for a prototype. In future iterations, I will draw this imagery by hand, but still keep a more simplistic, cartoony art style. 

The token designs are simple icons that represent the different things like energy, emotion, CO2, etc. I drew these vector icons myself in Adobe Illustrator (not that impressive, but you know). 

The card design was also entirely drawn by me, with the people being in a very cartoony, simplistic style, that is honestly purposefully bad-looking. I tried to switch up the people’s hair and skin colors to vary it a little bit, but in future designs, I want to give them more variety and character. I may also consider giving some of them religious garments that players will want to factor into their decisions they make. For the Deceased cards specifically, I just took the Loved Ones cards and put a blue tint over it so they looked more “ghostly”. In future versions, I’ll also want to give these more variety and might make them a little more “ghost-like”, without getting too far away from being human. 

Game Mechanics: 

You draw both a “Deceased” and a “Loved One” card each turn. You must look at what their wishes are and try to make a judgement about what disposition method they would be the happiest with. This can be a difficult decision, because the deceased and the loved ones can have conflicting opinions. 

To select a disposition method, you trade in the required number of resources to place the deceased on that tile and lay them down. You can only do this if the tile hasn’t reached it’s max capacity, so you may also need to use your resources to purchase a tile if none are available. Different methods cost different resources and different amounts of them, so that is another thing that factors into the decision to use a method. You then reveal what methods the loved ones and the deceased were okay with and award yourself emotion tokens based on this. 

With there being max capacities to tiles, it makes the game exciting for multiple players since you can use up the tiles and force someone else to purchase a tile on their turn. 

Player Goals: 

To try to appease both the “Deceased” and “Loved Ones”, while trying to still run an environmentally-friendly funeral services business. Ultimately, you want to have the most trees, energy, and emotion tokens, but have as little as possible of the CO2 tokens. Based on this, the player with the highest score wins. 

Gameplay Sequence: 

On Your Turn

1. Draw one “Deceased” and one “Loved Ones” card

These are the “clients” for your turn. You must consider both of their personalities and wishes when making a decision for how to lay the Deceased to rest. DO NOT look at the back of either of the cards. 

2. (Optionally) Purchase and Place a Tile

Using your resources, you may purchase and place a tile during your turn. SEE TILES SECTION FOR MORE DETAILS. 

• Cemetery tile
• Crematorium tile
• Green burial tile
• Human composting facility tile

3. Decide on which Method of Final Disposition to Use

Once you have decided, place the card of the Deceased on the tile according to the method you wish to use. SEE TILES SECTION FOR MORE DETAILS. 

• IF you cannot lay your client to rest during your turn, you will lose 2 emotion tokens

4. Collect and Discard Corresponding Resources

1. Flip both the Deceased and Loved One card over to see the effects of your decision. If you selected a final disposition method that is in red, lose one emotion token. If you selected a final disposition method that is in green, collect one emotion token. 
2. According to the method of final disposition, collect and discard the resources that correspond to that method. (See the Tiles section for more information)

The gameplay ends based on the number of players. For 2 players, play until everyone places 7 Deceased Individuals. For 3-4 players, play until everyone places 5 Deceased Individuals. 

Game Board & Components: 

As of right now, there isn’t one centralized game board, but instead, you start the game with one cemetery and one crematorium tile and the game “board” is built throughout the game, as players purchase more tiles using their resources. In the future, I think a board that tiles fit nicely into would be a nice addition. This could also have the first cemetery and crematorium tile built into it for easy set-up. A centralized game board will also help guide players through the game more easily, with there maybe helpful reminders on the side about the resource cost of tiles. 

I also have a few stipulations to building the game board, like with the cemetery tiles, you have to always place them against each other. I think it would be interesting to add more rules like this to the game board building process. 

Rulebook and Playtesting 

Rulebook Sample:

Playtesting Notes: 

Overall, from playtesting I learned of certain things I can do to help players be guided through the game more easily. In the future, I should have reference cards or something on a centralized game board that quickly overviews the effects of using the different disposition methods. I should also include somewhere, like on the tiles themselves for instance, how much they cost so that players don’t have to constantly refer to the rules. 

I also need to revisit the cost and benefits of the more “green” alternatives, because I don’t think anyone ended up using the human composting facilities. See below for more notes.  

• What questions did your players have? There weren’t a lot of questions, but they would ask each other about the requirements and what would happen with each tile. 
• How quickly did they learn to play? They learned to play pretty quickly. The only thing that was a little difficult to get used to were the specific requirements and actions that happened with each tile, so a key would probably be helpful. 
• What kinds of interactions did the players have? Players would influence the next player’s turns by taking up the different tiles. Players could max out the tiles, making the next person have to purchase a brand new tile. Players also would discuss about the people and their wants and needs
• What confused players? I feel like the players didn’t really have that much confusion. 
• What made players excited? I think players were excited when they satisfied both the deceased and the loved ones. 
• What did your players enjoy doing? I think they enjoyed looking at the different character cards and how their needs and wants differed. 
• Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? I think having to refer to the rules constantly frustrated players, also not being able to obtain more energy very easily so it made them not want to do cremation or human composting. 

Other playtest notes

• clarify the way tiles are placed 
• i think the human composting needs more benefits 
• a way to yet more tokens
• get more energy 
• maybe something to mark that the tiles aren’t open when they are maxed out 
• a key 
• Maybe add how they died, with effects from that
  • extra card and it could effect if they get buried or cremated 
• maybe green burial plots need to be separation 
• maybe the green ones can’t be near a crematorium 
• pretty easy to learn but there were a few things that they had to keep referring to

Game Reflections: 

To reflect on this game, I honestly feel like I have a pretty solid start to make this a decent game. Playtesting was great to see that players actually enjoyed making the decisions about how the bodies should be “put to rest”, and I like how it also became something that was almost storytelling (like how are the deceased connected to the loved ones?). 

Still, there are definitely some things I would do differently next time and with future versions. First, I want to fix all of the comments that I made based on my playtest notes. Specifically, I want to work out the resource values of the cards, and really refine the balance of that. I also need to find a way for players to get more energy tokens in the game. 

I also think it would be interesting to add some more information about the different disposition methods, just for the sake of the player’s education. A few of my players didn’t know about the other alternatives such as human composting, and I think that would really add to the purpose of my game. In addition to that, I would also potentially like to add more disposition options, and maybe even some of the more ridiculous ones like being sent to space or turned into a diamond. 

The game tile pieces would also need some refining, in both the design and in the feel. I like the idea of using magnetic tiles so that they don’t shift around, or maybe 3d printed or nicely cut woodblock tiles. I toyed around with the idea of velcro, but on second thought, I’m really not sure about that. 

I really hope I get to revisit this game someday! 

Players are moving on a board where they have to answer questions at certain points of the board, changing course with each action affecting what their actions could do to the world.

4 players

3 sided die

cards

Boost cards

Players will start their pieces on the planet in the button of the board. 

The player that is the oldest will roll the die first and the play moves counterclockwise.

Players move as many spaces as the dice shows.

When a player lands on an impact space marked by the butterfly they must pick up a butterfly card and answer the question yes or no and explain why, it doesn’t need to be every reason, just a few so the group can agree with them or disagree with the player. When a consensus is reached follow the arrow for either yes or no from the card.

If you land on the impact spot in the middle of your move then answer and continue your move.

If a player lands on a charity space(circle spaces with a different outline color) at the end of their move, they can pick up a boost card that counts at the end of the game so keep it until everyone has finished.

The point of this game is not to make it first, it is to see your impact. When every player has reached the finish line, look at how you fared in changing the world. A charity card lets you move over one finish to the left. Whoever is closest to the “ideal world”(farthest left finish) wins the game.

Short Summary

We Didn’t Start the Fire is a song from 1989 by Billy Joel. It contains references to popular culture and newsworthy, significant events from around the world and the United States (over 100 references mentioned). In 2023, Fall Out Boy released an updated version of We Didn’t Start the Fire, with events from 1989-2023 (over 80 references mentioned). 

In the game version, players answer trivia questions about history and pop culture from the time period of either song. When players answer questions correctly, they are able to move their token closer to the fiery finish line. 

The purpose of this game is to make a fun reference to the songs, and also provide context and background information to some of the lyrics. It is important to be educated about both world history and culture. 

Primary Audience: Billy Joel & Fall Out Boy fans, history/pop culture enthusiasts 

Other than the primary audience, I feel like this game could be enjoyed by a large number of people. Trivia games have pretty mass appeal to people, so someone that enjoys a trivia game would enjoy this game. 

Design Process & Thought Process 

Iterative Design: For the design of this game, I kept a red, black, and white color palette. I wanted to have experimental typographic lyrics on each of the cards so that players can refer to the lyrics that the trivia question pertains to. I varied the typography by using varying weights, as well as oblique and italic type. The backs of the cards have photoshopped pictures of either Billy Joel or Fall Out Boy, in a context that I felt pertains to the game (either from the music video or pictured with fire). The fronts of the cards have a red gradient behind the lyric typography, with a black box that contains the trivia question. 

For the future, I would like to continue working on the design of this game. I need to redraw the images of Fall Out Boy and Billy Joel so that it will work better for copyright purposes. This will also help me get a more unifying style for my game. I likely want to keep the same color palette, but I could also explore using blue flames as well. The typography also needs some refining, and I want to fit all of the lyrics into one unified block, keeping all of the varying weights. I would also consider having different card backs (maybe with just different pictures of the artists), just to make it a little more visually exciting. 

Game Mechanics: Players pick up cards, answer trivia questions, and discard cards when they are done. The players advance their player token when they answer a question correctly.

Player Goals: In the first iteration, the players goals were to be the first player to reach the end of the board. This is accomplished by answering 5 trivia questions correctly. I would like to make this number a little bit higher in the future, or potentially have it adapt depending on the number of players. I would also consider making a game board with spaces that make you pick up the trivia cards versus picking up a trivia card on every single turn. 

Gameplay Sequence: The sequence of gameplay is as follows: decide who goes first, another player picks up the card for the player whose turn it is and asks them a trivia question, if the player answers correctly they advance forward on the game board, it cycles to the next player’s turn. The first player to get to the end of the game board wins and the game ends. 

Game Board & Components: In the current game board, players start at the top and move linearly down to the bottom of the board, moving one step with each card they answer correctly. In future iterations, I would like to add more tiers to this game board and consider a nonlinear path that players could potentially follow.

Rulebook and Playtesting 

Rulebook Sample:

Playtesting Notes: Overall, from playtesting, I learned that this game is a feasible idea. Players enjoyed the trivia questions and learning more about history and culture. No major frustrations presented themselves throughout the game, but I feel as though I could still make the game more interesting and exciting for future players. 

• What questions did your players have? The game was pretty straightforward so there weren’t a lot of questions. I think the questions were mostly about the song itself and some of the pop culture and history questions. 
• How quickly did they learn to play? The players learned extremely quickly since it was a simple trivia game. 
• What kinds of interactions did the players have?  Players discussed the different historical and pop culture events and asked each other and answered questions. 
• What confused players? The only thing that was confusing was having to keep track of your own points and keep the card that someone else asked you about. 
• What made players excited?  Players were excited to answer questions, get questions correct,etc. 
• What did your players enjoy doing? They enjoyed answering the questions. They enjoyed the challenge of it and some of the questions provided a good discussion. 
• Did any aspect of the game frustrate players? Players didn’t have any frustrations. 

Game Reflections: Developing this game allowed me to learn more about history and culture myself, as I was developing the game I didn’t know a lot about the topics that were mentioned in the songs. Next time, I would probably develop this concept a little more to make it go beyond a trivia game, like including some unexpected elements or not having each player’s turn be exactly the same. I also didn’t anticipate that players would want to continue answering questions beyond the 5 card winning point, and I thought they would have gotten sick of the same format, but surprisingly, they really didn’t and wanted to continue answering the questions. 

To develop this game, Sara and I really just wanted to make a game that kind of mimicked how we felt about life at the moment (probably more so myself, though). Somedays you really just need to talk it out when you’re having a bad day, but there are also good days along the way (hence the happy cards). However, on top of all of these overwhelming emotions doing schoolwork can also become a lot, which is where the frustration of the game design questions comes. This game is definitely not made out of hate of game design, but more of the disappoint that we can’t put effort into the class because we are already so drained from other stuff.

A big part of the process for this game was the brainstorming we did on the whiteboard (what we wrote is a secret though). We originally thought of having Ames having laser eyes or flames that dry up your pond and then you have to “cry” (or really just talk about your emotions) in order to fill it back up and hop along the lily pad spaces. We elected for something that fit with the pond theme a little bit better, but having spaces disappear and reappear may be something we revisit for future prototypes.

For the design, I did the basic card templates and the pond design. Sara did the fabulous drawing of Ames as the Vengeful Water Spirit.

Gone Fishin’ Rules

Setup: 

Each player selects their choice of rod and players collectively agree which location they want to fish at (Each Location has different types of fish to catch). Shuffle the deck of fish cards and place 5 at each “honey hole” on the map.

Game Play:

To start the game, roll a 6 sided die in order to determine the order of play. Each player will roll their dice and if they roll the correct numbers corresponding to their rod, they get a chance to pick a fish from the “honey hole” they choose. You must pick which honey hole you want to fish from before rolling your dice. Some cards have no fish on them and you may catch a “junk” item which does nothing. 

If you catch a fish you get to put it in your cooler. You may only have three fish in your cooler at a time. If you want to continue fishing once you have 3 fish in your cooler, you must release a fish back into the wild (discard pile). This must be done strategically since you may release a fish and catch a worse one. 

Winning The Game:

The way you win the game is by catching the biggest fish for that type of species.

EXAMPLE: You have the largest crappie and bass of all the players, so you get 2 points.

The player with the most amount of biggest fish wins, so it is important to try and catch multiple big fish and not just a singular one.

stay tuned for more… surprise collab with Sara

• Victim Olympics – This could be an interesting board game that plays off of the idea of the term “victim olympics” where one group of people or demographic tries to put their struggles and challenges over those of someone else, trying to be more so the victim. The game could also incorporate olympic type events and sports to make the experience more fun. For instance, maybe there is a sprint that involves trying to outdo the other team. I think it is also important to acknowledge that this term can sometimes be thrown around in a context where they are saying it because they believe that people just want to feel like a “victim” or that they “want attention”, but in reality, their struggles should not be downplayed. Ultimately, this game would try to make the point that everyone’s struggles are valid and unique, and there is no need for competitive comparison. 
• Pink Tax Game – Play as corporations that are trying to make the most money off of their female customers. You need to upcharge for feminine projects, or simply if the product is “girly” or pink. This game could also be competitive where it is the females against the corporations. 
• Swift Logistics – Taylor Swift game about her flying from city to city (think logistics of her lifestyle and concerts and environmental impact) but try to not necessarily bring down her successes as a female artist but acknowledging that there are some downsides. This game could be about managing going from place to place and concert to concert and show the extensive resources that go into concerts and energy consumption. Thus, this would be a resource management-based game. 
• The Parasite Class – based on the post on x that elon musk shared that anyone receiving financial assistance from the government is leeching off the resources, except the game would really highlight how that the opposite is true of most members of the lower class and it would showcase individuals experiences stories and situations to humanize it. Players would have to grant funding to individuals who need it. 
• Project 2025 or a bunch of lies – This game is essentially a trivia game that helps familiarize people with the contents of Project 2025 since it is very relevant to American citizens. Since the original document is hundreds of pages long, this would help increase understanding. 
• We Didn’t Start The Fire – a trivia game based on the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” by Billy Joel. This sound contains newsworthy events and pop culture references from the 40s to 1989. This would also include the updated Fall Out Boy version that covers events up to 2023. The back of the cards could have pics of the different artists on the back so people can identify what song it’s from and roughly what time frame they are working with. I think this is important for people to be educated about both pop culture and historical events, because I personally don’t recognize a lot of the references in the song, but I know that they are in reference to history that is pretty important. 
• blue collar monopoly – working on dangerous job sites, looking dirty, etc. (idk my boyfriend suggested this idea and I can’t remember what else we talked about this idea)
• Realistic Game of Life- Some of the editions to make it more realistic: insane medical bills, your dog died as a card, layoffs but you don’t get a new job immediately, unemployment denied, job applications. Essentially just make the game less fun and cheeky and a little more serious and grim. 
• Candyland, but it’s a critique on diabetes and the consumption of junk food. Cards would provide statistics about diabetes, obesity, and other negative health implications. The game would still be very visually appealing with lots of sweets, but the gameplay would help you realize some of the negative consequences. 
• Operation but it is about plastic surgery and botched operations. You would have to give people lip filler, perform liposuction, BBLs, rhinoplasties, etc. If you touch the side like in normal Operation, you have botched the person’s appearance forever. 

Simulation games

• No before you go driving simulator – This would be a driving simulator for people who have driving anxiety and it could help them practice routes that they may need to drive so that they are already familiar with the roads and the surroundings and any interesting traffic situations. The game would not include any crashes or really any consequences because I want the driving experience to be presented in a way where it is not this scary terrifying thing where you feel like you’re going to die. I think there also could be a mode where you can practice certain situations and other things. For instance, one situation could be what do you do when you get pulled over by a cop or what do you do if there is an ambulance coming or your windows fog up. For a little more context, I have experienced driving anxiety and I often study and try to memorize my routes before I even take them on Google Maps and Streetview. This would help people like myself and even first time drivers. To gear the game even more towards anxiety, I think the game could include tips to help reduce anxiety while driving, especially because judgment can become impaired at a certain point. 
• City Girl Simulator – This game would simulate what it’s like to be in a city alone as a woman, including the catcalling and dangerous situations that a lot of women unfortunately experience. This would be mostly for men to emphasize with women. 
• Get a Job – A simulation about the process of trying to get hired as a minority (especially relevant now)
• Overstimulation Simulator. simulating what its like to be overstimulated in different situations to show people what its like who don’t really experience that feeling as much as other people. 
• Food allergen simulator. people would try to live like they have specific food allergies and dietary restrictions to see what other people go through, especially those who have celiac disease and may need to worry about food cross contamination. This could be something that is playtested irl. 

Other game ideas 

• Garden Sabotage from last semester but it’s with a native plants and flowers and invasive bugs to teach people about the importance of biodiversity and maintaining a good native plant garden and why invasive bugs are bad 
• State park conservation game this is similar to my National Park game idea but It would focus on more local parts even though those aren’t going through a lot of stuff right now with laws but it would teach people the importance of maintaining them and what they’re good for and it would get people to know about some of the different outdoor spaces that are in Pennsylvania and in particularly the side of the state and I think it would be effective because it would present some more local effects as even national effects can feel really distant from people
• Turning my mural into a game of hide experience where people can learn about the stuff that I’ve studied with myspace and a can show the benefits of trees it can show how art can be a powerful tool for social change and really just get people to experience my work on another level instead of seeing and reading about it
• Game about managing your emotions and daily tasks. You can only manage so much and do so many things so you have to make difficult sacrifices like do you do your homework or do you go to someone’s funeral it’s the really difficult decisions whenever you have a busy life and you are a college student and you have a lot going on
• A 2 player or 2 team game about one side being the government the tries to surprise the general public’s protests and revolts and tries to stop it from reaching mainstream media and the general public just wants their causes to be heard they want to be seen and they want change to be made so it’s just a battle between these 2 opposing forces
• we all make mistakes – party game where you share something you’re ashamed of, embarrassed about and regret. leads to an open discussion that its okay to make mistakes. 

1. Elderly Simulator: a VR simulation experience to build empathy for the experience of the elderly. Movements and actions would be altered to resemble the reality of their situation.
2. Civil Engineering Simulator: build bridges, roads, and other constructions and see the simulated effects on the environment and community. Experiment and alter traffic signs to better regulate traffic flow.
3. Detective Investigation Simulator: see the clues, solve the crime. the game simulates the experience of investigators. Investigate the crime scene, interrogate witnesses, and do outside research to solve the crimes.
4. History Time Travel Game: travel through history in VR and experience that time period. Perhaps players could be sent to a time period and observe happenings to answer trivia questions.
5. Hurricane Relief Simulator: See the immediate effects of a hurricane on both the social wellbeing and physical state of the community. Help initiate recovery and rebuild the communities with proactive measures to prevent further destruction.

1. VR Life improvement game, In this game, users will be able to go through a series of books that touch on various topics that some may not have the chance to learn, such as changing a car tire, tying a tie, and basic first aid, as well as how to make (various foods) This VR gives the idea of “hands on” without needing to rely on the help and coaching of others. The books allow users to choose from various tasks based on their personal goals, and then the “game” begins by putting users in a virtual setting where they will begin. Think of it as Duolingo, and Cooking Mama, but you don’t deal with a pesky bird, and no mom will be disappointed in you for messing up!

• Plant Meditation, This VR game essentially allows the player to become a plant in simulation. They get to choose what plant they are, what color pot they are in, and a general location in the world, as well as the time of day and season. This game uses sensors to track heart rate and breathing and will give players the ability to unwind and meditate. The goal of the simulation is to have calm breathing, thoughts, and be still, once users match this state, their plant will slowly grow, begin to flower, and thrive.

• To be with Fauna, This VR game allows players to experience forests and nature through the eyes of various animals. There is no solid goal in this game other than to walk around, see the sights and observe different animals and plants. Players can also switch between animals to get unique views, like going from a black bear to a hawk.

• Depression Nap, this game creates a simulation of what it can be like living with extreme depression. The player starts the game by waking up in a dimly lit room that is almost completely trashed. Throughout the game, players will slowly get achievements by cleaning the room, reaching out to friends, and generally trying to get life for the character back in order.

• A walk-through life, this is a collaborative game where various people will essentially record a day in their life and allow users to experience a different life, culture, and situation through the eyes of others. Think of this as a playable “A Day in the life” video. There can also be a feature where multiple choices are made so players have a more choice based experience depending on what interests them.

In a world where people are often easily stereotyped based solely on looks rather than the content of their character, Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover is a game that challenges this issue in today’s society. With digitally illustrated character polaroids and small cards that contain a short statement about a person’s life experience or story – players are tasked with stereotyping, assuming, and making generalized judgments on various real people to attempt to match a statement with the person who said it.

The goal of the game is to match all character polaroids, to their personal statement cards.

However, there is no true winner to this game, whether played with a single person, or a group of people – making judgments on others based solely on appearance is wrong, and this game is meant to spread awareness and provide players with a sense of empathy, as you don’t truly know what someone is going through.

Here are some photographs of my artistic approach, including drawings, final cards, and my process of gaining photos of people and their statements/stories:

RULES:

This is the game statement, and rules given to players along with a stack of fifteen character polaroids, and 15 statement cards.

Probably the most basic rules I have come up with in a game.

DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATIONS:

Using the image provided by the person I asked, I opened the image in Procreate and created two ‘copies’. Creating a basing sketch of their head shape, I then drew only the necessary loose details that were needed to make the sketch fit the person it was representing.

I chose to draw each person as I wanted to create a sense of consistency in the game, similar to the quick details we might get from a person when we pass them in a hall. Below is a quick time-lapse of my portrait for the game!

Next, let’s talk about the final character polaroid art that I printed out on cardstock:

For the final card design, I wanted the cards to feel old like you had found them in a box hidden away. I wanted the monotone colors of the drawings to embrace the feeling as well, so by choosing Polaroids it gives the feeling of “who are these people? And where are they now?” I also chose the have the drawings be almost cut out on top of the Polaroids to give it a unique flair.

The only details written on the cards are the names/nicknames of the people, as well as their age, and pronouns. I decided that these would be the only details you would receive as it is often the bit of information you can get from conversations about other people, and through basic ice breakers.

STATEMENT CARDS:

Still following the “aged” mood I was going for, these cards are printed on cardstock with a yellowed background with a typewriter font to add more mystery. The font I used was LTR NCND Variable which can be found on Adobe Fonts.

Now let’s go through my process of how I got permission to use people’s photos and statements:

I decided from the start that I wanted about 30 people, first asking my friends, then family, and then reaching out through social media. It was an extremely time-consuming process, as people were quite picky about which photo to use, and they wanted their sentences to be “cool” or “meaningful.” So much so, that I ended up having my last entry turned into me around 11 pm the night before the project was due.

The other factor that was quite tedious was drawing everyone. For those I was closest with, I wasn’t as worried about making it perfect, but for some, I devoted over an hour or so to the basic sketch. As you saw from my sketch time-lapse, I made the basic form and practically traced the details, this process didn’t always work as some images were further away than others, and drawing open smiling mouths can be tricky! By the end of the design process, I ended up only really getting 15 people to agree to the project, and to give me all the materials I needed following this prompt I shared: I need one nice photo of you, your name/nickname, age, and pronouns and then a single sentence/statement about something that has happened in your life, it can be happy, sad, weird, or a mix. I also clarified that other people will be reading these statements and that their real pictures will not be shown (I asked River and Amber permission to use the pictures they gave me, as shown above.)

Following this, let’s talk about the first playtest!

1.) What Questions did your players have?

I had about five or so people play my game, and they approached it pretty excited, commenting on the art and unique concept. Early on players wanted to know who each person was, but I of course didn’t reveal this until all cards were matched respectively. A few players recognized some of the people who I drew, which didn’t add much to figuring out who said what statement, given most of the statements were pretty unique and broad. Also, two of my playtesters were in the game! They didn’t snitch on themselves either, thank you, Beck and Amber!

2.) How quickly did they learn to play?

Extremely quickly, and there was some unintended teamwork at play with a fairly large group. Following the basic principles of matching, agreeing on the match, and the I would check all of the cards, and set aside the correct matches.

3.) What confused players?

Players did seem to get a little annoyed after mismatching the same cards over and over, so mentally being able to keep track of who you matched with what card is key.

4.) What made players excited?

Players enjoyed finding out who did what, and the stories behind the people in the game. It was also fun to see the two players that were included in the game and see the reactions of other players to their statements.

5.) What did your players enjoy doing?

When they started to get the characters matched to the statement you could tell it was relieving and fun for players. They also enjoyed looking at the art and reading the statements since quite a few were fun and unique.

6.) Did any aspect of the game frustrate players?

Yes, it took about 4-5 times matching and changing which card belonged to which character, I could tell players were getting a bit frustrated with starting over each round.

REVISIONS FOR VERSION 2:

Based on the feedback I received, I think version two will give players a bit more information on the character polaroids, such as “occupation,” “relationship status,” and “hobby” though this takes away a little bit from the concept of knowing nothing about the people shown, it still provides the same depth of empathy and “you truly don’t know what someone is going through” still stands. Doing this also may reduce the number of rounds players must do to completely match all the cards. Furthermore, as I suspected, players also wanted to be in the game. So I am considering taking it from fifteen to about twenty or twenty-five character polaroids and statement cards. Though this will add more to match, many of the people I will be adding in are different ages than those initially in version one. (Version one was ages 20,40, and 80, version two will be 5, 20, 70, and 100). This variety can make it easier to match cards as well.

I hope everyone enjoyed playing my game as much as I enjoyed creating it. Thank you to those who were involved in the design process and gave me feedback before first playtesting!