Game Design 2

Week 1 – Motivation

Group: Connor and Rees

5 Never-ending game ideas:

• Conveyors grab n bag – Grab items that move along a conveyor…You have a list to follow, and you have to pick the right items to choose to bag from the conveyor. You can pick rare items, earning extra points. Patience is a virtue, and your points are based on how long you choose to play.
• Grass Grower – You are a grass farmer, growing different types of grass. you watch the grass grow, and when it gets too long you cut it. You can continue to upgrade the grass while planting different grass types. Your grass will always grow, even when you are AFK.
• 7-Impossi-roll – You are given a 6-sided dice, and your objective is to roll a 7. The game never ends, but you can upgrade your dice the more you roll (different colors and details, endlessly hoping to roll a 7. The number of times you roll is tracked to show dedication.
• Ant Antics – You are a part of a colony of ants, and you must maintain the food supply and grow your colony. If you run out of food, you move to the next tree. Each tree will always have a start amount of food supply, but you need to make it last before moving onto the next tree.
• College Builder – You build and customize a college campus. This is a sandbox game, in which you can always expand upon the campus while building food courts, stadiums, classrooms, etc.

Week 1 questions:

1. What are the issues Ian Bogost raises about social games with Cow Clicker?
   • Ian gives a list of issues that social games inhibit, such as enframing, compulsion, optionalism, and destroyed time. These factors, Ian believes, pose as a negative influence on the future of games. Along with these factors, Ian believes that the outward obsession social games inflict are tricks to disguise themselves as fruitfulness.
2. How do social games like FarmVille enframe friends?
   • In social games, friends aren’t really friends. People are considered to be resources, not for the player but for the game developer. Ian touches upon the point that social networks in general serve as “enframing apparatuses,” in the sense that people are things that will do what you want when you need them.
3. How do social games destroy time outside of the game?
   • The destruction of time revolves around the demand of “grinding” in order to reach new heights. Tens or even hundreds of hours in order to complete something can be enticing, giving the player the initiative to be the best. However, social games destroy the time we spend away from them. This includes obligation, worry, and dread over the missed opportunities of grinding.

Thoughts on what we played in class (Townscaper)

I think that Townscaper is a generally relaxing game, promoting creative expression with a calming atmosphere. The concept is simple, and so are the controls. Only by clicking, you can transform a vast wasteland of water into a thriving village. One thing I will criticize that Professor Ames’ daughter mentioned was the fact that there are no people walking around. It would be interesting to see how people interact with the transforming environment around them. I wonder if this game could inspire architectural projects. Very farfetched, but maybe this game could layout an idea for an inspiring architect. I like the diversity in creativity the game projects, including color, building types and even tiny gardens. I’d say Townscaper is a nice time-killer.