Week 1 Game Design: Connor Locke

Question Set 1:

1. In your opinion, what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?
   • I think that every game should have some sort of reward factor that increases the amount of dopamine one would endure. Dopamine is a highly addicting chemical, so if every game were to include a reward for doing something good, then people would want to keep striving for more rewards. The more rewards, the more dopamine, the more people will want to play. This is mainly why I like my favorite game Smash Brothers Ultimate. The game has a ranking system, so every time I beat someone, I rank higher on the leaderboard. There are also many different characters that allow for different approaches to the gameplay.
2. List the games you’ve played and currently play.
   • Smash Brothers Ultimate, Team Fortress 2, Sea of Thieves, Minecraft, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, CSGO
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?
   • Since it is a fighting game, it is difficult to apply the three-act structure to my favorite game. However, it does have a small campaign mode with no true significance, so the pacing is short, and the acts are simply just different fights.
4. When coming up with ideas where do you find you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic?
   • I always find myself starting with the mechanics rather than the metaphor. I always see the mechanics as the founding structure, so once the mechanics are established, I focus on everything else.
5. Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?
   • It’s hard for me to point out someone specifically, since I don’t know too many people personally. However, I’d like to collaborate with someone that is creative and quick thinking. In this case, I can help the person project their ideas onto paper for us to start crafting.

5 Campus Game ideas

1. Campus racing to a specific location
2. Campus flower finding race
3. Manhunt
4. Nerf Gun/Airsoft battles
5. Custom-built sled racing (winter)

Fluxx Questions

1. Was it fun?
   • Not entirely, the game is very long and ends up getting a bit too complicated.
2. What was the interaction?
   • Some cards had direct interactions with other players, such as stealing cards and trading. Overall, every player ends up contributing to the rules, which is practically a group interaction.
3. How long did it take to learn?
   • The concept of the game isn’t too difficult to learn, so it didn’t take me too long to know how to play. It was only probably 10 minutes it took for me to be fully comfortable with the mechanics.
4. Would you play again?
   • Unfortunately, I would not. The game is too stressful, and the rules can be too confusing to keep up with.