Game Maker Notes & I Voted Sticker
Game Rules for Type Test- Colin Kenny
Players create a group chat through text messages or any application they want. The player who spends the most time on their phone is the first prompter. The draw a prompt card from the deck and copy it exactly into the group chat. As soon as the message is sent, all other players race to type and send the exact message back to the group chat. The first to do so end gets the card as a point. If there is an issue, the first message to pop up on the promoters end wins the point. They then become the next prompter. Each player may only send one message per prompt. If they are incorrect, they are disqualified from the round. If no one is correct, the prompter draws another card and repeats the process. The first player to get 4 points wins.
Game Notes Part 2- Colin Kenny 10/15/24
Game Rules for Art Heist- Colin Kenny
How to play Art Heist
For 5 players
SET UP
Place the five decks of cards (paintings around the room, front side facing outwards. At the start of the game each player is assigned a number from 1 to 5. Each player takes a voting card (ace through five) of every value other than theirs. This becomes relevant later.
Then each player draws a roll card. If you draw a king, you are a museum-goer, and are on the innocent team. If you draw the joker, you are the thief.
HOW TO PLAY
The thief must try to inconspicuously “steal” all five paintings by flipping them so that their back side or ‘imitation’ side is facing outward. This game is best played at a party or other crowded social gathering so that players can be easily distracted. If the thief steals all the paintings or 20 minutes has expired, they win!
The museum-goers’ goal is to catch the criminal in the act and get them voted out of the museum. At any point when someone spots a stolen painting (yes, the thief can self report) or someone catches the thief in the act, the timer is paused and all players must gather. They will have two minutes to discuss who they think the thief is. After two minutes have elapsed, the players will vote using their voting cards for the player they think is the thief.
If the voted out player was a museum goer, they are not out of the game and can still vote, but they cannot speak during the discussion periods anymore.
Game Notes Part 1- Colin Kenny (10/22/24)
Game Maker’s Notes and Game Review Notes
Looking back on the notes I took last Tuesday this may be a bit harsh so I’m sorry in advance if any of this critique went a bit to far.
Review of Evan’s music game – Colin Kenny
Sorry if it’s too mean Evan
King of Tokyo & Bonanza Game Response/ Collecting Game Ideas- Colin Kenny
King of Tokyo Response
Was it fun? It was, but not my favorite.
What were the player interactions? It always felt like we were attacking each other no matter what.
How long did it take to learn? 10 minutes
Would you play it again? Yes
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Start of the game we decided whether to go for points or taking out other players. Then people started to be killed and it became a battle between just two people and then one eventually came out on top.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? It was purely competitive, but it was quick enough to make you want to try again
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I guess there was no real metaphor except for giant monsters trying to kill each other. The dice rolling mechanic for points, healing, or attacking combinations was the main focal point and a fun alternative to always just drawing cards.
Bonanza Response
Was it fun? Not really
What were the player interactions? We spent so much f*cking time trading and talking that we only got through the deck once and had to end the game.
How long did it take to learn? 10 minutes, with help from Ames
Would you play it again? Nah
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. 1. Figuring out how the game works and the best bean combinations, 2. Getting the hang of the order of operations and beginning to trade better. 3. Realizing the game is too close to call and finding out who has the most coins
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Trading was a key element and as I said we spent much more time than we probably should have trying to trade and team up.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The metaphor I got from it was “Don’t play games with the theme of f*cking dumb*ss beans.”
5 Game Ideas
You’re a Geologist! – Players take rocks from a limited selection and try to keep the other players from stealing them.
Ooh Shiny- Players must avoid being distracted by shiny objects and get out of the treasure cave alive.
Swap Meet- Players buy and sell good to and from each other to get the best collection sets for the most points.
Tooth Fairies- Players draw card sets and compete to try to collect an entire set of teeth.
Knick Knack Tower- Players play card in their hand to build their knick knack tower the highest or with the most pieces.
Takenoko Response & Game Ideas – Colin Kenny
Was it fun? It was long but it was fun strategizing.
What were the player interactions? There weren’t really any direct player interactions because everyone was only capable of controlling their own actions. Some effects caused some players strategies to fall through but that’s about it.
How long did it take to learn? It took about 20 or so minutes to learn.
Would you play it again? I think I would consider trying it again if there weren’t many options. but to me it wasn’t that compelling.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Act one I would say would be us starting to build the bamboo garden and trying to understand how to achieve the goal cards. Act 2 we started to achieve the goal cards and set up ways to get and achieve more goal cards. The game still felt close as Amber and I were each at 3 or 4 goals met. Then Act 3 I made a push to meet a couple more goals and although everyone got one more round of actions, it was kinda clear I was going to win.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Weirdly, although this was a competitive game, we ended up helping each other at times to follow the rules and make the best possible moves. The overall experience was very casual and though we had some disagreements about the rules at times, we still remained respectful and tried to enjoy the experience for what it was.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I think one of the game’s main metaphors was that forces outside of our control and other people can mess with our plans, but we just have to redirect and not get distraught by our downfalls. One mechanic I found really fun was the giant panda running around the garden to eat pieces of bamboo, and when a storm came the panda would run away scared and you could move the panda to any space on the board.
Game Theme: Art
- Art Heist: At a party, players set up paintings around the room like an art gallery. One player must switch the paintings out for “fakes” without getting caught. Play can last as long as the party goes on or until the thief switches out all the paintings.
- Pictionary Art Gallery: Played in rounds, a prompt is given to some players. They must draw or paint this prompt in the allotted time. All other players then vote on who’s “painting” is the best. First place gets 3 points, second 2, third 1. After everyone has had an equal number of turns to draw, the player with the most points wins.
- Abstractism: Players compete to build the best abstract painting by drawing and playing cards and filling their canvas proportionally with shapes and colors.
- Color Bomb: Using some kind of catapult of other small plastic apparatus, players take turn launching small balls covered in paint or filled with paint at a wall or canvas. Whichever player has the most area of the board covered by the end of the game wins.
- Drippy Crayons: Players compete to answer questions to get their crayons to drip further down a canvas. But one player HATES art and is preventing this project from being finished at all costs. They must sway the others in the wrong direction so they answer their trivia questions wrong. If the project gets finished in time, the artists win. If not, the hater, or critic, wins.
Game Ideas Week 3- Colin Kenny
FAVORITE FACE is a STRATEGY game in which PLAYERS WITH BLANK FACE CARDS COMPETE TO MAKE THE BEST FACE by DRAWING FACE PART CARDS AND PIECES FOR POINTS.
RECORD SCRATCH is a PARTY game in which PLAYERS SLOWLY SCRATCH A “RECORD” TO TRY AND GUESS A SONG WITHIN THE SHORTEST AMOUNT OF TIME, BUT IF THEY PLAY THE RECORD TOO MUCH BEFORE THEY ARE ABLE TO GUESS THE SONG CORRECTLY, THE RECORD WILL SCRATCH AND THEY LOSE.
TYPE TEST is a PHONE SKILL game in which PLAYERS TYPE WORDS WITH THEIR PHONES AS FAST AS THEY CAN IN UNIQUE AND CHALLENGING WAYS, SUCH AS WITH ONE HAND OR WHILE UPSIDE DOWN.
NAIL BITERS is a STRATEGY CARD game in which PLAYERS TRY TO BUILD THE BEST (OR GROSSEST) NAIL MEALS by DRAWING INGREDIENT CARDS AND PLAYING THEM LIKE RUMMY.
INFECTED: ZOMBIE OUTBREAK is a SOCIAL DEDUCTION game in which HUMANS MUST ROOT OUT WHO AMONG THEM (IF ANY) HAS BEEN INFECTED BY THE ZOMBIE VIRUS by WATCHING TO SEE WHO ISN’T DOING THEIR JOB IN THE SURVIVAL BUNKER.
Pandemic Response Questions- Colin Kenny
Was it fun? It was moderately enjoyable. Strategizing and collaborating was fun because that’s something I can really sink my teeth into when I play games but the impending doom of knowing you probably weren’t going to win was just kinda meh.
What were the player interactions? As I usually do in group activities, I took on a leadership role because I thought I understood the game the best and tried to help everyone else make the best moves. Everyone did try to share there ideas too which i didn’t shut down which I think made it a positive social aspect.
How long did it take to learn? Hard to say because we left for Saxby’s in the middle of setting up but in total I’d say it took about 30 minutes.
Would you play it again? Yeah I would say I would. I’m interested in seeing how much better I could do with more experience.
3 Act Structure: We started by making small moves and following directions closely. When we got more comfortable we talked a lot more about our options and planned accordingly to account for the epidemics. We then got to a point where we realized we couldn’t win, but we reached a satisfying conclusion by eradicating the virus throughout North America.
What are the collaborative and competitive aspects to the game? The game was fully collaborative, as everyone wins or loses together. We were able to share ideas and thoughts in a somewhat stress-free way.
What is the games metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I think the metaphor is that without experience, really hard problems like curing a pandemic are almost impossible. And even with experience, things don’t always work out as expected. The one mechanic that stood out to me was the forced epidemic cards which made things harder throughout the game, but what I liked specifically was that the directions had us shuffle the epidemic cards into the deck in a way that spread them out across the game.
Question Set Week 2- Colin Kenny
- Question Set 1
- What Mechanics would you like to use for a game with a theme that revolves around being the size of a nanometer?
- Who are you making games for?
- Who will be your play testers outside of class?
- Question Set 2
- Can you think of a game you were able to play without referring to the rules?
- How do you define what a game is?
- What features can make your games more intuitive?
- Question Set 3
- What was your gateway game? What do you play to introduce others to gaming?
- What features do gateway games share?
- What are the 10 beautiful mechanics and what should you aim for with your own?
- How does luck and strategy factor in to game play?
Set 1
1. Being able to change objects’ sizes, limited movement, etc.
2. I guess my goal would be to make games that have a wide range of audience so that people across age groups, like families, can play together and have fun.
3. I could either go home and play with wonderful mom, or I could have so fun with it by asking my friends from RMU theater.
Set 2
1. Most of the games I have watched people play online are easy for me to get the gist of if I ever purchase the game for myself. For example the card game Anomia is a fast thinking card game with simple-ish rules that I was able to understand the pattern and quick turns of easily.
2. I would say a game is a competitive experience where one or more players tries to reach a goal to “win.”
3.I would try to implement simple graphics and simple action phrases so the rules are easy to pick up in an efficient manner.
Set 3
1. The earliest games I can recall playing are those Wii games I mentioned in my last question set post. If I were to introduce some to a simple gameplay experience, I would probably boot up one of those games because the motion controls and buttons are easy to understand.
2. Quick rounds/turns, simples rules and actions, attractive designs
3. Pass
4. A good balance of luck and strategy should be involved in any good game so that the players still feel the experience is fair and that they could still win at any point.
5 Game Ideas Week 2 – Colin Kenny
- Guess the Card: Subjective- One player draws a card without looking at it and shows it to all other players. The others players give clues to the card drawer in a subjective way as if this playing card was a character with a specific vibe. Everyone wins if the card drawer guesses correctly.
- Fast Flip- Two players lay out half of a standard deck of card in a grid in front of them. Using only one hand, players race to flip all of their cards before their opponent.
- High/Low Solitaire- The player draws seven cards into their hand and puts seven cards in a pile to the side. Two more cards are put face up in front of them. You can play any card from your hand on either of the two face up cards if they are one higher or one lower in value. Redraw up to seven once you have no moves. If you have seven cards and no moves, take one of the side pile cards and place them on top of one of the piles of your choice. You win if you can play the entire deck. If not, play for the lowest number of cards left. Once the side pile is used up and you have no moves, you lose.
- Card Tossing- Players take turn throwing a card as far as possible from behind a mark. Whoever tosses their card the farthest wins.
- Each card has a word, players take turns playing cards and trying to match words as closely as possible.
Critique & 3 Act Structure -Colin Kenny
So I played Munchkin with Gideon, Kiya, Grace, and Brady, and it lasted the entire class period. It took a while to learn the rules and we didn’t even finish our game, but we were close to finishing and once we got a handle of the rules the game started to get really fun. It is definitely worth replaying with those who know a lot about the game.
As far as the three act structure goes, I would say act one consisted of me reading the rules out loud for everyone and starting the game. This lasted longer than I thought but putting that effort into learning the rules was worth it. The second act of us getting more comfortable and playing strategically was a lot of fun. The third act started around the time Kiya and I were at level 8 (you need to get to level 10 to win) and we were using all of our force to push our way to the end and win. Unfortunately we didn’t get to the climax as class ended before someone was able to win, but the nail-biting energy was a fun experience.
Week One Questions – Colin Kenny
In your opinion what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?
I feel like every good game should have some unique aspect or take that draw a certain audience in and keeps them coming back.
List the games you’ve played and currently play.
This might take a while. These are mostly going to be simple or casual games because that’s what I like, but I’m gonna condense this to video games and vr games. There’ll be a lot of Wii and Mii games. It’s an autistic special interest.
- Wii Sports
- Wii Sports Resort
- Wii Fit
- Wii Play
- Wii Play Motion
- Wii Party
- Wii Party U
- Mario Party
- Just Dance
- Tomodachi Life
- Miitopia
- Wario Ware
- Mario Kart Wii
- Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
- Clubhouse Games: 51 Worldwide Classics
- Superliminal
- The Stanley Parable
- Please, Don’t Touch Anything VR
- Please, Don’ Touch Anything: House Broken
- Jackbox Party Packs
- Nintendo Switch Sports
- Kinect Sports
- Kinect Adventures
- Minecraft
- Roblox
- Beat Saber
- Superhot VR
- There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension
- Brain Age
- Mario Kart 7
- Tetris
- Tetris Effect VR
- Accounting+
- Among Us
- Skribbl.io
- Gartic Phone
- Minecraft: Story Mode
I might come back and edit this post if I come up with any more.
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 think I can kinda apply this structure to Minecraft. Act 1 is the time you spend in the Overworld gathering supplies and preparing for the battles ahead. You spend about 50% of your time in this section. Then you go to the Nether to get the blaze rods and enter pearls required to get to the apply named End. This is where the action and battles pick up, as there are so many things that can kill you. You spend about 40% of your time there. Then finally, you make your way to the End at the climax of your journey where you fight the Ender Dragon Boss and beat the game. You spend the rest of your 10% here.
When coming up with ideas where do you find you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic?
I usually like figure out the rules and mechanics first because it gives me a better idea of how something will work and where I need to make changes from draft to final product.
Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?
I would like to collaborate with people like Evan, Sarah, Gideon, and Grace because I have taken classes with them in the past, and I feel that I would vibe with their personalities the best.