Play Testing April 27th, 2016

Notes/Observations
Comments from person I played with

• Nice game board layout/design
• Add more positive "luck" cards
• Make the challenge cards more challenging
• Add more engaging aspects to the game (Fun game to play with children, not with peers)
• Bus aspect added a lot to the game

Changes:

• I am going to add more engaging pieces to the game board.
• I am going to diversify the "Luck" cards.
• I am going to make the challenge cards harder.

Skyfall vs. One Night Ultimate Werewolf

1) Skyfall was an interesting game because it had a strong social deception mechanic that was also prevalent in ONUW. The two games differed in the ONUW was more involved as it came to role playing than Skyfall was. For instance, the role you are assigned in ONUW determines your actions throughout the entire game. The role you are assigned in Skyfall has little or no effect on game play with the exception of the spy card.

2) 1. Skyfall
    2. ONUW
    3. Escape!?
    4. Welcome to the Dungeon
    5. Dominion

The reason I ordered the games in this way (Least Structure to Most Structure) is because Skyfall and ONUW have a small handful of role centric rules where Dominion has a very long and in depth rule book that changes with different scenarios. Escape!? and Welcome to the Dungeon were average as it pertained to complexity.

3) Escape!? was my favorite because it seemed so simple but it quickly became very hard. This made me want to keep playing until I beat it. My least favorite game was Dominion because it was a complicated game to learn on a computer. I would have liked it more with actual cards.

Escape!? Answers

1) This question is not really a complete thought. I do not know what is being asked.

2) One of the major rules that limits player action in Escape!? is the fact that you have to roll specific dice to get through to another section of the board. This is a problem when it comes to getting back to the entrance and if you roll black faces.

3) Some implicit rules of Escape!? include the following: you only travel in teams, you get the highest number of gems possible, and you place the tiles in the best possible place in order to get back to the entrance efficiently.

4) I would describe the rules of Escape!? as elegant because they come together in a very seamless way in order to create a really unique gaming experience.

5) I preferred playing Escape!? over Dominion because Escape!? was simpler and it was a tangible game rather than a computer version.

Dominion Answers

1) The goal of Dominion is to earn the most Green Victory Cards.
2) You can achieve them by purchasing them with coins on your turn.
3) On your turn you can play an action card and as many "treasure" cards (coins) as you want. Action cards allow the player to do different things depending on the card. Turns go clockwise around the players.
4) In this game you can buy, play, attack, block, and curse. In this game there are coins, objects, actions, and estates.
5) Cards like "Moat" which allow players to defend against attacks are similar to conjunctions in that they allow players to do more than just their turn.
6) I learned that the entire game rests on the first few moves.

Don't Move Game Analysis

Don't Move is just like any game in that in presents its players with a unique problem to solve in order to achieve some arbitrary goal or outcome. The interesting aspect of this game is that each player can interpret and experience it in different ways which is a dilemma that many game experts, including Ian Bogost, have discussed in game analysis for years. Bogost states, "We often think that video games have a unique ethos. Video game players have their own culture and values. Video game player soften self-identify as 'gamers' and devote a major part of their leisure time to video games." Don't Move is a unique representation of Bogost's opinion. This game is pretty simple. You die if you move but are rewarded for doing so. The rewards are arbitrary and have very little value to the player, especially because their purpose is not revealed until later in the game. As a gamer, Don't Move's play provides an example of how each person can see and experience video games in different ways. If a player feels like fake medals and trophies are a motivation, they will continue to die and rack in achievements. If a person feels that dying is a punishment, they will stay completely still and earn achievements at a much slower rate.

Another aspect of the game is its unique use of procedural rhetoric or "the practice of using processes persuasively, just as verbal rhetoric is the practice of using oratory persuasively and visual rhetoric is the practice of using images persuasively." For instance, the game is designed to have a 80's 8-bit and the designer achieved this feeling through his use of visual, audio, and procedural mechanics. Games from the 80's were designed to have a simple goal where if achieved, the player would be awarded with medals, trophies, or in-game points. This aspect of Don't Move helps motivate players to go against their instincts and die in order to achieve awards and prizes that have little to no intrinsic value.

Game Mechanics

• Move left and right with the keyboard arrow keys
• Move to much and the game kills you
• You respond immediately upon your death with no punishment in regards to loss of points, coins, medals, or trophies
• Player is awarded with extra XP with every death
• XP is used to track progress and level up the player
• The player changes color as (s)he continues to climb the levels
• Different achievement trackers (medals, trophies, coins) are added to the user interface as the player progresses

Blog Post #5

On September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked by terrorists groups intent on instilling fear and chaos into our country. Our nation decided to retaliate immediately, sending air strikes and ground troops to take out terrorist groups in the Middle East. The retaliation seemed like the right choice in the moment but quickly became a controversial issue within the States as Middle Eastern civilians started to die in the cross fire. The game, September 12th, highlights the USA's decision to retaliate and the consequences of their actions.

The game begins with a simple picture. A woman holding her child limp in her arms. Following the opening photo the player is presented with the rules. They clearly state that September 12th is NOT a game and continue to clearly show what their goals are in creating the game. Following the rules page is the game play screen. It is set in the Middle East and you can clearly differentiate the terrorists from the civilians. The players cursor acts as a target and it seems that all you have to do is point at a terrorist and shoot. Once the player has shot the gun, a large missile launches towards the target zone. The player hears an explosion and the subsequent crying of civilians who witnessed innocent individuals die alongside the terrorists. As the gun loads for another shot, the player will notice that the mourners have taken up arms and become terrorists. Having played the game for an hour and testing a string of different strategies, I have found that no matter what, taking a shot will always increase the amount of terrorists in the game. The game designers took a very unique approach to portraying the situation in the Middle East to its players and that is why their game is so profoundly meaningful.

Blog Post #4

Citation 

• ACDC- For Those About To Rock. Youtube. Web. 12 Feb. 2009.

• Rocky Balboa Inspirational Motivational Speech Sylvester Stallone. Youtube. Web. 12     June 2013.

• Power Ranger Super Megaforce & Megaforce. Youtube. Web. 5 Aug. 2013.