Paper Prototype update

I was unable to generate the paper prototype by last Friday, as I'd desired. While I was reflecting on my past design as well as the lessons I'd accrued from the excellent game design class I am taking, I felt a sense of dissatisfaction where there had once been pride, for the overt complexity of the blueprint I'd self-indulgently scrawled out. I was a fledgling whose sudden crude grasp of a few game design fundamentals led her to an eager regurgitation of all the game tropes and concepts she was vaguely familiar with. But the depth of insight that a master holds, that allows a master to choose sparingly the best elements to encapsulate a potent vision, was not there. And now that my understanding of games has deepened, I see that mastery lies in simplicity, and in the mastery of game design, in the integrity of a core mechanic that not only communicates the core values the designer wishes to convey but is able to consistently communicate those values throughout multiple playtest scenarios.

I aim on stripping down the current mechanics. I had wanted to find a way to make the game analogue, so that technology would not need to play a factor. I plan on finding a very simple core mechanic that will express the values of communication, cultural differences and intercultural diplomacy and collaboration. I am thinking of taking the language/gesture component of the original design as well as the prophecy card, and then making the game a more charades-inspired affair.

I also really need to try playing the board game Diplomacy. From what I have read of the game, it seems to be a bit on the complicated side, but I still would like to try it out. I may also hold a session where I play games like Charades or Babel build (if I manage to find the materials) with friends.

One major reason my original design had ended up so complicated was because I had a very specific idea on how communication worked. There were particular tenets of culture, of language and of miscommunication that I stubbornly wanted to convey in its fullest sense, and so in my short-sighted desire to express my personal beliefs I got in the way of the game's accessibility. I instead wish to design the game so that it is easy to pick up easily while still providing a skeletal framework through which players can explore and formulate their own opinions and ideas regarding these tenets. I hope the game will spark discussion, rather than serve as a mouthpiece for a single author's ideas.

I also wish to take my adviser's idea and generate the prototype for this analogue game via iPad/some other electronic platform. I aim on creating a rough paper variant to share for this Friday's meeting, since generating that is faster, but the electronic version (despite its longer setup time) will allow me to iterate faster and play around with fine-tuning more detailed aspects of the game, like language modules. It will also make generation of the digital alpha version far more easier later on.

One thing that has persistently frustrated me is a personal lack of familiarity with generating networked games. It is a serious handicap that has severely limited the kinds of games I'm able to make. I also aim on finding some tutorial on networking for Unity and finishing that as well.