Project 1

DUE: Monday, October 23, in class

In a team of 2 - 4 people, create a simple race-to-the-end type of board game.

Steps:

0. Create a shared google doc for your team. Share it with me - depape@buffalo.edu (comment access is sufficient). This document will contain:

1. Choose a topic. The game should not be purely abstract - the pieces and board should represent something. Think about something that would make sense as a race, more than just a literal foot/car/bicycle/whatever race. This forms the "narrative" of the game - something that will justify and affect the mechanics and aesthetics. Who is racing, why, how, etc.?

2. Make a board - it should be a path, with a beginning and end. Something more than just a straight line.

3. Define the core mechanic - how do players move? e.g. rolling dice, drawing cards, using some resource, answering questions, ...

4. Include some interaction between players - e.g. what happens when one lands on another? How can one player affect another player's movement?

5. Make & test prototypes.

On October 11, bring the current prototype of your game - the board and rules. Use any generic tokens from the supplies in room 242 for the game pieces. You will swap games with other students, test them, and write up a critique of the other game(s). You'll then have to revise your own game based on the feedback. (You should also be testing the game on your own, outside of class.)

Final games are due in class on Monday, October 23.

Games will be reviewed based on the clarity and completeness of the rules, whether you have satisfied the above 6 points, the quality of your comments on other students' games, and whether you improved your game based in part on the comments.