KING OF GODS!

In unit 2, Are You A Game, of Game Changers we delved deeper into the processes of how games are made and worked on creating our own games. For our FEs, we had talked to many people who have a successful career in the game industry. This had helped us significantly while creating our games since we had professional advice from people who have been in the industry for years. We had gone to Chicago Toy & Game Fair to compete in the Young Inventors Challenge where we had presented our second prototypes. Our action project was to create a final prototype of our game, show its process, and make an elevator pitch. My game is called King of Gods; it is a battling race game. I really enjoyed being given such creative liberties over this project, being able to come up with a unique game of my own without any restrictions was amazing. I had so many ideas, but the one about mythologies was by far my favorite. However, I didn't enjoy feeling rushed while making it because in total we only had about two weeks to finish three prototypes. Despite this emotion I put my head down and worked hard to get everything done. Please enjoy learning about my game below.

Pitch

One day, gods from four different mythologies got into a fight about who was the most powerful god and you have been tasked to help one of them win the battle. You will travel through the Underworld, Middle Earth, and Overworld. Along the way you will encounter monsters and fight other players. Your aim is to survive through the battles to reach the Overworld throne to become the king of all gods.

Going into the project, I was fairly confident. I had not realized how truly difficult it is to make a game. Coming up with the theme and type of game I wanted was fairly easy, but making it a reality was much harder. There is a lot of trial and error involved in making a game. In order to have a successful game, you must make it virtually unbreakable (meaning everything needs to be clear cut, easy to follow and solid mechanics) ,  all the while still having it be fun, aesthetically pleasing, and marketable.

The way to achieve this is through multiple rounds of play, testing. By having people play your game, you can learn what things need to be fixed and how to make it more enjoyable for the players. For example, when I had people play my first prototype, they weren't following the path, were battling wrong, and didn't have a lot of fun. They told me my boards were confusing and the battle mechanic had many flaws; overall it was not a lot of fun to play. From there, I made the borders clearer and made changes to the battle mechanic. When I had the same people playtest my game after the changes they had a lot more fun, actually laughing and enjoying the game’s theme. They had found the board’s paths to be clearer and easier to follow.

I think my favorite part of making a game was the experience of going through the stages of game design and watching your game grow.. Seeing what it is like to make a game that is appealing to the public, but at the same time functional, is amazing. You have to put in tons of mental and physical work in order to achieve this. This class has given me a whole new appreciation for games and their designers.

Scouting for Games

In unit 1, Game Mechanics, of Game Changers I learned all about tabletop games from defining what a game is to the mechanics of a game. We also looked at different randomizers such as dice and the statistics for what you will roll. We had gone on a few FEs that helped us understand what a player's perspective and a game designer's perspective is during a game. Out of all the FEs the one I found most useful was when we talked to game designer Jason Little, who has created over 50 games. He gave us very in depth answers to all our question and tips on dos and don’ts when creating a game. For our action project we were tasked with coming up with a scenario where a person or group wanted to play a game where we then gave them two different recommendations. I found it to be challenging to describe the mechanics of the two games without going into the rules of the game. After talking to my teacher and classmates I was able to write the mechanics of the games. I really enjoyed having to have a lot of freedom in this project by being able to choose a scenario and the

games that would best fit those needs. Please enjoy my scenario and recommendations below.

Capricorn.August 2016.

In my scenario, a scout group needs a game to play during multi-day events. The group is looking into games that would be enjoyable and not a great hassle. The biggest needs I’ve identified for the scouts are:

• Transportable, meaning it needs to be relatively small and easy to carry around and play anywhere be it in the airport, car or boat.
• Inexpensive since they spend most of the treasury’s money on their events.
• Be able to accommodate large groups due to there being 12 scouts and 4 adult leaders on the trip.
• Re-playable due to them playing multiple games

I have chosen two games that fit the needs the best: Egyptian Rat Screw and Werewolf (Mafia). Below are the reference sheets that will introduce and explain each game.

The scout group would easily benefit from either of these games. Since both games can be played anywhere and with a lot of people. Another thing is that each game is slightly different from the last making it re-playable enough that the scouts won’t get bored of it. These two games are able to raise the energy in a room since people can get really into it which would help the scouts to not be as sluggish later on in the day. Werewolf has the bonus of being themed with a background story as to why the game is happening which Egyptian Rat Screw lacks.

If I had to choose only one game for the scout group to bring with them it would have to be Egyptian Rat Screw. The main reason for this is that it is cheaper than Werewolf. All you need for the game is a deck of normal playing cards, about $0.50, versus the special cards needed for Werewolf, about $15. The other major reason is that once you out in Werewolf you are no longer engaged in the game. In Egyptian Rat Screw they have a mechanic that can get you back into the game therefore keeping you constantly engaged.

Riverside District

In unit 3, Flow, of Urban Planning we focused on what makes a city function and how its design affects the people living in it. We learned about some cities and how they had evolved into what they are today. During our external investigation we had to research a city and find out what could be improved. This lead us to our final action project, choosing a block anywhere in the world to pick out its flaws and redesigning it. It was really difficult when picking a space to reconstruct. There are so many places in the world that need fixing it is hard just choosing one. In the end I had chosen a space that was once a train yard because of all the possibilities I could do to improve it. I really enjoyed this project because I felt like it tied the whole unit together very nicely and it challenged me in different ways. Please enjoy my design down below.

The area I chose is southwest corner of Roosevelt Road and Clark Street. This used to be an old CSX rail yard that has laid abandoned for decades. The strengths this plot of land has is its location, it is next to the Chicago River and is in the Southwest Loop, causing it to be near many if the city's attractions. However location isn't everything and this area has lots of weaknesses. Despite its great location the old rail yard remains hidden by townhouses, railroads, overgrown shrubbery, and the elevated Roosevelt Road. Since it has been abandoned for so long it has hazardous materials all across the grounds posing danger to anyone that walks there. It also is a very unappealing site that many tourists see due to it being along a tour boat path. This space would benefit from adding a boarding dock, lots of plants, and a place where the community can get together. The area's shape is closest to that of a rectangle. The width is 1156.73 ft and the length is 2352.35 ft causing the area to be 2695893.24 ft squared.

TS "Labeled Map" (2016)

5 Redesigned Attributes:

1. Repurposed Bike Path - this path takes the old railway lines and fixes them so people can enjoy a small bike ride and have a clean path for walking 

2. Tour Boat Dock & Ticket/Refreshment Booth - gives tourists and Chicagoans easy access to the South Loop and access to food if people get hungry

3. Community Center - brings the community together and activity options for both children and adults

4. Park/Playground - gives the space purpose and a place for children to play since there are not many places in the South Loop that have playgrounds

5. Added Greenery - to bring the space some life, more appealing view, and a place where people can relax

TS "Sketched Design" (2016)

I was inspired by the TED talks and the docking system in Singapore. Singapore has many ports each within 1.5 miles of the last, and tour boats give easy access to major sites in the city. In Chicago tour boats are an extremely popular way to view the city all at once, but they only have a few docks to get on and off. Many tourists will end up where they started and have to make long treks to get to certain places. Since this area is located near the Buckingham Fountain, museums, and Soldier Field it seemed like a key spot to have a dock. The TED talker, Ellen Dunham-Jones, influenced me the most out of the three TED talks we watched. She had stated how empty spaces can be restored and repurposed and that adding green spaces would benefit both the area and environment. 

My area would benefit the flow of the city in multiple ways. For transportation it gives easy access to both the river and major Chicagoland attractions, along with the bike trail where people can enjoy the scene around them as they go down the paths. It relates to housing due to the ticket/refreshment booth and community center which can always act as a homeless shelter, especially during the winter season. The whole area would count as infrastructure, particularly the bike trail and the nearby bridge on Roosevelt Road. The solar panels on the dome of the community center will save money since they are providing their own electricity, this provides the services. 

Since my area had no previous buildings I had added two. The first was the ticket/refreshment booth which is a rectangular prism with a pyramid on top with an area of 3600 ft². The second was the community center which was a rectangular prism with a hemisphere on top with an area of 108000 ft². To find the volume of the rectangular prism with a triangular prism on top: (l*w*h) + (B*h) = (60*60*9) + (300*12) = 32400 + 3600 = 36000 ft³. To find the volume of the rectangular prism with a hemisphere on top: (l*w*h) + (2/3πr³) = (300*360*22) + (2/3π100³) =2376000 + 2094395.1 ft³ = 4470395.1 ft³.


I ran into quite a few difficulties when designing this project. The main problems I faced had been using Tinkercad to create my 3D model and coming up with the scale.  I had overcome the troubles with Tinkercad by asking a peer to help teach me how to use this program. After learning how to use this site it became fairly simple to use. However, since there were no curves, my bike trail had been difficult to create though I managed. To solve the situation with the scale I had asked my peers how they figured out theirs and then had done multiple calculations to determine the best sized scale. I have learned that you should take advantage of all the time you're given and that, even if a situation seems bleak, you just need to stay positive and work hard. If I were to change anything I would start working on it sooner rather than later and make sure I got feedback from my teacher.