Project Report: Game Design Ideation
I started my homework backwards. I heard “design a game” and my head went straight to game logic. Simple game logic. Or maybe just rules. Components? Regardless, I immediately wanted something simple, concise, risky and ageless. Until I went back to the homework assignment and realized I was meant to forgo the game ideas (for right now) and just research “potential communities or people that [I] could create a game for.”
My initial inclination was to develop a game for children. That is a broad people descriptor, no doubt, and one that is well-gamed. But, where were the gaps? An age group? After some daydreaming, I went back to starting with what I know. What kind of game would I like to play and what communities do I belong to? Crafters, sewers, knitters, quilters — generally, the Grandma Activities for Non-Grandma’s community.
After doing some research, I found that there is a surprising number of games available for these communities. From a knitting inspired card game (like this Kickstarter project by Lacey), a more loosely knit-inspired word game like KnitWit and Biscotte’s Shawl Knitting Game in which you roll dice to figure out which skein to use and pattern to knit. I also found the Quilt Builders Design Deck which has patterns on square cards you can combine to preliminarily design a quilt with — complete with measurements and shape quantities. (I thought this was quite clever.)
I was surprised to find so many games already available in this realm, though they did seem to be missing some… pizazz. I didn’t find many co-creation options so that may be somewhere to inquire more deeply.
Going back to the, perhaps vain, drawing board, I started thinking about more communities I’m a part of. Lettering Artists, the Book Obsessed, Try-new-restaurants-when-they-open-before-you-can’t-get-a-reservation, Extroverted Introverts… then, a really fun one came to mind: the LDRers. Long Distance Relationship-ers are a relatively niche group and they have their own unique needs. While every couple is different, there are still consistent factors regarding what makes long distance actually work — and flourish.
Clicking link after link with “games” you can play long distance (truth or dare, 21 questions, never have I ever…) I realized that these aren’t LDR games. They’re just talking points. There are some stylish, sweet, lots of frisky (and weird) gadgets available, but they’re mostly passive and don’t offer the interaction you’d hope for when connecting with your partner.
Ideally, I think a game that involves conversation, flirting, a bit of a scavenger hunt/checklist element and, importantly, you know everyone needs a little ooh-la-la in their LDRs. Something that can be curated to the couple. It’s great to see game suggestions but the ones that were offered up again and again felt, well, kind of plain. (Don’t get me wrong, I will play Scrabble online with my boyfriend all day — but I’m sure he he’d want something more exciting than configuring words out of 6 vowels and a consonant.)
I think there’s something tangible in here. A little more research and interviewing is due but, I think we’re onto something!
Are you in an LDR? What are some connectors that have spanned the distance and worked for your partnership?
