P3 Reflection
I didn’t recognize how much of a challenge creating a systems game would be.
Before starting this project, I was overwhelmed by the idea of creating a system game that was not only balanced but also fun and entertaining for our audience. I had absolutely no idea about where to begin the entire process. How would I create a system and ensure that the mechanisms allowed for balanced gameplay? Thankfully, I had a wonderful team to work with to make it happen.
Our team actually stumbled on the idea for Scarcity by luck. As a warm-up, our team had to create a game which modified an existing game. We decided to modify Battle Ship and convert it into a climate change-focused game. After one playtest, we all had the realization that we could take an existing game’s mechanisms and use them in the ecosystem we chose. This was one the most important learning lessons I had for p3. When creating a system game, it’s always good to build off of other games. You can get some certainty that the mechanisms are balanced, allowing you to focus on testing small alteration independently.
We weren’t sold on climate change being our main dilemma, so we kept brainstorming until we finally arrived at Scarcity, a game tackling the opioid crisis in San Francisco. Scarcity became a two-player game, consisting of a mayor and a crisis, who are competing to eradicate the crisis and create the crisis, respectively. With all the modifications we made, our game required both luck and strategy to win. We thought it was an interesting concept because it taught players the importance of how to wisely spend resources to make impactful decisions. We also saw that our game afforded a narrative from the way the events took place. Despite it not being perfectly balanced by the end, we were happy to find that our players enjoyed the game and enjoyed the constant “almost there” feeling.
One of the HUGE learning lessons for me was how incredibly important playtesting is. In system games changing even the smallest of mechanisms can completely alter the balance and fun of the game. For instance, at a certain point in our game we were trying to decide whether 5 or 6 spots was considered a highly infected area. After playtesting both a couple of times, we were dumbfounded that with 5 spots the game was weighted towards one player and for 6 it was weighted towards another.
Overall, I was incredibly happy with where our game ended up. Our game was almost balanced, fun, and thrilling thanks to our multiple rounds of playtesting. I was proud that our game allowed for quick turnaround periods for who seemed to be winning. It allowed our players to stay engaged and entertained.
