After we had completed furth research, we had to turn our findings into actual game ideas and mechanics.
Moustache Game Idea
After a very productive one-on-one talk with my peer Xane, seen in this Week 5 post, we decided that we would work together on a game idea.
To summarise our talk, we came up with the idea of a Time-travelling barber. Inspired by games like Papers, Please; in this game you’d conversate with and cut the hair of historical figures throughout history.
Although cutting hair would be a big mechanic, the main emphasis of the game would be on the story and narrative, because of this we decided that we would work on separate parts of the game to turn into prototypes. He would make assets for a paper prototype (prototyping the hair cutting mechanics) and I would create a Twine game (prototyping the narrative and the player’s decision making).
Planning
To create solid prototypes, we needed a more concrete plan of what the game would be like. Therefore we created a group google document and wrote down potential ideas:
Now with a more concrete plan, we both knew what each of us were doing. In my case, I would be creating a Twine game that would introduce the player to two characters, being Stalin and Abraham Lincoln (Yes this game idea is absurd).
This image shows passages for the twine game, showcasing the the branching events that take place depending on the players actions.
This is an example of the Twine game’s gameplay:
NPCs will react to how the player treats them – a good haircut will result in them having a friendly reaction, and paying the player. Whereas, a bad haircut will result in vice versa.
However, in terms of the Twine prototype, the player has to choose the correct tool and not just perform the haircut well. Xane’s paper prototype will handle the ‘perform the haircut well’ mechanic,
Reflection
I think the prototypes that Xane and I made were really good renditions of this game and showed off the main mechanics of the game without spending too much time and effort on it.
However, this is not the type of game I want to be making for my final major project. I don’t think I’m invested enough in the games mechanics and the game itself. For my final project of this course I really want to spend time crafting a game I’ll fall in love with.
To see the feedback we got for these prototypes, read this post:
Leave a Reply