CAGD 170 Section04

 12/8/19
Alexis Gutierrez
Unit 03
Group 09

Tom'iris & Jerry'miah

Our team is Cater'day.

• Our game is about playing cat and mouse. The mouse must reach the end of the maze before the cat can capture and kill it.
• Our target audience is mostly 6-14, but this game can appeal to those older.

• Player Types: Competitor since it is a player vs. player game. Explorers may enjoy this game since you can go different ways in the maze. The Achiever may like this game because they can try to win by playing as the mouse and then as the cat.

• People who enjoy minesweeper or stratego may like playing this game. If the person likes to play in mazes they will definitely like this game. Our audience will most likely people who play capture games.

• As we began to come up with the rules for the game idea, we quickly realized that the game we had originally had planned to make was for a computer game and not something we could feasibly make in the real world with two board games, one for each player. We scrapped our first set of rules and started over with a similar concept but vastly different procedures.

• The first playtest by others of the game didn't go very well because we didn't balance the movement of the pieces correctly. We wanted the players to play the game by controlling multiple pieces through a maze while avoiding the enemy (the cats). The rules became too complicated so we reduced the number of pieces each player got. The mouse was either too fast and the cat had no chance of winning or there was one too many cats and the mouse was easily trapped. We fixed this by having each player only control one piece. After a few rounds of playtesting, we agreed on having each equal movement and rearranging the maze walls so the mouse has more leeway on where it can go.

• As we playtested, we had to use mediocre pieces made out of paper and a checkerboard also made out of paper. We were waiting on our actual game pieces to be delivered, but the resource wasn't reliable on when they would arrive. Once we got the checkerboard, we drew red lines to resemble the walls of the maze. The plan was to put little pieces of cardboard on the edges, but we didn't want the board to get too crowded.

• As playtesters played with the movement cards, they gave us feedback on which cards to get rid of since they were unnecessary and what kind of card we could add to the game to help the player.

• All of the tasks we wanted to accomplish were done in a timely manner and we worked well as a team.

• I like the gameplay of our game how it is now. It has been progressing well and I'm sure we'll find more ways to improve it once we playtest it again. A lot of playtesters enjoyed our game and found the chase exhilarating. 

• The management of this project was fairly divided. We both helped create the rules and procedures while I mostly created the prototypes for our game so we could playtest as soon as possible. John gathered our materials and assets from online so we could have a game that functioned efficiently and looked nice.

• I would recommend for our next project to look for assets locally rather than online so we don't have to wait for everything to be delivered. 

10/27/2019
Alexis Gutierrez
Unit 02 Group 08

Marshmallow Builders!

Displayed in the picture above, is our Board Game's set-up. We were tasked with coming up with an advertising board game that would appeal to 15-20-year-olds. My partner and I came up with Marshmallow Builders! A fun, chaotic, and cooperative game where two players build structures with marshmallows and toothpicks together.

Both team members worked equally on this project and were able to playtest individually in our homes before showing it to the playtesters in class. We wanted to ensure a balance of Draw Cards and a variety of Build Cards for the players to choose from. We also wanted a stable foundation for their building so we used wood. Whenever we believed the game could be improved, we would discuss the possibilities of how to accomplish it and if it would make the game more enjoyable.

The game had two pieces, one for each player, so they could move around the board after they roll a die. If they landed a space that told the player to draw a card, they pick up a Draw Card. These cards could help or hurt your progress.

To begin the game, the two players must choose a Build Card which would depict the diagram of what they must build. Then, the players must set-up a 3-minute timer so they feel the pressure to roll, move, and build quickly.

The playtesters learned how to play by reading the rules we provided them with. Once the timer began, they worked frantically to meet their goal. The players would quickly take their turn and start building while the other player rolled the die to begin their turn. It was amusing to watch as they noticed the time had dwindled. Our first playtesters on October 24, were extremely close to winning but didn't put the last marshmallow on in time. Their feedback was mostly a positive review of our game and the suggestion to add more Build Cards.

With our second playtesters, we learned that our set-up wasn't clear enough for all audiences. They suggested a brief explanation at the beginning of our Rule Sheet to help the player understand what needs to be done first. They also enjoyed the game and had fun working together.

My team member and I worked well together and were able to complete our tasks efficiently. It was difficult to imagine how the board would look like when I played in my home and my partner had the board in his home, but it seemed a waste to make another wooden board. Next time, I will get a sheet of paper to copy the dimensions of it. Overall, I don't think we had a lot of issues during our development process and we both found our project promising enough to become a product once further revisions were made.



Alexis Gutierrez
Unit 01 Group 12

The King's Tax

     Our game is a single-player card game that allows the player to stack cards onto each other, interchanging their colors. Each round ends by paying the King with a revealed pile and removing it from the board. The goal is to defeat the King by not letting him take the majority of the cards.

This game is for a Johnny, Spike, or Johnny/Spike type of player.

A lot of the players weren't able to finish the game given there was a ten-minute time limit. A few of the players weren't able to understand the rules and set-up the game correctly. 

The playtesters gave us feedback on what they liked about the game and what they were confused about. They liked how the tithe played a role in the game and that they had to think carefully of which pile to take. One of them found it to be more interesting than regular solitaire and claimed they would play it again. They each liked the complexity of the game and had fun.

(Playtester did not understand set-up)

They helped us understand what we could fix with the rules and how we can better define the set-up procedure. Two of the playtesters weren't sure how to set-up the game but continued to play the game following the rest of the rules. They all understood that there was no longer any foundation piles for the Ace stacks. One playtester suggested to us that we should add pictures to help visual learners understand how to set-up the game (pictured above). Another playtester reminded us to add a rule about how the cards should be alternating colors when the player is stacking them.