Alex Designs Games

For this post I’ll be answering questions from Lens 3 and 4 from “The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses”.

Lens #3: The Lens of The Venue

“The places that we play exert tremendous influence on the design of our games. To make sure you aren’t designing in a vacuum, ask yourself these questions:”

What type of venue best suits the game I’m trying to create?

The game I’m trying to create is best suited in the hearth. I would like for it to be a game that people can play together on the TV for multiplayer. I think it would also be good to be played in the reading nook or workbench space if playing solo or online multiplayer.

Does my venue have special properties that will influence my game?

The hearth’s properties of bringing people together for entertainment and play work perfectly for the game I am designing. It can work well for solo gameplay, but better for local multiplayer.

What elements of my game are in harmony with my venue? What elements are not?

The multiplayer aspects of my game makes it very suitable for playing in the hearth or living space. It was originally designed as board game and I am translating it into a video game. I want to keep that board game feel, similar to playing a video game version of Monopoly.

If playing local multiplayer then the reading nook or workbench might not be disharmonious with gameplay, as the workbench and reading nook tend to be personal, private spaces.

Lens #4: The Lens of Surprise

“Surprise is so basic that we can easily forget about it. Use this lens to remind yourself to fill your game with interesting surprises. Ask yourself these questions:”

What will surprise players when they play my game?

Players of my game will be surprised in a number of ways. Landing on different spots on the board will grant players certain special abilities. I think players will be surprised by these abilities, especially when they luckily get one that is rare or overpowered. Players will be able to use these abilities against other players during gameplay. Other times, different spots on the board will force players to battle enemies. A lot of the game is based on chance, and chance can always be a surprising factor in gameplay.

Another piece of gameplay that might surprise players are the enemy NPCs. The game will have multiple enemies that you would expect to find in a “dungeon” that can pop up at random times and on different spots on the board. Players will have to use the powers they’ve gained to defeat them or rely on the luck of a dice roll to win against them. Defeating some enemies will require more luck than others.

Does the story in my game have surprises? Do the game rules? Does thevartwork? The technology?

The game story is pretty straightforward and doesn’t offer many surprises as is. I will think of ways to incorporate surprises in the story. I would like the players to be surprised by the artwork in the game.

Do your rules give players ways to surprise each other?

Players will be able to gain special powers to influence the movement of other player on the board. The players will can surprise each other on when and how they use those abilities since they won’t know what abilities each other has gained.

Do your rules give players ways to surprise themselves?

As mentioned before, players will get special abilities. Players may be able to surprise themselves with how they are able to use their powers to affect gameplay..