Congratulations!

1. Congratulations! • You are now gamers! • Let’s take a look at what you’ve seen • POW

2. Questions • As a player, what type of gaming experiences do you enjoy? • As a designer, what type of experiences do you want to create for your players? • As a designer, what type of experiences do you NOT want to create for your players?

3. Your goal in Game Design • To create a fun, structured play experience where players’ decision making skills are tested through the interaction with a clever concept modeled on creative boards and bits. Or • Create a fun game where people have fun on a fun looking board with fun bits

4. So what Happens Next? • Today: We’ll talk about conflict in game design • Theme: the subject matter for your game • Mechanics: what players will actually do when they play your game • Objectives: the goals your players will try to accomplish • Victory Conditions: how players actually win • End-Game Conditions: the event(s) that trigger the end of the game • Make a prototype • Write rules • Playtest, refine rules/proto, playtest, refine rules/proto……done!

5. Game Design &Conflict Kathleen Mercury

6. How do you define conflict?

7. Some Definitions to consider • The mental struggle resulting from incompatible or opposing needs, drives, wishes, or external or internal demands (Merriam Webster) • You want something, and someone else wants it too. • Or, you want to do something, and someone else gets in the way.

8. A Diagram of plot

9. Mary had a little Lamb • Mary had a little lamb, • Its fleece was white as snow. • And everywhere that Mary went • The lamb was sure to go. • BORING

10. A wicked Take • Mary Had a Little Lamb • Mary had a little lamb, (rising action) • Her father shot it dead. (climax) • Now it goes to school with her (falling action) • Between two hunks of bread. (resolution) • Wicked, but also compelling.

11. Conflict in Board Game Design • Good board games must have conflict! • Large-scale conflict • The whole game concept must be something where conflict can easily be present • Small scale • Each player should experience some form of conflict on each turn

12. Plot Points in Board Games Exposition: Rising Action: Climax: Falling Action: Resolution:

13. Conflict is satisfying. It motivates players to start playing, and to keep playing. Players need to have a sense that their game play is going somewhere, to some end. Good conflict leads to players wanting to play the game again and again and again.

14. Your turn • Choose three of the games we played in class, and explain how conflict was present in each game.