Studio Brief: 'Speaking From Experience' Research

To find a starting point, I needed to find a problem that, as a year group, we had. I had a look at other member of my year's blogs to find what problems they had had.

Quotes from Other People's Blogs

These comments are taken from the first Module Evaluations that we had conducted from our first module from members of the current first years (names or links have not been included so it is anonymous). The main consensus was that there is a problem in regards to producing work, whether it be lack of ideas, research or final products. I took them from the first Module Evaluation as that would be the most relevant for the target audience as they will be starting there first one and shows what we were like in their position. For me personally, I had had this experience in Foundation year as I hadn't been use to it but this meant that for this year I knew what to do. If I had known that some people were finding it difficult then I could have helped. I decided that from this information that I would address this problem.

For my concept, I decided to produce a board game which could be used as an ice-breaker so that it would be inclusive of several people and would teach them about the Design Process based on the research that I did. (See Design Practice Blog)

In order to get some strong primary research, I felt it would be a good idea to play some games in order to determine how relevant they would be. I wanted to play a board game and a card game so that I could determine which would be best.

Monopoly

What I liked about Monopoly was the components and parts of the whole set which is beautifully presented. I felt that it had a wholesome feel to the game and made it feel like a collectors item as well as a game. I felt that the game could go on for quite a while so I might have to consider the timing towards my game as I have a feeling that players would want to play but would get impatient if it went on for longer than an hour and a half. I also felt that the game was quite complex and had a lot going on at the same time. I feel like it had a bit too much going on as it would start to get confusing yet the elements to the games structure was something I felt would be good for the target audience.

Trivial Pursuit

I liked the presentation of the game as, even though it was an overload of colour, it had a purpose and reason behind it all. There was clear definitions between all the sections and I liked the interactivity of the player counters acting as a placement for the rewards for answering questions, acting as a physical info graphic. I felt that the questions were quite difficult and, based on the subject matter and the level of the first years, I would need to be considerate of what questions I would pose to them. What makes the game unique is the use of the DVD which makes it have more interactive and allows for more creative ways of asking questions.

Uno

I wanted to test out a card game to see if it would be more successful than a board game. I felt that the game was quite fast paced and the format would be quite interesting to produce in regards to turning it around and becoming a design based one. Also, the scale of the game would be quite convenient as it would mean that it could be carried around and used in more places than just the studio. One downside was the fact that the game is quite quick and fast paced so people would be more concentrating on the game then getting to know each other in a relaxed way. I want to use the idea of having a game as something which people can sit down together and get to know each other as well as play, not just play.

Trivial Pursuit Quick Game Edition

Based on the fact that the normal game is quite long, there is a shorter version in this style which is quicker. The physical packaging shape of the traditional segment is beautiful and the dice is very interesting, using colour wheels rather than numbers. Again, it has the same problem as the other where the questions are too hard and specialist yet I think this gives some insight into how you can take a game and make a smaller version of it which will still work.

What all the games had in common was the use of bright colours, need for multiples of people and not just a single player and the use of cards or interaction that would encourage players to join in and make the game their own. I feel that it would be a good idea to include this in any game that I make.

I felt that it was important that I looked into the history of Board Games and how they have been used traditionally over the years.

"A Timeline of Board Games" (2011) by Eva Neesemann and Margaret Plaisted

Neesemann, E. & Plaisted, M. (2011) "A Timeline of Board Games" [Internet] Available from http://visual.ly/timeline-board-games (Accessed 20th March 2013)

This info-graphic shows the origins in board games but also how it is only in the last 50 years that games have really took off. This highlights how there is still a strong marketability for board games and the memories and quality time that they give to people in an age which is dominated by the computer.

Go

Parchees

Mancala
Law, K. (2010) "5000 Years of Board Games" [Internet] Available from http://mentalfloss.com/article/26379/5000-years-board-games-part-two (Accessed 20th March 2013)

I managed to find a very interesting series of articles by Keith Law which goes into depth about the origins of games, where they came from and how games developed into how we have them today as they came from an original game and have been developed and improved over the years for different cultures and parts of the world. What it highlights is how games are a social way of bringing people together through one mutual thing- the game itself regardless of ability or intelligence. This aspect is what make it appealing to me as the first year audience will be of different abilities and skills so I want them to have a little bit of a level playing field.

I looked into how some design inspiration- based games that have interesting packaging, nice production or a very distinctive identity.

"DAYTRADER- A Financial Board Game" (2012) by Samir Lyons and Italics

Lyons, S (2012) "DAYTRADER- A Financial Board Game" [Internet] Available from http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/2069043347/daytrader-a-financial-board-game (Accessed 20th March 2013)

The production and finishing on the game, alongside the visuals and font choice is stunning in this attempt to bring financial understanding to a wide-ranging audience. All areas of the game have been considered, including the need for visuals on the bottom of the box, currency design and the need for cards in the game to move the game along. The shades chosen in the colour scheme are slightly dulled but work well as a palette, particularly on the off-white stock for the cards.

"Forty Millers" by Dermot Mac Cormack
Nguyen, J. T (2010) "Identities & More"[Weblog] 28th July Coroflot.com Available from http://www.coroflot.com/jtn/Identities-n-MORE (Accessed 21st March 2013)

What drew me to this inspiration was the idea of putting the game in a briefcase as it creates a visual identity that references the subject matter of the game, which in this case is travelling. The typeface is reminiscent of the subject as well, giving the suitcase a carnival feel with the mis-matched colours adding to the stereotypical mis-matched identity of the circus.

"The SF Rally Game" (2012) by Nicholas Talbert
Talbert, N. (2012) "The SF Rally Game"[Weblog] 12th October The Behance Network Available from http://www.behance.net/gallery/The-SF-Rally-Game/5483801 (Accessed 21st March 2013)

This illustrator designed game is strong in its identity as it keeps the same imagery throughout, mixing simple iconography and colour schemes with detailed counters of notable places. The path of the game itself is geometric yet confusing  as it overlaps and runs into each other yet this makes the game interesting as it could go or end up anywhere.

From this, I decided to go with producing a game that can be played with the intention of educating the first years into being a designer. From this, I felt it was important for me to narrow my focus down and get some design inspiration into how I could present my design-based subject matter into a game.

"Monopoly- Helvetica Revival" (2008) by Florent Guerlain

Florent Guerlain (2008) "Monopoly: Helvetica Revival" [Weblog] 6th October Designworklife Available from http://www.designworklife.com/2008/10/06/monopoly-redesigned/ (Accessed 20th March 2013)

Guerlain has took the traditional and classic game Monopoly and has changed the layout into giving it a minimalist representation. This stark contrast from the original game makes it effective as a piece on its own as it has changed it by using icons to represent the main 4 corner stops on a traditional board. It has stayed true to the classic whilst turning it on its head.

"The Pitch" (2011) by Fatimah Kabba

Kabba, F. (2011) "The Pitch" [Internet] Available from http://www.fatimahkabba.com (Accessed 20th March 2013)

The intention of putting business and design together is an everyday occurrence therefore by putting them together in a successful way could be difficult. Kabba has managed to do this by producing a board game that reflects the pitches done by professionals. The smart and classy production has produced a high quality, opulent design that is reflected in all the components, the board itself and even into the way the product is displayed in the box.

"Portfolio: The Board Game" (2011) by Kevin Trow

Trow, K. (2011) "Portfolio: The Board Game" [Internet] Available from  http://www.designertrow.com/gePage.html (Accessed 20th March 2013)

The packaging for the design portfolio game is reflective of the game intention so the imagery is suitable to the game. To me, the set itself looks quite overworked and synthetic and I think it would have benefitted from a less digitised aesthetic, especially the idea of using a portfolio as a package. What is nice, however, is the spinner which gives more of an interactive element to the overall game.

"{TYPE}" (2012) by Renee Nichelle

Nichelle, R. (2012) "{TYPE}" [Weblog] 28th February The Behance Network Available from http://www.behance.net/gallery/-TYPE-designers-dream-board-game/3256563 (Accessed 21st March 2013)

The wooden stock alongside the hand-wrendered physicality of the game suits the printed, letterpress style lettering that has been used to make the work seem slightly aged and vintage. The wooden suitcase/ art kit style packaging is fitting to the rest of the product and the choice of colours is limited yet  goes with the printed aesthetic. Patterns have been used throughout to aid the strong identity by making a visual pattern out of the letterform and typeface choices.

Tester/ Mock-up:

As part of the design process of my board game, Emily, Anna and myself tested the game and I used their comments as feedback to work from- like a mini critique. I have already include this critique on my Design Practice blog yet I felt that this was an important part of my research in regards to the game as it meant that I was getting first hand primary research on my own game at the point in time.

Photos of the game being played

This gave me the opportunity to write up the rules and how to play section so that I knew it would be correct. I was able to talk through the rules and add to them if they needed it. This also meant that I got primary research back in regards to the player comments as they would be acting as a focus group highlighting areas of enjoyment and where it may need improving as I wanted to know what they liked about games.

Feedback from the Crit

I got some valuable comments from them in order to improve my game. They suggested that instead of having all the cards be going back spacing, to include 'miss a go' or 'go back to the start' options. This would make the game more exciting for the players as they were more likely to be playing longer and become more competitive as the game went on. They felt that there needed to be some more difficult questions and they liked the idea of having an 'ultimate question' that needed to be answered when on the 'Deadline' finish square to determine the winner. This would make it more competitive and for there to be a chance that the other players could still win towards the end made it more hopeful so they would want to continue to play. There was a discussion about having more 'Good Practise' lightbulbs so that there was more chance to be able to collect the jigsaws without being stuck waiting for a particular number of the dice, particularly as Emily didn't enjoy waiting for a particular number but Anna enjoyed the waiting, but it was decided that it didn't make any sense to add more to the game so that was left as it was.