Week 6

Today, we were able to play our board game with the guests that Professor Parks had invited. Similarly to the card game project, we were able to receive feedback from professionals. Through three game plays with the professional game designers, we were able to receive a lot of feedback. There was a lot of constructive criticism given and plenty of compliments on the game. Some suggestions that we were told and realized after the play tests were that the coin bonus should be removed and replaced with a different mechanism. This would be allowing the first place player and thereafter to gain a coin every turn after they reach the finish line. This would be an incentive for people to get to the finish line as fast as possible. Our first play test involved many people idling and moving backwards to collect more coins instead of finishing which made it seem as if first place finish was pointless. Further play tests proved this to be a great feature. In addition, we implemented a discard hand feature which allows a player to discard all the cards in their hand and replace their hand with the same number of cards. The player would also use up their turn with this and have to wait for their next turn to make a move. This addition also proved to be a great mechanism that made players more satisfied with the game. Other critiques include the clarification of crossovers and the direction of forwards and backwards on the crossovers. We also received plenty of compliments such as the successful and unique adaptation of the iPhone/Android app into a board game, the mechanism of moving another player, and the quality of the project. Throughout the experience, we were able to receive feedback from professionals who provided many different opinions on the game. We felt some games played better than others depending on the people who played and how much they were into it which influenced the opinions of the players and guests. However, it was a great experience once again and made our efforts seem rewarded.
Over the past week, Derek had finished finalizing and laminating the movement cards, Phil finished finalizing and laminating the special effect cards, and Ray had gotten a colored and laminated final board and adhere it onto chipboard that was ordered. Although the board game required a lot of work, time, and over $100, it was well worth it as we had learned elements of collaboration and created a successful board game.