In Designing Worlds we make a story world of some kind every day. We take a 360 degree approach to finding and creating worlds. Game design is not about jumping straight onto a computer and coding your heart out. One of the first steps in game design is to create a paper prototype. The best way to test whether your game idea has legs and whether people will enjoy playing it is to make something that people can actually play. I get the students to choose a film, TV property or even an existing digital game and “reverse engineer” it to create a board game. A board game is effectively a game level. The beauty of a board game is that people can create one without any reliance on technology. Using paper, scissors and sometimes even plasticine will get you a long way toward achieving the game of your dreams. The main resource any game creator needs is imagination and a sense of play. Another resource, vital to the success or failure of a game is feedback from the people testing it for you. How does this happen? Easy – you get people to play your game.
Reverse engineering the TV series "Adventure Time"
"Angry Birds" - the board game!
Catherine Gleeson, Designing Worlds Lecturer and Head Foundation Diploma