Fall '15 Board Game Projects

Here are the blogs for all of our board game teams this semester. Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

Theme Park
http://themeparkboardgame.blogspot.com/

Park It
http://nyparkit.blogspot.com/

Smuggler
http://smugglerfa15.tumblr.com/

Aviation
http://aviationboardgame.blogspot.com/

The Forbidden Fruit
http://collaborativefruit.blogspot.com/

I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '15 Card Game Projects

Here are the blogs for all of our card game teams this semester. Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

LaBeBe
http://collaborativefridays.blogspot.com/?m=0

City Building Game
http://collaborativewritingpracticegroup1.blogspot.com/

Living Like Floyd
http://livinglikefloyd.blogspot.com/

Warfare
http://collabgame.blogspot.com/

RU Late?
http://rucollabwriting.tumblr.com/

I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '14 Board Game Projects

Here are the blogs for all of our board game teams this semester. Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

How Was Your Day?
http://howwasyourd.blogspot.com/

Conquer
http://conquerthegame.blogspot.com/

Scavengers
http://scavengersgame.blogspot.com/

Mystingo
http://mystingo.blogspot.com/

I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '14 Card Game Projects

Here are the blogs for all of our card game teams this semester. Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

Murder - The Card Game
 http://murdercardgame.blogspot.com/

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Card Game
http://collabcardgame.blogspot.com/

Leader Card Game
http://thecreationofgames.blogspot.com/?view=classic

Drug Lords
http://collabwritpractices.blogspot.com/

I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '13 Board Game Projects have started!

Here are the blogs for all 10 board game teams this semester (5 in each section). Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

Here are links to the team blogs for the Fall '13 board game projects:

SECTION 1

Empires of Trade
http://empiresoftrade.blogspot.com/

You're a Wizard, Harry
http://hogwartsftw.blogspot.com/

Greek Mythology
http://haianh6893.blogspot.com/

Battling Sailors
http://coolboatgame.blogspot.com/

Master of the Arts
http://masteroftheartsboardgame.blogspot.com


SECTION 2

Domination
http://dominationboardgame.blogspot.com/

Bidding Wars
http://collaborativegames.blogspot.com/

Circle of Friends
http://negotiatingcollege.blogspot.com/

Alien Invasion
http://alieninvasiongroup.blogspot.com/

Zombie Colonies
http://zombiecolonies.blogspot.com/


I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '13 Card Games are underway!

Welcome to the Collaborative Writing Practices: Game Design Blog!

We have two sections of students creating a total of ten card game designs this Fall! Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

Here are links to the team blogs for the Fall '13 Class:

SECTION 1

Epic Meal
http://gamedesign01.blogspot.com/

RU Serious
http://ruscollab.blogspot.com/

Stop and Go
http://collaborativewritingisfun.blogspot.com/

Espionage
http://collaborativewritingclass.blogspot.com

Mining Game
http://haianh68.blogspot.com/


SECTION 2

Obstacle Illusion
http://cardgameatru.blogspot.com/

Shipwrecked
http://shipwreckedcardgame.blogspot.com/

Grimoire
http://collaborativegames.blogspot.com/

Identity Crisis
http://collwritingprac.blogspot.com/ 

Rumble in the Jungle
http://rumbleinthejungle13.blogspot.com/


It looks like we're off to a great start! I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Spring '13 Board Game Projects have launched!

Our game design teams have officially begun their board game projects.

Here are links to the team blogs for the Spring '13 board games:

Mob Wars
http://mobwarsboardgame.blogspot.com/

Cruisers
http://cruisersboardgame.blogspot.com/

The Expendables
http://expendablescwp.blogspot.com/

Circuit Break
http://circuitbreakgame.blogspot.com/

Temple Escape
http://templeescape.blogspot.com


I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Spring '13 Card Game Projects have launched!

Welcome to the Collaborative Writing Practices: Game Design Blog!

Our five game design teams have begun their card game projects and presented their blogs below. Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

Here are links to the team blogs for the Spring '13 class:

Mad Ninja
http://www.madninjagame.blogspot.com/

The Walking Dead
http://thewalkingdeadcwp.blogspot.com/

Sushi Chef
http://oliviapaladino.blogspot.com/

Medic
 http://gamedesign4.blogspot.com/

Baker's Dozen
 http://cardgamerutgers.blogspot.com/

It looks like we're off to a great start! I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '12 Board Game Projects have started!

After a bit of a delay thanks to Hurricane Sandy, our game design teams have begun their board game projects.

Here are links to the team blogs for the Fall '12 board game projects:

Hot Date
http://collaborativewritinghotdate.blogspot.com/

RU Screwed
http://ruscrewedboardgame.blogspot.com/

DK's Reprisal
http://dkreprisal.blogspot.com/

The Machine
http://machinegam.blogspot.com/

Prison Walkers
http://prisonwalkers.blogspot.com


I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Fall '12 Card Game Projects have begun!

Welcome to the Collaborative Writing Practices: Game Design Blog!

Our five game design teams have begun their card game projects and presented their blogs below. Please feel free to visit the blogs of the other teams, and also to view the finished blogs of previous classes for inspiration!

Here are links to the team blogs for the Fall '12 class:

Shop 'Til You Drop
http://collaborativewritinggroup5.blogspot.com/

Pharaohs
http://collabwriting.blogspot.com/

Debacle
http://cwbdebacle.blogspot.com/

Rutgers Buses
http://collaborativegameworld.blogspot.com/

Battle to Safety
http://battletosafety.blogspot.com/

It looks like we're off to a great start! I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

The Board Game projects are underway!

Here are links to all of our board game projects:

Temple Run: The Board Game
http://templerunbg.blogspot.com/

Islands
http://islands-cw.blogspot.com/

Dethroned
http://dethronedbg.blogspot.com/

College Kid Problems
http://collegekidprobs.blogspot.com/

Pandora
http://pandoraboardgame.blogspot.com/

Our board game projects are up and running! I look forward to tracking your progress throughout the weeks ahead.

Card Game Presentations

We had an excellent session last Wednesday (February 29). The game design teams had the opportunity to play their games with professional game developers, as well as game design instructors from Rutgers and Raritan Valley Community College. This was an exciting moment for the class, as it allowed the students to receive in-depth feedback on the card games they had developed during the first half of the semester.

All five of our games played admirably, but each game displayed some flaws that the teams worked to rectify between play rounds. By the end of the session, it was clear that the students had learned a lot and were inspired by their experiences with the visitors.

The visiting designers enjoyed their stay in our class, and most will be returning at the end of the semester to help evaluate our next project: the board games!

The Card Game projects have begun!

Our five game design teams have worked out the theme and core mechanics for their card games.

Here are links to the team blogs:

The Cold War Kids
http://thecoldwarkids.blogspot.com/

Auction Wars
http://auctionwar.blogspot.com/

On the Hunt
http://onthehuntgame.wordpress.com/

Bridges
http://bridgecardgame.blogspot.com/

Illuminations
http://illuminations32.blogspot.com/

It looks like we're off to a great start! I look forward to reading your blogs (and playing your games!) throughout the weeks ahead.

Welcome from Professor Parks

Hello, everyone.

I am the new instructor for the "Collaborative Writing Practices: Game Design" course, and I am honored that Prof. Goeller has invited me to teach the course and to continue his blog.

I am a professional designer of board games and card games. My game design studio, Quixotic Games, has developed 12 published games, and we are continuously working on more. I have worked for years with an amazing team of developers and they have taught me many lessons about artistic collaboration.

For more information about Quixotic Games and the games we have created, please visit our website at http://www.quixoticgames.com.

Our First Class

The Spring '12 class had our first meeting this past Wednesday, and we took the opportunity to discuss the world of game design and to enjoy two card games: Apples to Apples and Guillotine. Our initial development teams have been formed, and our first project will be an original card game. I look forward to hearing your game concepts this Wednesday!

Thanks,

Andrew Parks

Photoshop and Grids

There are a number of ways of making a grid board using Adobe Photoshop (or other tools), and almost as many tutorials as methods.  Ultimately, all of them return to the idea that you should begin by creating a square (or part-of-a-square) object to help you make a grid pattern.  I have annotated several links below.  You'll have to decide on the method that works best for you.

After the list of tutorials on making grids, I have listed some Web 2.0 alternatives to Photoshop that students might want to try out for generating images for their game designs -- especially if you are working from home with no access to Photoshop.

IMPORTANT: One word of advice: start by imagining how big you want the board and then calculating how big you want each square.  It will speed things up considerably and prevent you from having to do it over.  As carpenters always say: measure twice, cut once.

A good resource for building unusual grids -- such as hex grids -- is the incompetech site:
http://www.incompetech.com/graphpaper/

You can download one of their patterns and then use it to map onto whatever grid board design you are creating by importing it into Photoshop.  To slice up your image for printing in multiple sheets, you can use the slicing tool in Photoshop or try out the program Posterazor:
http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/

These are some tutorials from 2008 or so when I first started teaching this assignment.  You can find more updated ones by searching online for "photoshop grid tutorial" or words to that effect.

• Creating a Grid with a Custom Pattern in Photoshop
  http://www.oman3d.com/tutorials/photoshop/video_grid/
  I liked this tutorial best, not only because it is in video form (which is easier than reading) but because I think the method it shows is probably the quickest and most effective and teaches you some interesting Photoshop skills -- especially in the use of strokes.  It also shows you one way of decorating the squares.
  
  
• Grid Tutorial
  http://www.phong.com/tutorials/grid/
  This tutorial is focused on using a grid as a background for a header graphic (which might be useful to know for your box design), but the method it offers for making the grid is very simple.
  
  
• How to Create a Grid Quickly and Effectively in Photoshop
  http://www.partdigital.com/tutorials/grid
  This one also offers a rather painless method in very few words.  It also shows you how you can use a picture as the background of your board.
  
  
• Making Grid Masks in Photoshop
  http://www.graphic-design.com/Photoshop/Tips/grid.html
  This might be a good method if you want to use a picture as the background.
  
  
• Photoshop Tutorials - Custom Grid
  http://www.cbtcafe.com/photoshop/newgrid/newgrid.html
  This is the method I discovered on my own for making a grid and it works.
  
  
• Wavey Grid
  http://www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/wavey%20grid/wavey_grid.htm
  I threw this one in just in case someone likes the idea.  A few years back someone used this tutorial to make a pizza-box grid game where the wavey grid matched well with the cheesy pizza design.
  

Alternatives to Photoshop

Students often ask how they can edit images at home if they don't have Photoshop. I usually have recommended GIMP, which I have used with success and find quite intuitive (and similar to Photoshop in many ways). I have also seen books on using GIMP and I like some of its features. But I saw a great post recently that links to "Free Online Tools for Images and Graphic Design," which seems like the inevitable next step.  Here are some useful Web 2.0 graphic editing tools freely available on the web:

• Phoenix
• Pixer
• Pixlr
• Splashup

Grid Game Blogs, Fall 2011

Here are links to all of the team blogs from the Fall 2011 section of our course:

Team 1: Game Design
Team 2: Walk in My Shoes
Team 3: Sorcerers
Team 4: Creepy
Team 5: R3dchip

Spring 2011 Games

Below are links to the games from Spring 2011:


Final Games
Fruitmania (blog)
Bad Detectives (blog)
Healthmania (blog)
Scarlet Treasure (blog)


First groups (grid games):


Gladiator: Fight for your freedom (blog)
Golden Goal (blog)
Rescue Mission (blog)
Arrr: Battle for the treasure (blog)
Hoops (blog)

Fall 2010 Game Links

The following games were developed in the Fall 2010 term:


Final Games:
Crime Alert Game (also see the blog)
The House of Horrors (blog)
Protagonists (blog)
Thirty Two (blog)
What's Your Story (blog)


Grid Games:
Army of One
Brain Boogie
Hex-a-Fours
King of the Hill
Stop Sign

Design Principles

One of the best books on good design for beginners is Robin Williams’s The Non-Designer's Design Book.  The most useful element of the book may be her "CRAP Principles" of good design, which can be summed up as follows:

Contrast
How you position items to guide the reader’s gaze around the page.

• Create a focal point around the most important item.
• Use a very large font for the most important thing.
• Organize items into logical and separate “chunks.”
• Remove superfluous or distracting information.
• Avoid the “wall of text” effect; instead, direct the eye.
• Use white space to contrast with your groupings.

 The box design of Clue: The Office uses an enlarged image of Dwight for contrast, creating a sense of conflict and menace.


Repetition
How you establish rules for the consistent display of related information. 

• Your design should use the same fonts and formats, except when you are striving for contrast (when you want things different). 
• Use consistent headings and subheadings with similar or parallel grammatical construction and visual formatting. 
• If you use color, do so consistently according to a color scheme.

Battle Cry uses a repeated pattern of images to create an attractive border.

Alignment
How you use the visual lines of the page to direct the viewer’s gaze.

• Be consistent above all: same fonts, sizes, punctuation, etc.   
• Items of the same class are lined up with each other.   
• Indent to emphasize hierarchy and organization.
  
• Use centering or alignment to draw attention to text or images or to connect text to other elements in the design.

 The board design for Stratego: Ice vs Fire creates a great visual contrast of the two sides in red and blue.  Alignment is used to describe the pieces and their powers.


Proximity
How you group items to indicate relationships. 

• Group similar items close together. 
• “Chunk” your text by breaking it up into related groups. 
• Place titles near to the information or images they describe. 
• Cluster text with images to create visual unity. 
• Avoid “orphans” – lonely titles or lines that get cut off from their kin.

Tigris & Euphrates chunks visual images with text to help readers connect the rules to the pieces described.


Other considerations of good design:


Don't Cramp Your Layout

• Use white space generously and for contrast.  To increase white space, decrease text: write as succinctly as possible!
 
• Keep paragraphs short.  Use indents to distinguish elements.
 
• Use bullets and numbers wherever possible, but do not exceed the seven items of memory and maintain parallel form among items.
 
• Use numbering only when you have steps in a process or when items are ordered hierarchically. 

Maintain Design Coherence 

• Pay attention to page balance when using graphics. 
• Don’t go crazy with different fonts.  Use at most two types of fonts in a document.  Sans-serif (clean fonts ‘without tails,’ such as Arial used in stop signs) are best for large titles that can be "sight read," while serif fonts (with "tails," such as Times New Roman) are generally best for longer text that requires reading – unless you are going for a particular effect.


Make Your Design Usable

• Try to communicate as much as possible without the use of words.
•  Make it easy for players to grasp the rules by just looking at the game board and related pieces.  If possible, include a brief summary of rules (such as how the pieces move) on the board itself.  Compare classic Stratego (below) to Stratego: Fire & Ice (above).

Bad design: why not describe the powers of the pieces and any special rules about them?  The numbers are on the pieces themselves after all.  This is corrected in Stratego: Fire & Ice.


 Write Titles and Subtitles That Communicate

• Use bold, enlarged, or capitalized titles to emphasize and establish hierarchy.
 
• Try to have fun with the design to communicate FUN!
 
• Use substantive headings – like “newspaper headlines.”
 
• Give your game a title and a tag line, e.g.: "Gotta catch 'em all!"

Grid Game Ideas

As you work on two grid game ideas for our class on Wednesday, I hope you take some time to look around at similar games to help develop your ideas and to make sure you are not "reinventing the wheel" (or trampling on someone's copyrighted territory).  The best source of inspiration, after all, is other games, and you can sometimes use them as a launching pad for further exploration.

A great resource for finding sample games is Board Game Geek.  Interested in a zombie game?  Search "zombies" and track down games with that theme.  Most games include screen images of the board, game pieces, cards, etc., plus rules and general descriptions.  I used it to get ideas for a football-based grid game I played around with (see here and here) and I was amazed by how many football games there have been and how many different forms they have taken.

Remember: grid games can take many forms.  Don't be confined by the games you know -- try to learn about more games and ideas to expand your horizons.

Or just try to do something innovative by starting with a question, such as: "What would a grid game based on a hexagonal grid be like?"  It might get you to start thinking about bees or space ships.  And then you begin to get ideas.... 

Among the more interesting grid games developed in this class have been:

• Zombie Mansion
  One player commands the Zombies and tries to keep the humans from escaping a mansion house.  As humans get bitten by the zombies, they join the zombie team and give the zombies more turns.  Surprisingly, the zombies usually lose.  Little zombie pieces, available for sale online, make this really fun.
• Jungle Escape
  Be the first player to escape the jungle by making your way down a mountain to civilization.  Manage your resources and trade with the natives.  A race game with strategy.
• Pizza Mania
  Shoot your game piece onto the wavy-cheese grid board to select a topping card.  You need to win four topping cards to win the game.

If you are stuck for ideas, get onto the web, look around, and see what is out there.  You are bound to come up with something.  Or take a pad and pencil and start drawing some shapes.  Whatever you do, just don't sit there.  You have to write up two one-page proposals, with a visual image, by Wednesday at 9:50.