Prototype Questions

  1. Roles — do we want to have fabricated roles (to put this in mafia-esque terms, spy, doctor, etc.) or people to imitate each other?
    1. This is important because it determines the direction our game goes in, and also influences our audience. For example, if we have a game where people imitate each other, it’s more well suited for people who already know each other well, while fabricated roles would make the game easier to play for people who don’t know each other.
    2. We could play a game based on people imitating each other, and another game where people play predetermined roles.
    3. I think it would be easier to play predetermined roles, as well as allow more flexibility as a game designer, as we can control each player and their desired outcome. Additionally, if each player plays as another, the game would not be very repeatable, as everyone would imitate each specific person in similar ways, making them easy to identify.
  2. What types of questions are fun — what questions are deep enough to elicit genuine emotions, while not being too deep to cause players to lie/feel bad?
    1. This is important because if the game revolves around asking questions, the questions need to be ones that elicit fun answers without hurting the players.
    2. We can prototype by playing the game with a wide variety of questions, ranging from superficial to deep.
    3. I’m anticipating that the fun questions will lie on the deeper side, but not too deep. Questions regarding things that are contentious or provocative, like “would you rather”, love-related questions, etc. are likely to be in that sweet spot, where you get to know the person, but don’t need to know anything too deep/explicit about them.
  3. What is a good win condition/objective? Should players compete individually or in teams?
    1. This is important because it determines the game’s structure, which cascades down to dynamics and mechanics as well.
    2. We can prototype by playing with different objectives, like winning a certain number of points, identifying what role a VIP on the other team is, etc. We can also try doing playing the game both as individuals and in teams.
    3. I think the game will work best by having players work individually to win a certain number of points. I think games that revolve around players asking each other personal questions work best with individuals, as it allows each player to ask every other player a question (as opposed to only being able to ask questions for people on the other team). A points system seems to make the most sense when competing individually, as other win conditions seem difficult to implement.

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