What Prototypes Prototype – Simran

Our game premise (as of right now) is Pictionary but with Legos. A few questions I would want our prototypes to answer are:

1. How socially interactive is the game and what is the minimum number of players to create the ideal social environment?
   1. This question is important for understanding how this game engages people with one another and the lower limit on how many people can play. For example, if the game is most effectively interactive when it is a team competition, the minimum number of players may need to be higher than if the game is just as enjoyable with player v player competition.
   2. A basic prototype with the block elements and simple rules would be needed to get the feel for how players interact socially during gameplay.
   3. My guess is that for our game, the ideal setting is a team competition, and players will find the most enjoyment in competitive interactions against the other team or collaborative interactions with their teammates.
2. How will players interact with the new physical elements of the game?
   1. Since this game includes Legos and building with them as a main component, it is important to see how players will engage with the blocks and how the game of pictionary will evolve with the new elements. Also, how players initially interact with the blocks will inform later decisions about how many blocks to include, if colors will be useful or harmful, and other specifics about blocks.
   2. A prototype with the basic ruleset and some legos would suffice for this prototype – not polished but a fairly playable version of the game.
   3. My guess is that players will have a slight learning curve with the physical elements, as drawing is more intuitive than building, but will eventually get comfortable with building block representations.
3. How simple is the learning curve for a player playing this game for the first time?
   1. Understanding how first-time players interact with our game is key to understanding where our game will fall on the boredom scale. It can also show cracks in the rules of the game, as any points of confusion can be clarified until it is as clear as possible.
   2. A prototype of just the rules of the game would suffice for this. Representations of the other game tools might be helpful as a visual representation, but understanding how well players understand a simple rules document can show cracks in the game structure early on.
   3. My guess is that brief but detailed instructions will be simplest to understand, and limiting unnecessary rules or complications to the flow of play will reduce the friction for new players.