Short Exercise: What do Prototypes Prototype? (EB)

1. 1. The weight and scale of the blocks are important, as they will affect the difficulty of stacking or removing blocks. They will also affect the experience of physically interacting with the blocks, which will ultimately impact the game’s sensory aspects (sensation aesthetic).
  2. We can begin by using an existing Jenga block (easy to obtain) to see how a similar game’s objects work. Although this is very simple, it counts as a prototype (see What Do Prototypes Prototype page 2 where it says a brick can be a prototype for the weight/scale of an object).
  3. I think that this will probably work out well (appropriate weight/scale), as Jenga is a similar successful game.

1. 1. To make sure our game is distinct from traditional Jenga, we need to do more than just make it a social deduction game. We plan to mix up what players do on their turn (ex: stack and replace one existing block, stack two blocks, remove one block and don’t replace it, do it with your eyes closed, do it within 5 seconds, etc). To make the game both fun and balanced, we would need to figure out what players options could do on their turn.
  2. As a prototype, we can create a deck of cards of possible turns and try playing normal jenga (without a social deduction component). Then, we can ask participants to report how enjoyable and how challenging they found each card. As a team, we’ll need to come up with specific cards.
  3. I think that players will enjoy there being multiple blocks to do in one turn, as more blocks = more fun. However, I think people may find the blindfolded card too hard.

Is it possible to enforce players only whispering, and what are the implications of various enforcement methods?

1. 1. One of our possible game mechanics is only allowing players to whisper. We would need to make sure that this mechanic is actually followed in order to get some of the benefits of it. If there are multiple methods of enforcement, we would also then need to know what possible implications of each method would be.
  2. As a prototype, we can have players play regular Jenga and self-enforce whispering among themselves. Then, we can have them play regular Jenga and use an app or website to measure noise levels. We can see which is better and how they affect the dynamics of play (level of discussion, frequency of discussion, level of noise, physical closeness of players, reported bonding, etc).
  3. I think that both methods will work (although if one fails, it’d be the digital one because setting an exact threshold may be hard).

Is it too hard to have multiple players coordinate on a single block action?

1. 1. One of our possible game mechanics is forcing players to play together (ex: each has one hand on the same block at once). We need to figure out if this is going to be too hard.
  2. As a prototype, we can have blocks and have people try to perform various tasks together with them, such as stacking and removing them.
  3. I think that this will be doable for players but it may take some practice. I think it will also require vocal coordination and that it may take more time than individual actions do

1. Our team is considering multiple game mechanics designed to introduce time pressure, which may involve a total timer for the game or a timer per an individual move. Calibrating the timing to make sure it’s an appropriate level of challenge is thus important.
2. As a prototype, we can have blocks and have people try to perform various tasks with them, such as stacking and removing them. But we will let them know that we will be timing them and we can experiment with different timing methods (game v.s. turn) as well as timing amounts (how long) to find out what works.
3. I think that either timing method could work. But I think that timing per turn could introduce unneeded friction to the game, unless we were to integrate it really smoothly (ex: turn “cards” are digital and when you click to reveal yours it also starts a turn timer). I think that 10 seconds is a fair amount of time to take one turn, unless it requires setup (ex: putting on a blindfold). I think that 10 minutes is a good amount of time for an entire game.

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The Mechanics of Magic