1. I loved Mario Kart as a kid so I chose that game. Actions: driving, steering, accelerating, braking, drafting, jumping off ramps, and throwing items at other players. Goals: be the first player to finish the race (or place as high as possible in certain game modes). Within that main goal, players can collect coins or items to sabotage players. Rules: each race has a set number of laps around the course, there are shortcuts but they still fall within the boundary, bumping into players slows involved parties down, items from boxes are randomly distributed. Objects: Karts, obstacle items (shells, bananas, ice, etc), coins, item boxes, ramps, and physical obstacles. Playspace is the track (depends on the selected track) which has roads, obstacles, and terrain.
2. If basketball was played on a chess board, movement would be restricted to specific squares and each player would only be able to move in specific patterns. The players would be slower and would have to think far ahead about their movement (less reactive more programmed movement). In contrast, if we played chess on a basketball court, pieces would be able to fluidly move wherever they wanted, which defeats the whole purpose of the game (since specific pieces have specific abilities). Chess would become less about methodic movement and more about general strategy and dynamic zone control (like a traditional sport)
3. I played Tag as a kid. Goals are to avoid being “it” or if you are “it” to pass it on to someone else. Actions are running, dodging, and sometimes hiding to “it” can’t find you. There are no objects, although I used to play on a playground (swings, slides, etc). The playspace would be a playground, yard, or open field and the players are any human, although generally children between 4 and 14. In the space of possibility map, player A would run towards player B, then player B would attempt to dodge. If B is successful, player B escapes and the game continues. If A is successful, then B becomes “it”. The safe zones also create choice branches: you can go for safety (less exciting but safe) or stay near “it” (risky but more fun). The game of tag (system) generates endless states (different it players, tag patterns, chase paths, etc)
4. For a real-time game, I observed/played Clash Royale. The game states shifted as players deployed troops, managed elixir, and attacked or defended towers. At the start, both players waited with full towers and elixir slowly filling. Midway, one player dropped a Giant on the left lane, which then created a new state where the opponent needed to decide whether to counter with defensive troops and protect the king tower or use the opposite lane to strike a counter attack. Then in the last minute of the game, it became a double elixir, which meant players would deploy troops at twice the rate. The state evolved into chaotic exchanges with multiple troops on the board and towers under pressure. The game reached a critical state when one princess tower was destroyed, opening direct access to the King’s Tower and shifting the strategic focus. The final state was reached when the King’s Tower was destroyed, which ended the match. I think clash royale is an interesting game compared to something like chess. Although there are shared elements (taking the opponents king with cards that have unique abilities), clash royale is time based (including troop deployment), which makes everything a lot more chaotic. It’s more reactive and less thinking ahead beyond the troops we see on the field. In contrast, chess is turn based and not primarily time based, so gameplay is a lot more calculated and methodic.
