As the quarter comes to a close, I have come to appreciate the way that this class forces me to perceive the game, both as a player and as a game developer. I remember towards the beginning of the class, there was a lecture on how players and game devs often look at games from opposite ends of the spectrum and meet in the middle. This memory pops up in my head as then, I never understood what this meant and as a decently avid gamer, I felt like I could design a game based on my experiences as a gamer alone. However, as we began to prototype with our analog game, I realized that my experiences through the games I play sometimes do not translate over to creating a game for a general audience to player. I did not have a grasp of what was easy and difficult to a player since I had already been exposed to certain mechanics from prior game experience, and I had to adjust my point of view to match the audience we were trying to make a game out of. Overall, this part was very fulfilling and satisfying as in the end, I believe we did a good job catering to this audience.
As for the assignments of the class, I thought the critical plays were much more interesting than the sketchnotes since we were able to play a diverse set of games and be able to critically think and talk about the various nuances of these games. For example, I would have never thought to play Journey or Monument Valley before this class as I though they never fit my niche for games. However, it turns out that playing these games and thinking deeper about the design and theme of the game allowed me to enjoy the game at a higher level than if I were to passively play the game. Sketchnotes were a little lost on me as I was more focused on making my notes look aesthetic than actually learning something from the readings. However, having both the critical plays and sketchnotes was nice as I was able to use parts from both assignments in our game design. If I had to change anything about these two assignments, it would be to have less of them since it was hard to fully focus on both assignments and to put a good amount of effort into them.
Creating two games in this class was challenging but also very rewarding at the same time. Our first game, Works of Art, was my first time designing an analog game. It was challenging at first because I was not used to thinking about physical game pieces and cards and how they would interact with an in-person experience. However, these challenges taught me resilience and the ability to adapt to any problems in our way. I also learned the importance of playtesting and feedback during the creation of this game, which were crucial in identifying issues and areas for improvement. Through these experiences, I have grown significantly as a game designer and I was able to use these skills in creating the next game, Rooted.
In the end, I feel excited and equipped to continue making new games. I hope to approach further game design with a mindset on quick iteration. I am grateful for the opportunity to learn game development in a formal setting as I continue my future journey as a game designer.
