Rapid Prototyping

We want to do a rapid prototype because we want to test out our game in the early stages before we put to much time and work into it. What is a prototype? Google it and be ready to explain it in your own words. Test early, test often!

The Challenge:

Games are often based on other games. Base the game on a topic you are interested in (history or science) and mash it up (combine it) with a game you have played in the past. Change a few rules.

Materials you may need:

  • Game Board paper

  • Index Cards or Post It notes for writing rules

  • Index Cards for making cards for the game

  • Markers or Crayons

  • Dice, Hourglass Timer, Spinner, Polyhedral Dice if available

  • Game Pieces, Kindergarden Counters, Stacking Pieces, Chips

Task:

Your team has twenty minutes to design a game. It must be ready for other students to play after 20 minutes. Be sure your team is working together throughout this task.

Two or three team members will rotate to the next team and play-test their game for 5 minutes.

One team member (Project Manager) stays behind to take notes and watch your classmates play your game. Project Manager looks for flaws in the design and for ways to improve the game.

Return to your team and discuss the results of the play-test feedback. (See questions below)

Polish it up - Redesign the game based on feedback for 15 minutes. Retest your design.

Working Cooperatively -

Be Polite!!

Be polite to your testers/players. If they find mistakes in your game, like spelling errors or directions that you forgot to include, thank them! They are doing you a favor by playing your game and giving you feedback.

Reporting Back To Your Team

Project Manager: When reporting results of play-test to your team, please be considerate. Try not to use these words in your report: broken, unusable, confusing, kind of odd, mistake. The game is not a mistake, you just didn't have this information which you made your initial design. Instead, you might talk about features that need attention and could be improved.

How do you communicate back to your team? Sometimes, a person in your team might be passionate about a rule or mechanic they came up with but maybe it would be a better game if it were changed. How can you suggest the change without hurting feelings? Also, keep your report short, giving only the key information from the test. You might take lots and lots of notes during the test, but don't just hand it over to the team. Make a summary with key points.

Questions to ask yourself after the first round of testing:

1. What did you expect would happen?

2. What actually happened when players played the game?

3. If what you expected didn't happen, why do you think it didn't happen?

4. Was what happened better or worse than what you expected?

5. What are things that can hurt your players and how can we fix them?

6. Game state: What game state is your player in? How close are they to winning? What resources do they have? Do they understand that? Do they know the game state and do they know what options they have?

7. How can you improve your game?

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