Reflection
Design Process
The brainstorming session began with considering the topics that were most important to everyone on the team, with a focus on those that had the potential to transform the world. After choosing the topic of misinformation on social media, we conducted some background research. We based the art direction and design of the cards on highly saturated and gradient colors that are typical of social media design. To ensure consistency with the overall aesthetic and theme, we used AI-generated images to create the content cards, event cards, and caption cards. After designing the cards, we conducted our first playtest within the group. Based on the results, we decided to add more variety to the gameplay. We came up with the idea of creating a board to visually represent the process of gaining followers, using an iPad as the background to simulate the experience on social media. When players landed on certain tiles, a random event was triggered to add excitement and uncertainty to the game.
What Worked
Our game is designed with a strong social aspect that encourages players to bond and interact with each other through likes and reporting. We've received a lot of positive feedback, with many people saying that our game is both enjoyable and suitable for parties. One of the game's key features is that it allows players to share their sense of humor by posting content. We've also implemented several real-life social media mechanics, such as giving likes, becoming an influencer, promotions, and reporting content. This makes the game more transformative and relatable to real life, enhancing its overall impact.
What didn't work well
Throughout the project, we prioritized fun and simplicity, so as not to put off or intimidate players, over transformative meaning. During gameplay, we found that there were not many strategic opportunities for using Intent cards. We also had difficulty integrating the transformative aspect of the game, and the use of the misinformation Intent cards remained somewhat superficial. As a result, the transformative aspect of the game was not clearly conveyed, and it was unclear what the takeaway for players would be. The reason why people choose to put down a particular Intent card is arbitrary, and it should be connected to the content cards and captions
Change/improvement in the future
One thing we will add to the game is to include events that affect all players, not just the person who draws the card. This simulates the way that social media posts can reach a vast audience and have an impact on everyone. We believe that this feature adds a transformative element to the game.
To further enhance the strategic aspect of the game, we plan to pair some Intent cards with specific themes from the Caption or Content cards. For instance, we might modify an Intent card to "Misinformation: if the Content card features animals, move ahead three steps." This change will simulate the way that certain types of content trend on social media, and it will encourage players to use their Intent cards more strategically.
In addition, we plan to integrate characters for each of the players to help with the storytelling and transformative aspect, providing everyone with their own motivations and special abilities.
