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W.O.R.S.T.
The final project in my game design course in the Creative Technology and Design program at CU Boulder.
W.O.R.S.T. was a team project in which our group was tasked with designing a tabletop game from the ground up, conducting multiple rounds of playtesting, incorporating feedback, and ultimately showing off the game in a brief presentation, embedded below. Our three-person team was loosely divided into a game designer (me), documenter, and user research, although all facets of the game were touched by all of us in some way.
This project was easily one of the best experiences I had in my degree program. The process from conception to presentation was about two months long, and involved the initial ideation period, followed by research of similar games, and then moving into design and playtesting from there. My team and I wanted to create a party card game, similar to Apples to Apples and Snake Oil, with a tone that reflected our particular sense of humor, and ample opportunity for creativity.
The initial concept was similar to Apples to Apples: One Judge character draws a "Problem" card, and the other players are dealt a hand of "Solution" cards. I quickly realized that this has not only been done before, but has lots of room for improvements.
First, I eliminated the "Solution" cards, so now the players have to think differently in order to spin what would be a problem, into a solution for the issue that the judge posed.
Then, I gave more opportunity for creativity to the judges. They now draw two problem cards, and present a problem that is the result of those two to the players to solve. This gave more ownership to the judge, as the issue is something they created, while also creating much more interesting game scenarios for the players.
From here, we playtested with classmates and friends numerous times, implementing feedback and tweaking the balance (some cards felt too easy, some felt too niche, etc.) and game flow (how much time does the judge or player get, how many rounds, etc.). Lots of work was spent on the instructions during this period as well. By the end of it, we had a game that felt fast-paced, fun, and provided a unique spin on an established game framework. Embedded below is the complete design document, as well as playtest logs and general ideation, which will give further insight into the design process.
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