Week 9 – Polishing the Final Project Idea
This week’s focus was on developing the final project idea from a concept into a plan with clear steps to complete. This was done following my first session with my supervisor where some initial potential challenges were raised, and following an informal conversation I had with two experts in game design and theory (which will be detailed in a subsequent blog post). This post will detail the process from a vague concept to a clear plan of execution. This is as follows:
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- Prioritising and cleaning concept. First and foremost, my supervisor and I quickly identified that the main point of correlation between us is our interest in history. However, other elements which I’d initially hoped to bring in the final project (e.g., AI response to images and a comparison between AI and experts in the field) were of little to my supervisor and a challenge that might add too many issues rather than benefitting my overall project. Furthermore, the idea to create a storyboard of a potential game wouldn’t be as productive or as rewarding as creating a prototype of the game itself. Thus, with their help and following further research, I decided to drop the AI component of the initial concept and to focus on producing a functioning historical RPG (with 15+ mins of runtime) and an accompanying creative visualisation of the game’s narrative.
- Identifying a clear creative output. With my supervisor, we discussed the potential word counts for the accompanying critical reflection. At first, it seemed likely to pursue the 8,000 word count as a result of having a stationary creative output. However, following my research for the project, I have elected to pursue the 4,000 word option as my intended output is now a 15+ min RPG game. Furthermore, should time permit, I’d like to produce another creative visualisation of the core narrative. As the program is ‘Narrative Futures’ and a lot of my initial experience for the game as come from a narrative point (being as my background is in English Literature and Creative Writing) it would be creatively rewarding to produce something else to that effect – which prioritises the story being told. This could either be a stationary storyboard (but with text unlike the initial idea) or a short graphic novel (in a similar nature as I produced for the course Creative Visual Narratives). This still remains to be seen.
- Securing expert advisors in game theory and design. The format of the intended creative game (RPG vs Tabletop) still remained undecided near the end of April. Thus, I reached out to the two game designers who I’d previously reached out (via LinkedIn) to schedule an informal session (unrecorded and a simple < 30 minute conversation) to converse with them and to allow us to familiarise ourselves with each other. Izzi is an expert in game design whereas Helen is an expert in game theory (and in the production and marketing side of the industry). They both approached the (separate) conversations from different angles and provided me with different references and resources to research, but they both stressed the fact that a project with a deadline as soon as mine (< 3 months) is better suited for a tabletop game rather than a digital one (especially taking into regard my basic coding knowledge and use of Twine/RIP/etc.). Thus, following the informal sessions with them both, I clearly selected an RPG historical tabletop game as my intended final output, and set about researching the medium in further depth. I have since submitted my Ethical Forms to ensure future sessions between us may be recorded and stored to make references back. Currently, our subsequent (formal) sessions together are scheduled for the end of May.
- Possible challenges (focus groups and keeping things fun). Some central challenges to the upcoming project have already been identified at this stage. The overall challenge (as stressed by both consultants) is ensuring the game is fun to play. They warned me that it’s easy to get lost in the aesthetic of the game’s visuals or in the minutiae (characters, era, objects etc.) and to forget that a game’s first and foremost purpose is to entertain. This takes me to another challenge, which is procuring enough players (ethically) to test out the game. As of now, I am planning to prepare enough copies of the participation form and to have each member of the subsequent focus groups sign it before playing. As my target demographic are players over the age of 12 and onwards, I am planning to ask my family members, friends, and classmates to test the game out. This will ensure a range of gathered data as all three groups hail from varying levels of experience with gameplay. Another challenge is the second creative output which I still haven’t decided on. Helen, an ex-journalist, stressed the importance of defining a clear narrative before beginning any further work on the game, in the same manner that I would as a writer. Thus, I intend to sit down and prepare a clear (fictional) narrative with historical elements that is engaging for the target audience.
- Next steps (how will I achieve this?) This month (May) will comprise of three main tasks: outlining the narrative for the story being told, identifying an aesthetic for the game (character, location, overall physical appearance) design, and constructing a 2D visualisation of a prototype of the game. At the end of the month, I will present my supervisor and both consultants with these three completed tasks and receive feedback on them. The feedback will guide my subsequent steps in developing the project.
The aim of the project is to create an educational RPG tabletop game that delivers historical information on the Three Kingdom Period of Korea through a engaging and compelling narrative. Some of the key interdisciplinary courses I will be drawing from are Gamifying Historical Narratives, Creative Visual Narratives, Writing Speculative Fiction and Pitching Your Services and Products.
A further gameplan will be developed following my second meeting with my supervisor and the scheduled sessions with both consultants.
