What are the 3 most important challenges or risks you may be facing in your project? How will you address or mitigate these risks and challenges? How are you going to be able to address it?
Firstly, my project faces the risk of being ineffective due to my lack of experience in game design. I have never designed a game at this scale before, and certainly not with the added complications that arise when implementing complex concepts into it. I am particularly concerned about the flow, and how each move in the game links to another move. I want to make sure that the experience is as seamless as possible, to ensure there are few blind spots or areas of concern where players can’t logically derive what to do next. To mitigate this risk, I will plan to gather a lot of advice from frequent game players, alongside game design companies, and as mentioned in previous blogs, the Games Hub. I hope to develop these relationships, and go through several iterations of my board game, implanting feedback as I receive it. I also hope to practically play the game with my peers, to find any blind spots. Ideally, I would like to get children to play the game so I can realise where they are struggling, but as a target audience, finding willing participants and having their parents consent for their participation may be a challenge. Regardless, I will ask the advice of younger audiences through showing them the game, and figuring out what aspects they find engaging and challenging.
Secondly, I am concerned about the effectiveness of a physical game in a digital world – I am uncertain as to the interest of young people in board games. Although I grew up with them, and loved them, I also grew up without the technology which enraptures so many kids today – the exact medium that I am trying to inform children and other audiences about, may be what keeps them from actively participating in a game about the digital rights. Nevertheless, I will endeavour to incorporate as many exciting elements as possible – 3D printed and designed pieces, perhaps engaging facts and figures from the apps they use most, perhaps a QR code which takes them to certain sites, or even a way to make the game more ‘instagrammable’. I’m still brainstorming what these exciting elements could be. I hope in this way, I can bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds, and make a concrete imprint on children of how far their digital footprint extends and should extend in relation to the law/ ethical considerations. Nevertheless, I want to create a physical artefact – I am inspired by Dr Pip Thorntons physical printing of receipts, and it left a lasting impression on me.
Finally, if I’m honest, I am concerned with my own confidence regarding the idea – I have had a few people question the sentiment, and comment that it won’t be effective in the iPad generation. I hope to allay these fears through speaking to professors this week, one of which has already endorsed the idea, and gather what thoughts they might have about the idea. I am invested in my idea regarding the transparency of digital rights for all audiences, and I personally adore the idea of having a board game to do that. In comparison to the projects of other people, which seem much more academically rigorous, I am concerned this project will look infantile next to theirs. But, as said by Theodore Roosevelt, “comparison is the thief of joy”. My board game feels like a passion project, and I think enthusiasm is really important.
