Refocusing

At the end of this week the whole team was forced to accept a uneasy reality.  We still do not have a playable game.  So we set clear goals to have a minimal playable version ready by next week.  To do this we need to make levels like crazy.  So the goal is 10 levels per person, and after we all have made levels we will choose the 10 best or rework the favorite parts of multiple levels until we get a working set of 10 for the game.   This has been really stressful for me because I feel like I have failed in some way, but if we have something to iterate on soon the chances of our game becoming something that is really fun to play skyrocket.  Sadly the story we had planned did not survive, it might be included in a minimal form at the beginning and end of the game.  But we have time for a re-write and then it is either go with a really short story or replace the story with sets of feminism facts after each level.

Designing for Feminism

From the first moment when Nick Day thought of our game it has had a feminist-driven perspective.  The game started out as a "save the knights from the dragon" game.  A direct reversal of the usual dragon fighting scenario.  It later drew inspiration from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords.  Cooperation and teamwork we decided would be core to our message.

We have been working with the Women's Center on campus to double-check if our message is clear and in line with feminism.  Their input has really helped us stay focused on what our game should say.

Another decision that was made early on was that we should avoid combat, and instead focus on problem-solving.  To further connect with our theme of feminism by showing that violence is not the solution to problems.  So we have set up a system that focuses on the puzzle-solving of Zelda and not the swashbuckling.  This has led to the game being further immersed in cooperation because all the princesses will be needed to get through the levels.

We also decided to publish our level editor as a way to say to our players: "You are welcome to not only play our game, but you can make games too."  They will be able to try out their own level ideas and set up challenges for them and their friends.  The last element we decided on had to do with our final enemy.

The concept is still up in the air, but whether we have a dark lord or a dragon as our "big bad" we will not defeat them through violence.  After finding ways to avoid their attacks or turn them against the "big bad" the princesses will be able to talk things out with the enemy and come to a aggrement where everyone is happy, they will also be able to see why the "big bad" did the things they did and understand their viewpoint.

All in all the game will show a team of empowered individuals deciding to save the kingdom themselves, through wits and compassion.  

New Semester

So this blog has been under posted for the last semester, I will start with this post and go for the usual once-a-week format that was encouraged in the first semester.

This week has been a slight shift, as the team gets back into the workflow after the holiday break.  We have decided to release our game multiple times to allow for more polishing and attempts for improvement.

I have been testing the level editor and talking with all three teams so that our design goals are clear and that we have enough tools to make interesting levels.  For the Tech team I listed alternate versions of the elements already present in the game, some suggested metrics for tracking when playtesters get a hold of our game, and discussing differing traits for the princesses after princess powers were cut from the development schedule.  For Art I have been discussing with the lead what our story should be, and went over in a meeting what environment we are using (A regal castle) and other general guidelines for the game.  For Design I set a goal of 5-6 levels by Tuesday from all three of the members.

More soon, I'll be talking about why the mechanics were chosen to reflect feminism.