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I’m starting to think through the mechnics of placing and/or moving the birds along positions. For now I have 2 ideas in mind:
whith levels and random.

Option 1: levels

Branches and positions are structured to form circular levels, that have more and more reduced positions from lower levels to upper ones.
The final level has just one winning position.

Levels influence on the potential combination mechanics and here are some initial thoughts on rules points that I can see for now for this layout:

• amount of available positions reduce as players progress upwards. So the mechanics must take into account this reduction and be functional
  even with a small amount of positions.
• there must be a rule (or particular combination) that controls and allows proceeding to the upper level
• It can be possible to surround opponent’s bird and make it yours (what can lead to processing to the next level. Maybe players can form clusters
  of their birds, particular amount of which allows proceeding further. But this strategy may cause problems when the number of positions reduce. So there
  must be a way to either make opponent free a position or, again, make his birds yours, but in restricted space. Will think about that)

In general this option challenges not only agility, but strategy as well.

Option 2: No strict layering

First of all there must be a principle on when it’s allowed to claim higher positions. Idea of colour-code may be of use here and play major role.

Idea a) each “level” is marked with one colour and players can proceed to next color if all positions of the previous one are taken (UPD: the game will just turn into “fill the layer as fast as you can” with no significant challenge. I will playtest it, but even now I don’t think that will work out)

Idea b) positions are marked with different colours, and player can take a higer position of a particular clolur if all the lower ones of this colour
have been claimed. (For now I think it’s the most potentially workable idea as it simplifies the game understanding. Because it to compare it with strict layering system, the rules will be easier to master as they won’t work on particular combinations. Thus, to add some strategit thinking, but not just challenge for hands ajility, some combinations can still be introduced to allow bonuses, and players will be encouraged to place birds in particular places and orders instead of doing it randomly)

What about the app and how positions will be distributed?

I’m still sticking to the project goal that new feature (origami folding) must be the main or significant element in gameplay. So the game must be not only about taking positions otherwise origami birds can be substituted with figurines. Players must work for obtainig the units to place on positions as well. And that’s where speed of making origami takes place as a challenge. Time to make them is restricted, and,
since I chose to reduce the impact of digital element on the game, the app can still play a supportive role. Of a timer, for example.

First I thoight about turn-taking, but almost immediately rejected the idea as it will take some time to fold even an easy origami, and at the same time there must be allowed even more time to fold several and place them. So the time of waiting will have to be significant at least for a couple of minutes, what will slow down the game immensely, and the second player will get bored. So time of action must be simultanious for both players for everyone to be engajed, and it general it will make the game more challenging.

So, the app can still take up the role of positions distribution, but in a much simpler way, than I thought before. Just a timer with a colour changing screen (random or not? and show time or not? – to consider). Color is active for a set period of time, during which players must fold as many birds as they can and place them on any position of that colour they like (according to rules restrictions). When colour changes, the process starts over.

To consider:

• the win position can be neutral, and before game starts, players can agree on what colour it will take
• are players obliged to take a position during the time period? Or can they use one time to make some amount of birds and the next one to place them?

If we consider criterias of hybrid element in board games such as !!!, the app can be replaced with a simple timer and a Twister-like method to randomise colous.

What about time?

I started measuring the amount of time needed for making an origami bird. First of all it’s the queston of scheme itself. Ideally I would take one from the image, that inspired me for the project idea. But I tried it myself first without a timer, and it turned out to take too much time and hard to master. So I opted for a much simpler one, that I could memorize from 2-3rd time of folding.

I took into consideration that the first time folding will take more time and less as players master it. First forlding took me about a minute, while further ones around 40 seconds. I used ordinary printing paper and big square 21×21 cm. The simple bird scheme worked very well, so I’m keeping it.

But firstly, I knew it’s possible to shorten the time and, secondly, these birds are too big to play. So I tried a much smaller square of 6×6 cm, which game me time of around 30 seconds and a small neat bird. I’m satisfied with it, but also I can think that I can use other types of paper – softer ones – because printing paper is quite dense and struggles slightly with folding.

Like tissue or Chinese rice paper. (Which arises the question of cost for potential product, but that’s not a question to consider on this stage). Than can reduce folding time even more.

So, what am I doing next?
It’s time to make a prototype to make some playtests, if gameplay ideas will work out and what problems it may have. I can already make the app, finish experiments with types of paper and decide on the timer time (which can be random in length, but to less than the time to fold one bird, which is for now 30 seconds). Then I’ll make the tree with branches that can be altered to test both gameplay options. Till next entry! 🙂

The pitch discussion confirmed my fears over making the app the main part of the game. My idea requires to much technology that I never used or explored, and for my current coding skills that would be too much. I was advised to decide on the route to take:

• digital game with board game features (like Hitman Go)
• pure board game with minor digital elements if necessary

I will opt for the board game in that case because first of all I really want to move my focus away from digital games for some time due to academic and personal welfare reasons.

These alterations mean a slight shift in research and project objectives. In terms of research I’ll add “craft in board game mechanics” to find some relevant case studies and, maybe, get some more ideas, and “combination mechanics”, as the game will be based on strategy, claiming positions and (potentially) birds’ combinations that may have some effects on gameplay. As an addition it might be worth looking at 3D layered tabletop games as well.

So, what is novelty and experiment of my game?

• This is a craft game based on origami as the main feature of gameplay
• experimenting can take place with types of positions combination and rules for claiming positions. For example, positions can be distributed by levels or randomly. This can affect on how origami mechnics will function in the game.
• I will still kepp digital part, but reduce it significantly to timer, showing folding scheme or colour code (if any).

To summ up all the decisions for the moment:

The pitch day is coming and I have nothing else decent in mind. I got disappointed in my ideas so far, that’s why the best can do now is to continue the most developed concept – the origami craft game.

I tried to use a more familiar approach and to start with a setting or a story, which can give me hints on gameplay. I thought about a famous russian tale “An old man Mazai and hares”, where this old man was saving hares in spring, when nearby river flooded surroundings.

Hares can be origami units and the game is based on collecting as many hares as possible without drowning the boat. This could have worked as a concept, but I didn’t like that the craft technique doesn’t correspond with the setting. There’s no correlation between japanese origami and russian fairy tale. So I put this idea on hold.

Then I came back to the birds idea and tried to get it further.

Here I was thinking about sectors, one per each player, where somehow players must get to the center. (Actually even the next day after drawing that I can’t already recollect clearly, what I meant on these scheme) But the most important outcome here is that I understood that the process of creating origami doesn’t play any role here. Origami figures can be substituted with classic figurines and nothing would change. So I need to think about how to make the folding process be significant for the game. And this scheme was transformed into this:

So now it’s a duel game, where the agility in folding origami birds lets you claim more positions and move to the top faster. This is something we can work with already.

I tried to play more with narrative and to use a story about koi fish becoming a dragon.

But this required change in the core of the game which is “create as many as you can”, which contrantradicts the story a little bit. Or I just liked the bird story better, because it just gives a slight context, but is mainly about mechanics.

But still I didn’t abandon the app idea and still want to implement it somehow. What I’m thinking about is that the app being functional can take up the role of marking available positions and setting time to fold birds and claim the positions. But I have some serious fears about implementing that. Because ideally it should be augmented reality, where player can see highlited positions via phone camera. But I’ve never worked with that. That can be substituted with the 3d version of the physical tree, which can be rotated 360 degrees to reveal all posiible position. But again I’m not sure if my skills will be enough to make that. And my aim to make digital element blended with the gameplay works against me as falure to make the app means falue of the whole game. So I hope to resolve this issue during the pitch and get some advice. But for now my pitch page looks like this, which I find quite satisfactory, taking into account my previous problems with ideas.

Concept 2

Board game + touch screen technology. It mingt be an app that complements a board game.

Though I preferred this route, I was struggling a lot with coming up with idea. So after some time of effortless attempts to find something, I started over with asking a question: What can an app do in a board game?

• sum up game results and show ending (maybe several, depending on the results)
• define turns
• one of the tasks, similar to special cards in Monopoly
• Chalenge or obstacle
• Drawing
• Parallel play: to proceed in the analogue game player must pass a digital level
• QTE reaction: app has a timer with random time period. As the analogue game goes, app suddenly sets off an alarm with challenge, which player has to solve fast. Player gets a bonus in case of success, or a punishment if not. Can be an element of strategy (player can willingly fail the task to get some benefit in future). Something like challenges in Among Us.

Interactive ending concept:

I decided to try and develop one of the previous ideas about narrative card game. App collects data from the game session (like what choice did player make), and according to algorythm shows one of the game endings (video, animation or even partly intercative thing). Digital element will make it easier to sum up game results and contribute to aesthetics.

Where can this be applied?

• Create your story game with challenge elements (or even apply QTE mechanincs)
• Strategy game, where it helps to manage resources and then, depending on the amount of them, give the result and ending

Thus, as experiment showed, this concept has a significant disadvantage, that contradics one of my objectives : new feature must be significant for gameplay. Here the app functions more as a supporting mechanism and partly decour to make the game ending more engaging and spectacular.

QTE reaction:

I thought that this idea is also worth trying to develop as it solves the issue of the previous concept – it is directly intertwined with gameplay and game process partly depends on it.

Again, I asked a start question: What can these QTE do i a game?

• give access to special resources or features
• hold up or give punishment for failing it
• be an element of strategy

Players should be encouraged to complete these challenges, which can be either individual or collective. In case of individual, player is responsible for the choices and risks getting a punishment. In case of collective, players will compete to be the first one to take the challenge and get a bonus.

Potentially I liked this concept, but apart from above mentioned ideas I became completely stuck here. I had no other ideas of how it can be developed or even what setting it might have. I definitely didn’t want to copy Among Us, but nothing else came to my mind. So, I decided to put away this one for some time and try to develop

Parallel play

Where I completely failed again, but these time because I realized that even though that has potential and can be very interesting playing experience, that would mean creating 2 games simultaniously, one of which requires a lot of coding, which is my weak point for now. It would be impossible to handle for the time scope that we have for this project. So I rejected this idea completely.

Overall, I’m mostly going back to whiteboard. I have the craft game idea more or less developed and will try to get it further, but at the same time I still would like to try the blending route. Hopefully, I’ll come up with something decent till the pitch. One thing I realized is that I have major idea problems if I don’t have some kind of setting and story in mind. Maybe I can approach idea generaton from this side better.

New term and we’re heading for experimental development. This time we have to think of something to experiment with, try new approaches and even new technologies.

To start with I have looked through the brief to define areas, where I can start with. And I found 3 areas:

• Technology, where I have thoughts to experiment with touch-screen. For example, to intergrate app to a board game
• Applying alternative mediums, like craft. Maybe also with applying digital elements
• Custom game components: maybe a game can have a reworked concept of existing game with alternative elements

The main topic of this progect will be HYBRID GAMES. Combining analogue and digital mechanics. Also I defined some key points or goals for the game:

• The game must present one relatively small, but playable experimental feature
• This feature must be functional, but not just for decour
• This time I want to focus development process on mechanics rather then visuals or aesthetics
• Visuals must be stylish, but minimalistic (for time saving reasons)

After some time I decided to focus on 2 possible ways of development: touch-screen + board game or a craft game. And came up with 2 concepts.

Concept 1: craft game (Origami)

This is the mind-map I eventually came up with:

Red lines mark the ideas I particularly liked and can try developing further. They include setting – something related to Asia or Japan (if I opt for origami cranes) to support the play medium thematically, visually and even narratively. Clours could work as a suitable criteria for creating combinations (maybe even something random like Twister). During that process I was serfing through Pinterest to get some inspiration and ideas. And I found this image with cute birds sitting around that influenced further brainstorming:

At some point I event thought about a card narrative game

In general I see that as a nice potential concept, thus for now I’m opting more for a touch screen + board game route, which I’ll try to develop further.