Game Studies - Compilations

22/09/2025 - 06/10/2025 (Week 1 - Week 14)

Game Studies - Exercises

Cindy Noverin / 0376409

Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylors University

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Lecture

Instruction

Progress work

Feedback

Reflection

LECTURE

lecture notes

INSTRUCTION

Process Work

process work Canva report link

GAMES STUDIES - Group 2

Week 1

We start by playing games in class to experience playing a table top game. After that we’re starting to brainstorm ideas for a game we should make. During our group call, we come up with several concepts and discuss the rough ideas for how the game would be played.

our group members

Madeline Ordelia Tjahjadi (0376920) --> Leader
Brenda Wynn (0372128)
Carren Yeliandi (0376990)
Cindy Noverin (0376409)
Michelle (0373843)

Week 2

We propose our ideation to Ms. Anis. She approved our first ideation which is based on Ludo. After that we start to think about the mechanism of the game. But making it elemental

Week 3

we went to a game cafe at the end of week 2 to study some game dynamics to use as a reference on what to do and not do for our game prototype and we found some games that are laughable are ones that are simple and short in rules but ones that has longer rules requires thinking it takes more time and the fun dies down the moment we finish one game. especially on werewolf card game, there's too much role and the game is very complex so we only play twice with some roles that we're familiar with, we concluded that:

Don’t Make the instruction too long, we found game that take too long to understand is making us lazy to play because it waste our time understanding rather than playing.
Don’t make too much role or character in a card game, it makes us confuse and not all of it going to be played at the end.

then, on Monday we started on developing our lo-fi prototype by using papers and tape just to make the pawn usable. it looks pretty funky but it could work just okay, except the part where it would topple down if we shake the board too much. we did play test to see if the elements and rules works well or not. in total we played for 1 hour but most of the time is spent on geting mutual understanding of the rules. we concluded that :

Estimation time to play 1 hour+ (to get 1 pion into the final), all of us only feels engaged on the first 30 minutes
Need to adjust some rules to keep it balance
Try to not over complicate the rule

Week 4

on the day of class, we did one play test, here’s the summary:

Some rules needs to be made based on the amount of players.
The rules needs to be clear with direct instructions on where the players need to move

then we started on making the better version of the prototype because without making it better it will make the game experience less good especially when we have to keep standing up the pawn. So we took a template from youtube for the pawn and try our best to measure the accurate size for the Ludo board

Brenda cut the template and I did the rest of the pawns to finish it before week 6 and let Michelle do the coloring.

1.1. pawns in progress

Week 5

during this week we don't have any class so we decided to meet up at X-space to finish up with our prototype so we don't have to meet out of schedule, We finished the board, pions, and the cards. After finishing the prototype, our leader will distribute task for our presentation later in week 6.

we did an online meeting on the weekend for some discussion of the app, rehearsal, and finishing up the presentation. After several discussion, we changes some rules in the making of our presentation slides.

fig.1.2. ludo board colored

fig.1.3. rehearsal

Week 6

This week we have presentation for the proposal. This presentation slide will be updated for the upcoming play test until final.
We agree to wear color based on our pawns power, to present the proposal, here are some of the documentation for week 6:

fig.1.4. Us

after the presentation we are left with some time so we did another play test together after getting general feedback from Ms. Anis. Based on the play test, we decided to change the blue color’s power (water) to balance out the game. We have also added some additional rules because when we test it out, we encountered a lot of questionable situations regarding the game rules. This then became our consideration to add a few changes to the rules.

Week 7

This week we did our first official play test among our groups and also with other group.
We first tested the finalized rules based on last week feedback among our group, after that we give the official feedback in the provided words and spreadsheet. After that we started to ask other group to play our games, so we can get feedback from new players.

During our own group play test, we completed the game within 32 minutes, because all of us already understand the rules and how the game will go.

Meanwhile, during the play of other group, they played the game until 47 minutes, but they almost have all the player’s pawn in the base (mostly because of the luck with the dice)

Week 8

after the play test we made more components for the game

we need to make instruction book, so new players can refer to that book

Token to keep track of the power used

Adding small text on the action card that said “immediate use” or “use next round”

Week 9

this week we did 2nd official play test to see our prototype progression

After we done 2 official play test, we discuss several things:

Token can be removed and change it to element card, so each player will have 3 cards to keep track of the power usage
We finalized our assets: Ludo board, Dice (2), Element cards, Action cards, Pawns, and instruction book
We finalized our instruction books with clearer direction of our game and each of the rules from the power explanation, how to use it until how to win

Week 10

This we need to prepare for beta playtest, so we improve our game. We basically done every refinement and improvement in week 9 already. We just need to put it in the slides for final presentaion later. Below are the current progress

Week 11

We did unofficial testing to test out our new added things. This also to prepare for our beta play test or our final play test before presentation.

Based on the play test:

We just need some small adjustments because some rules depend on player agreement. We try not to make rules for everything, preferring to let players have fun with their own house rules for small things, such as rolling the dice.
Using Elemental cards for both power tracking and tile rewards was confusing. To fix this, we decided that cards used for power tracking will be placed face-up, while new cards collected from tiles will be kept face-down.

Week 12

We did our final play test for our game. No major changes needed and we already give our game assets to Ms. Anis.

Week 13

Preparing for final presentation slides with finalize improvement and refinement after play tests.

1.1. final presentation recording

Week 14

Record our presentation and finalize everything such as uploading all the files and e-portfolio

FEEDBACK

Week 1

No feedback still briefing

Week 2

Specific Feedback: We present our 3 ideation for game board, and out of three Ms. Anis said the Ludo is good and we can develop that.

Week 3

No feedback because no class, we go to board game cafe and start making prototype

Week 4

Specific Feedback: Ms. Anis try out our lo-fi prototype and ask us to make the game faster, either to add another dice or change some winning rule

Week 5

No feedback, making the rough assets

Week 6

General Feedback: Need to create a balance game, for example: even though some games are based on luck, but if the same person or role are winning all the time, there's something wrong with the balance.

Specific Feedback: Presentation day! Overall our game is good and can continue to do the pre alpha test.

Week 7

We did our play test and the feedback will written in the provided words and spreadsheet

Week 8

We ask some feedback about our new added things, Ms. Anis said it's clearer now

Week 9

Online (self-directed)

Week 10

Online (self-directed)

Week 11

Online (self-directed)

Week 12

Last playtest, nothing to be changed and focus on presentation

Week 13

Online (self-directed), preparing for final presentation

Week 14

Online, final presentation

REFLECTION

Experience

My experience throughout this semester was a deep dive into the iterative nature of game design. It began with the nostalgic foundation of Ludo, which we chose to evolve into an elemental-themed strategy game. The process was highly hands-on; we moved quickly from brainstorming to creating a "funky" paper-and-tape lo-fi prototype in Week 3. Balancing the design work with Brenda, Michelle, and the rest of the team allowed us to merge our creative strengths, eventually leading to a presentation in Week 6 where we even color-coordinated our outfits to represent our elemental roles.

Observations

During our sessions at the game cafe and our own playtests, I observed that complexity is often the enemy of fun. We noticed that long instructions and too many roles made players "lazy" or confused, causing the excitement to die down after the first 30 minutes. I also saw how critical game balance is; if one elemental power is too strong, the competitive spirit vanishes. Interestingly, by the final weeks, I observed that players actually enjoy a bit of freedom, leading us to leave room for "house rules" rather than over-complicating the manual with unnecessary restrictions.

Findings

I found that through both the instruction book and visual component, good communication is what truly makes a game playable. We discovered that replacing tokens with Element Cards helped players track their power usage more intuitively, and that simple adjustments, like changing the "Water" power, could fix a broken game loop. Ultimately, I found that the best game experience balances luck with strategy; while the dice dictate movement, the Action Cards we added gave players the agency they needed to stay engaged until the very end.

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Cindy Noverin (0376409)