Socialising Through Gameplay

I have never considered myself a super ‘hardcore’ gamer.  Yes, I like games, yes, I play games on a regular (probably too often) basis, yes, I’m super competitive, but in comparison to my mates, I felt like I wasn’t hardcore, simply because I didn’t experience as many games as them, but rather stuck to a select few which I enjoyed.

If I had to break down the genres of games I often choose to play it would probably fall into one of the following categories:

• Social, ‘real life’ strategy based games: Risk, Monopoly, Classic Card Games (ie. Hearts, Canasta, Bridge, King Mao, etc.)
• Online, community based games, often with the option to customise the play, beyond the original game structure: Habbo, Lasuni, Minecraft, RuneScape, Hero Zero
• Storyline Adventure games with Multiplayer options: Basically, all the Pokémon games.

The main point I’m attempting to draw from this brief analysis is that I enjoy games which have a social element incorporated into the gameplay, and this is something which has influenced the way I’ve been thinking about game design.

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My initial idea was to create an app.  This app would cater to a generation which seeks to take photographs at any moment possible, thus creating a system which would inspire creative imagery, while also adding a competitive element into the game.

Similar to the way Draw My Thing operated, users would compete against each other with a theme, and aim to take the most creative picture based upon the theme within the timeframe.  The users in the game would each vote for someone else’s image as the best, and the photograph with the most votes would then win.

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While the app idea covered the social element, it lacked the opportunity for strategy which is something I also quite enjoy.  Through discussion with Chris, it was suggested that I consider the idea of a card based game.

While I don’t consider myself to be an avid player of card games utilising specialised decks, I appreciate them for the strategy which is involved.  Playing Smash Up in class this last Friday, and playing MiddleWare at the end of Semester in DIGC330 reminded me of how specialised deck card games can create different intense strategy for the player, while also following a storyline.

The idea of a card game with a storyline interests me because it can evolve around topics which are of specific interest to me, while also creating a space which invites others to participate and learn more about that culture through the playing of that game.

Although I don’t have any super evolved ideas for this style game yet, it is something I am also looking towards and thinking about: ideating projects revolving around topics, characters that can fit in, and how these elements can interact together to create competitive gameplay.