LAST BLOG (small problem explains why submitted so late)

Feelings of excitement and sadness had developed within our group because this being the last week that our group would spend finalizing our game, Identity Crisis. Excitement because we were ready to see how our game would turn out as a finished product, and sadness because we knew this would be our final week working together. Through play testing, we were able to discover a few things that we felt would really put our game to the next level. The number of item cards available for play was something that we knew we needed to add. It was too easy to figure out identities because we simply did not have enough item cards. Action cards needed to be added as well, because without these navigating the spinner was boring and well hard to do. it was also based on to much luck so the navigating action cards were a huge plus for strategies. Some mechanics needed to be tweaked as well. We figured that if you guessed an identity wrong the first time you would need to put the dunce hat on. This was a good idea cause it added some fun and quirkiness into the mixture. Another important mechanical change was that after the three rotations we would scrap the board. This gave a sort of new energy to the board, and an opportunity to gain new cards. The number to win was now set to six, in an attempt to control time. Due to exams for multiple members we had trouble meeting in person that week for an extended period of time. Thus through our Facebook group we were able to continually discuss the mechanics and rules without being with each other in person. We split up the actual arts and crafts parts as well because cutting took a long long time. We all felt very happy with the game we had developed in the end.

This is Matt's blog entry and due to technical problems, he had thought that he submitted it but for some reason it didn't submit and he was also not able to reenter the blog. Even after the administrator (Uroosa) attempted to add him back to the blog it still wouldn't let him in. so as a last resort and not being able to figure it out we just had him email his entry to me and now I am posting Matt's blog entry. sorry for the delay and inconvenience!

Day 4: The Last 100 meters

              The end is near. It is almost the reckoning day when all our hard work will finally be put to the test. We began this project as four children who wanted to make the world a little better with an "Identity Crisis". After many battles and hitting walls, we think we may have finally developed a game that is not only playable but may actually bring a little excitement to those playing. We entered as children, left as men ( and woman).
       The biggest developmental problem we had this week proved to be the cards on the spinning wheel. When the game was play-tested by our fellow classmates, we discovered that the cards in the wheel were not being changed often enough for everyone to have an equal chance to gain item cards that they needed ( seeing as only one card at a time was being changed). As a result, players were not utilizing the cards on the spinning wheel nor the action cards ( primarily using the discard pile). We had come across our first "big" game problem. However, some fast thinking on our feet may have fixed the problem ( or so we hope). We decided to allow the players to change all the item cards on the circle every 3 rotations around. This way, if a player felt that they didn't need anything on the spinning wheel, he could ultimately, in three rotations, have another chance to pick a needed item. This new rule also made the game faster pace ( the pace we had intentionally intended for it to be).
         It was also wonderful to get fresh testers because we realized that our action cards were not diversified enough ( something we had not noticed ourselves when we played our game the multiple times we did). We needed to develop better action cards that would entice players to play them. We also realized that we needed to come up with a fun way to assist people in remembering if they called an incorrect identity crisis. Hence, the Identity Crisis Dunce Hat was born!
       All in all, we had an interesting last week full of problems and hopefully effective solutions. The creativity juice really had to flow for us to achieve what we had to do. It took patience and communication; an art we realized we have really mastered after this month.

Day 3: Why dolphins can't speak to whales (communication difficulties)

     On this fine evening we all set sail for the endless seas not knowing what was abroad. Little did we know what the dead sea had in store for us, but we quickly learned that team work and decision making would be crucial to our survival on this chaotic evening. What we did next was beyond the scope of any human interpretation, not even whales could comprehend, yet dolphins were fully comprehensive of the situation. Then without any warning we busted out Identity Crisis and began to spin the wheel. Decision making being done for us, but then again we had action cards in order to increase the strategic aspect of our game. We did learn that the spinning wheel needed to be changed to a circular one rather then being rectangular.
     There were quite a few communication difficulties during this week. For one, we had very busy exam schedules and hence we could not meet up more than once. To be able to achieve the goals we had dictated this week ( to at least have 75 percent of the cards playable and ready), we had to utilize social media. Facebook was imperative to our communication as a group. Also one of our group members, Uroosa, was absent all last week because of some private issue, and hence she was out of loop of some the decisions that were made last thursday. However, the update process was successful and smooth, though slightly time consuming.
       We have also have had our fair share of creative differences. For instance, Badar and Aleks would like the winning number of item cards to be 8 while Matt and Uroosa were considering the time crunch and wanted to make the number 5.  To decide, we played both ways and decided to go for a number in between, seeing as 8 made the game to long and 5 too short.  Group compromise, if you will, was obvious and essential.
      One great thing about our group is that we are very good about trying to actively do work. Ideas are always flowing, even though some of these ideas are controversial, it is always refreshing to get different perspectives. For instance, today, we discovered that we need to work more on the action cards and implement more cards that manipulate the board. Me need more "Moving cards". These cards are cards such as "Move up one from the landed card". We have decided to make at least 60 percent of all the action cards as these "moving cards" so as to keep the game moving at the faster pace that we all have decided we like.
    We were really impressed at how far we come as we tested our game. Though it wasn't flawless, it was so amazing to see something we created come to life before us. We are really looking forward to having a finished result that people other than us will enjoy playing one day.

Day 2: Secrets to why the Chicken Crossed the Road

Today was the uniquest of days, the one day out of the year where every things started to become so clear. Three members left with an inevitable task fit for four, yet the three were prosperous with thoughts of gold. Three unbelievable hours with every second pulsing through our veins. thoughts scattered, M&M's flying but with every sip of RedBull gliding down our throats corroded our thoughts with sugar inflicted game strategies. After having developed the core of the game last week our group was able to brainstorm critical features of the game today. We were able to decide on some key game features that would make the game more interactive amongst players. We also laid out the layout of most of the action cards that are going to be included in the game. It was difficult to make the cards because we had to make sure the overall gameplay had to be fair. With that in thought, there were some challenges in our thought process. However, we decided to go along with our ideas and test them in the playable prototype of the game. The prototype version of the game should give us more insight on how to make sure the gameplay is interactive and at the same time fair to all players. 

Day 1: A Long Road Ahead

Today we began developing the specific mechanics for our card game "Identity Crisis". We, in a very open dialogue, discussed some obvious problems with the game's core mechanics. For instance, the number of cards needed to win is going to be an important and difficult decision to make. Allowing the players to win at five cards may make the game too chaotic and fast-paced. On the other hand, setting the wining card number to seven may allow the game to drag on too long and make it obvious what each individual player's identity is. We also had a little difficulty deciding on the intended audience. Some of our team members wished to make the game  ( and its humor) for an older age group, while others wanted to cater to all ages ( and not isolate the 6-14 age group). Ultimately, we decided that the game would prove to be most successful if it was designed as a family friendly game for all ages. However, though there are still many kinks to work out,  the project is underway . Hopefully, after some hard work and brainstorming, we can develop a prototype that is playable and enjoyable.