Game

of
Life
Unit-Game
Design/Careers in Art
Art II/III

What do you think is Game

Design?
Partner with your neighbor and
make a list of 5 things that you
think Game Design is, be prepared
to share.

What is Game Design?

In the broadest sense, game design refers to the
idea behind a game. But it's come to mean a whole
lot more than that. In large immersive games,
game design refers to the central theme or point,
as well as the story and plot and the characters'
back-stories. In smaller games and in games in
which there are no significant characters or plot
(for example, in a racing game), game design
refers to how one plays the game.

What is Game Design

Continued
What

are the rules?

How is the game scored?
How does the level of difficulty change
with play?
What makes the game fun or
challenging?

Careers In Art-Game Designer

What do you think is the
responsibility of a game designer?
Get with your partner and make a
list of what you think a game
designers responsibilities are, think
of the games that you have played.

A Game Designer is...

Game designers are creative decision makers.
Some "designers" are actually writers who come up
with a script for a game or pen the character
dialogue. Other designers specialize in leveldesign, making maps of the various locations in a
game. In the wider sphere, people tend to think of
game designers as being the creative genius
behind a game, the person who thought it all up in
the first place.

A Game Designer is
continued.
But few video games are actually made with
one sole person at the creative helm, and
few designers will take all the credit for
coming up with every great feature,
character, and detail of a game (though
sometimes their egos get the better of them
and they do).

What types of games have you

played before and are playing now?
Make a t-chart and label one side before
and one side now.
Fill in the t-chart with the games that you
have played.
BEFORE

NOW

Game Redesign Project

This six weeks we will learn

about the elements of
Game Design and apply to
the Game
Redesign(modification) of
the Game of LIFE.

What are the Elements of

Game Design?
Space
Components
Mechanics
Goals
Rules

SPACE
The look and feel of game.
Give an example of a game that
has an interesting space it can be
a board game or video game.
What makes it interesting?

COMPONENTS
Are the parts of the game like your
pieces.
What are examples of
components of a game?

MECHANICS
Are the actions of the game like
spinning and taking turns.
Give an example of a mechanic of
any type of game.

GOALS
Player try to achieve the goals to
win the game.
Why are goals important in a
game?

RULES
Guide the players on how the game
should be played.
Why are rules needed in a game?

What is The Game of

Life?
Have

you played?
What do you think it is about?
What do you think would be some
components of the game?

The Game of Life isThis

game attempts to mirror life events

many people go through from going to
college, raising a family, buying a home,
working and retiring.

The

intent of the game is to have the most

assets at the end of the game, assets are
earned primarily by working and earning
tokens with dollars amount on them.
Additionally the first person to complete
the course gets additional money tokens.

The Game of Life is There

is a very linear board that you move along

by spinning a wheel or landing on spaces that tell
you to move to a specific space or forward or
back. There are a handful of intersections where
you can choose to go one direction or another but
they ultimately have similar spaces and meet
back up quickly. There are a handful of choices
regarding insurance and investments but for the
most part it is a game of luck.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2921/game-life

Get in groups of 4 and we will

playtest The Game of Life.

Game of Life Playtest Reflection:

Answer the following questions on a sheet of notebook paper:
1. Who was in your group?
2. What color was your car?
3. What did you like about the game board?
4. Do you think the game board is out- dated? Explain5. Who was the winner?
6. What place were you?
7. If you could replay what would be your strategy to win?
8. Do you think it is an accurate representation of life now?
9. How would you incorporate your culture into the game board?
10. Comparing your life and the life that is represented on the
board how similar do you think it is? IS it Important to follow
the steps as The Game of Life represents?
**** Pay attention to questions #9 and #10 because those will
help group you.

Project Overview
Your goal as a group is to create
a unified perception of a
modern day Game of Life, using
experiences from your life to
redesign the game, while
learning about the elements of
game design.

You will be graded on the following as a group:

Creativity

of Game
Attractiveness of Game
Rules
Elements of Game Design
*See handout-Game Board Redesign
Rubric
**Each student will also complete the
same rubric grading the group as a whole.

Group Member Responsibilities:

Group Leader-Will be responsible for
communicating with teacher.
Members #1 and #2: Responsible for
physical redesign of the game board
Members #3 and #4: Responsible for the
physical redesign of the components of the
game.
All Members responsible for rules. Rules must
be tailored to the redesign of the game board,
but do not have to change dramatically.

To get started brainstorm/sketch

the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

The Space of the Board

Components
Mechanics
Rules
Goal will remain the same!

You will have the remainder of this period and

the next to get your ideas finalized. If needed
the art room will be open before school and
after school to meet up to work on ideas.

Project development will begin once the group

leader presents me with the sketches for the
game board.

At the end of the six weeks each group will

play another groups game and complete the
peer assessment.

* See peer assessment handout