analog game design
this course was my first practical one and i really enjoyed doing something ive only encountered from a players side of view so far. in this course i had to design a playable board game with all the important aspects. while the focus in this course were functioning and playable mechanics, i also loved to spend hours on the design and backstory of the game.
if you are interested in a short description on how i designed the entire boardgame and how it actually works, keep reading!
my game is called ....
"Verloren im All" translates to "lost in space" and is a boardgame which has its origin in my most favourites subjects. as the name already indicates, lost in space is thematically settled in a space like environment with different aspects of space and time, converted into a playful concept.
design process
when i first heard about the task and the endless possibilities we were given, i immediately knew in which direction my game should go. when i was a child i loved to play games like the german "Mensch ärgere dich nicht" or the so called "Leiterspiel". both were inspirations to my idea of a game id like to play and the starting point for the game i aimed for.
after many iterations and feedback from different people i slowly worked my way up the final prototype. while designing the game mechanics, i also spent many hours on the look and backstory of the game. it was important for me to mix my different tasks, so it doesnt get too frustrating or boring at some points. one of my first prototypes was a design with blender because i aimed for a realistic looking boardgame but sooner or later i kinda threw that idea away and went with a more cleaner look.
i used several different programs to design each element of my boardgame. while i used a lot of excel and word to document the design process itself, the actual creation process was mainly done with apples procreate, blender, photoshop and indesign.
i designed the game in about 3 months with several different prototypes. starting from simple brainstorming and working my way up with paper prototypes and trying out different visual design ideas, i am really happy with how the game came out and what it represents for me.
look and inspirations
as i already mentionend i took a few inspirations for my basic mechanics from my most liked childhood boardgames. regarding the look of the game, i was inspired by one of my favourite youtube channels called "Kurzegsagt". in my opinion they are one of the best examples for video based learning aspects with many cool contents about space, physics etc. i am also a big fan of their usage of flat design elements to illustrate and visually design their videos. to give you a better example of the look of my first ever boardgame i created 2 different mock ups inside of blender, which show the frontside and the backside of the game.
backstory
lost in space is playing in a galaxy called mori, which is more than 30 million lightyears away from our milky way. life didnt just evolve on our planet but also exists throughout the entire universe. in contrast to the milky way, the galaxay mori seems to be at the end of its lifetime. many different processes have been set in motion and make the life of the living inside of mori a true nightmare. in lost in space we are following 4 different species, which try to live under the fast changing conditions inside of mori.
how the game works
every species starts on its own home planet and gets attracted by the black hole in the middle of the galaxy. while some species are far more advanced than others they still suffer the same faith. the goal is to live as long as possible and be the last surviving species. with smart decisions and a bit of luck, players can manage to avoid the death by mori.
