中文 (台灣)- September 10, 2022
- Sat
CONTENTS
Give me A Plus Plus Designer Diary
When was the last time you took the exam?
Concept of the game – Words From Designer:
“Before the project started, I had received a message from Lenny, the founder of Wonderful World Board Games. He told me that he is looking for a game that can support more players, is easy to learn and something close to Taiwan’s market preference.
This concept immediately reminded me that most people spent a lot of time taking exams and going to school. It was a tough time for me. During the exam, it was just like going to war. Some people are ready to ace the exam, some are taking naps, some are trying to cheat and of course, some are reporting the situation to the professor.
This gave me the idea that if all the players are playing a role to be a student, trying to get the A ++ with all these malicious competition, it should be an interesting game.
Compared to most of the identity games that have some boring characters and the elimination mechanics, I prefered the game where everyone can have their own choice and strategy for the entire game time. Instead of hiding your own identity, I designed the concept into each card.
Therefore, players are guessing others’ strategies based on the seat they chose to play and the
For the card design, it originally came from the idea of rock, paper and scissors. Each card represented cheating, reporting and hard work. A counters B, B counters C. After a lot of playtests, I heard a lot of feedback about the game being too common. It needs some hooks. I put more effort into adding more ability cards and focus on the structure of the classroom.
Therefore, players can choose the seats they want to play, and this action will provide information to others. Such as if the player plays a card in the first row, they are probably going to be the “Hard Working”.
In this case, players can play a “Peeking card” next to the card to score more points. However, the first player might read others’ minds and put a report in the first row to counter others. It is just like a mind game in the classroom. I wish the game could let players have more interaction and strategies.”
Manufacturing
We were interrupted with an obstacle while making the game. At the beginning of the game, we tried to make it with 3D modeling. With a 3D box, players are taking seats by placing their figure into the seats space.
After everyone finishes the seating phase, reveal all the figures to calculate the scores. However, we found out there will be an issue about peeking direction, also other skills with direction. Also, it was difficult to design a figure that can hide / reveal their information (abilities).
In the end, we decided to make it with boards and cards. Although the presentation is not like 3D style, we can put more beautiful arts and variable abilities into the game, which makes the game more fun.
