Week 05 - Competitive Concerts

(a sketch of what nullacrosse players might look like that i did before writing this devlog)

“The best way to figure out how the game will look, feel, and act is to dive in and start making it,” (Macklin & Sharp, Ch. 5), and that certainly made all the difference in this project. The paper prototype for Nullacrosse was comprised of a three-dimensional oval rink with goals on either end and two marbles to represent each team, but the sport didn’t really feel real until we tried making this very model. Understanding the competitive aspects and how to balance the game were made easier after messing with the prototype.

The physical version helped in solidifying the current rules rather than make us feel like adding onto them. The book rightly said that a “key to the iterative game design process is being open to failure,” (Macklin & Sharp, Ch. 5). In the second playtest, it was clear that our written rules were confusing. Though the real game rules seemed fine once the testers understood the prototype, seeing them struggle to comprehend a simplified version of the game was more than enough to convince us not to add anymore complexity. We kept our central rules, and left everything else up to dice rolls to keep the flow going.

“The art of evaluating the results of a playtest is taking what playtesters did and said and determining if and how the feedback necessitates changes to the game’s design,” (Macklin & Sharp, Ch. 5). After listening to their suggestions and criticisms, we determined that all that was left to do was specify certain circumstances. Instead of following their critique to add more pieces to the board, we left the game pieces as one marble to represent each team to simulate the idea that someone will always have the ball, and our game was merely a simulation of what could be done while in possession of it. It was less about how to depict the sport to a T and more about showing the players the core aspects of the game.

To follow up, prototype really put into perspective how much skill a player needs to excel at this sport. Spatial awareness is one of the important skills any Nullacrosse player needs to learn because everyone is constantly moving. You always need to know where your teammates are, where the ball is, if you’re in position for a pass, if you’re in position to try and score, and so on. During the playtest, our classmates were watching their angles, seeing if they could possibly knock the other team’s marble into a bad position or if this was a chance to score. The other, more obvious thing to hone is stamina. With players constantly moving on the field and the marble always moving in the prototype, it’s clear that this isn’t a sport for the weak-hearted.

What we could’ve added to the physical version is music playing and a small crowd of paper people watching, as that would also help testers understand what kind of environment it’s set in. After all, a big part of the sport is the culture. “[W]riting backstory, developing characters, writing dialogue, creating scenarios to connect levels or scenes, and so on,” (Macklin & Sharp, Ch. 5) is a step we missed in the prototype process but should’ve added to acclimate players. With flashing lights, music blaring, and chaos happening outside the arena, you can’t just step into the sport thinking it’s the same as a casual tennis match. You have to get used to this sort of crowd!