A dialogue about creating a new game using two different lenses
A dialogue about creating a new game using two different lenses
A dialogue about creating a new game using two different lenses
By Corrado de Sanctis
January 12, 2021
Summary
The relationship between Systems Thinking and Game Design is much more sophisticated because the designer has to create a brand new system that should be logical, rational and also easily understandable by the players.
That's why thinking of a new game like a new system is a pretty common exercise among game designers.
Clearly, we are not here to discuss such an important topic, but we can imagine a dialogue between a Game Designer named GorDon and a System Thinker named STephanie, and listen to their conversation about the creation of a brand new game, while trying to understand the different roles in this process.
GD: Good afternoon Stephanie and thanks for accepting my invitation to spend this warm day in the Italian Gardens of Hyde Park taking about a new game I am thinking of.
GD: The subject of the game is scaling, and the game should be scalable and eventually involve a large number of players.
This could lead to a goal and also to a reason to take a decision to pick a different card and lead to win the game.
So you can understand why creating a game is a complete activity from the intellectual point of view that can be compared to other "More serious" tasks.
PDCAelements is a real game, and is available on the DriveThruCards portal in an implementation for 12 players using a standard poker double deck based on 12 different business components to distinguish players.
The real process of creation of this mechanic was not very different from the one described above and you can find some track of it in a couple of threads on BoardGameGeek, where the game has been introduced and is one of the game selected for the 54 cards game context 2021.
As an Agile coach I really loved this PDCA themed implementation because this is probably the only game available on this subject, it is easy and quick to play and every play test highlights different discussions.
Reference
Sanctis, C. (2021, January 12). A dialogue about creating a new game using two different lenses. Retrieved March 10, 2021, from https://www.ludogogy.co.uk/article/a-dialogue-about-creating-a-new-game-using-two-different-lenses/