Hexagons

Games Design BA, 2018

Multiplayer team game exploring the appropriation of space by challenging strangers to work together in order to build electronic pathways across walls.

Created by Alex Clarke, Cordelia Chui, Florence Zhou, Luisa Charles and Nicoleta Faina in a collaborative project between Games Design BA & Interaction Design Arts BA at London College of Communication.​

Notes

Choosing the location

Our first step as a group was to analyse the brief together to identify the key criteria to focus on and refer back to throughout the project. We discussed different locations around the college; examining each architectural space as a shape, as well as its function in the building. To explore the potential of each space, we brainstormed game mechanics inspired by these shapes and meanings.

We made a mind map of the architectural features we had looked at (e.g. windows, benches, stair railings) and wrote down possible game mechanics as a list of verbs (e.g. collecting, navigating, sliding), as well as a list of equipment we could consider using (e.g. stickers, white boards, velcro).

Appropriating the space

The idea of a large-scale, multiplayer game with big visual elements was popular with the group, which led to the discussion of appropriating a corridor as a game space; featuring big walls with shapes contrived by their construction, decorations and fixtures, in addition to its length as a growing or extending space. The connotations of this space inspired us to design game mechanics that involved building, expanding and travelling, so we decided that the game would travel through the corridor as people also travelled through the corridor. The parallel walls were a good canvas for a visual race between two teams, and the high level of traffic meant we could involve many different players as they passed through the space over the course of the whole day; merging people, time and gameplay into an accumulative, continuous flow.

Designing the game

Using the list of verbs we had compiled, I designed the initial tile-connecting mechanic, then through an open discussion we considered different rules we could implement and how they would affect gameplay. For example, being able to choose exactly which tile you placed was too easy, so we considered a variety of solutions including picking a random tile from a bag or restricting the type of tile you were allowed to create. We considered the idea of not knowing which tile you were going to place by receiving it from the person before you, which we all agreed upon. Other concerns we discussed and made decisions as a group included:

• How to allocate teams: to make the race fair, players should be alternately allocated to teams as they arrive. However, this may be less fun for those who want to play with their friends, or represent a particular team (e.g. staff vs. students)

• How to make the game more fun for each individual: the short game time per player and seemingly minimal effect they have on the game could feel boring

We addressed concerns with the game not being exciting enough by making it more physically interactive; turning the path into a circuit and using LEDs as checkpoints with visual feedback. We hoped that drawing with conductive ink or copper tape would be more fun than using a normal pen.

Playtesting

Playtesting with paper cutouts quickly revealed that the preliminary square tile design offered few options for players. Since tiles could be rotated, there were only two different types of tiles that players could create (corner or straight). We experimented with tessellating hexagons instead, and found that they offered three options for players and were also more aesthetically pleasing.

We split off to playtest with first-year students, with each team using a different set of game rules. This gave us feedback on which rules to keep or discard, how fun and challenging the game was, and helped us identify problems that needed to be solved.

Materials & Assets

We made a material prototype to test both conductive paint and copper tape, discussed how to integrate circuit pieces into hexagonal tiles and calculated how much material we would need for making assets by measuring the walls of the corridor and scaling up our paper prototype. The player tiles and obstacles were cut out of foam board, with the latter painted in different colours to distinguish between the two pathways.