Siegel’s 9am Class Game
December 1, 2007
Scott Jon Siegel’s posted a new game over on The Escapist: 9am Class.
There’s a couple key points with this:
- Scott’s game is a perfect example of what I was trying to illustrate in my design portfolio article. Make a game. Any game. You don’t need to have C++ or Maya or Flash to build a game. You don’t even need a d6. If you really want to be a game designer, make something. I think you’ll be surprised how fun creating a non-digital game can be. If you screw it up, it’s even funnier. Trust me.
- I have two 8 am game design classes next quarter, and I am now feeling a little guilty about that (a little guilty, but not enough to change the time). One is a studio class where students will be working to create digital games using agile production methods. The other is a game design criticism and analysis course. It’s actually a lot of fun and a lot of application for people who are into game design. We’ll see who is at 8am.
I recommend checking out all of Scott’s games. You can find them all at http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/gamedesignfriday. (Thanks, Scott!)
Play a game. Make a game.
I love that he took an idea many of us are familiar with, and turned it into an interesting game. Although, I have to say, his game “Officeball” is pretty awesome and hilarious at the same time.
Thanks for the kind words, Brenda. All of my Escapist games are actually compiled at the following URL:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/gamedesignfriday
It even has its own lovely RSS feed and everything ^_^
Thanks for the link, Scott. I added it into the main post.
This is an absolutely awesome game. Especially since I’ve had maybe three 8am lecture classes and I have had the most difficult time keeping my head from slamming onto the desk in exhaustion in all three.
Actually, I fall asleep almost everywhere there’s lecture.
This game interestingly sparked a memory of an old PC game centered around a kid having to ditch school and go have fun… but I never knew the name, as I was so young I couldn’t read English when I played. Funny the things you remember when responding to stimuli.
This reply isn’t entirely about the casual gaming. Actually, it is about the role of games on our society. I think you might like to discuss it with your students.
The thing is, a brazilian designer, Fabio Lopez, has recently created a version of Risk (known as War here in Brazil) that takes place on the city of Rio de Janeiro instead of the entire world.
The goal of his game was to generate discussion over Rio’s worst problem, the urban violence and the high murder rate due to the conflicts between the police and drug-dealing gangs.
He designed every element of the game, from the board to the territory cards.
The game’s blog URL is http://jogowarinrio.blogspot.com/ and you can find some photos there.
And here I leave a question: Can games have a real effect on society’s problems?