PRODUCTION
I wanted to create some unique and interesting characters for my game, although they're not integral to the gameplay itself. Starting with the proportions of the body, I wanted something chibi style as I don't want to root my game too close to reality. It's supposed to be fun so I played around with the colours and the themes, making sure they're all different. I created the character cards as a bit of fun, fleshing out my characters a little bit more.
The video shows my process from start to finish. I usually have my references on a different screen so the canvas can take up the full space, but for the purpose of this video I included them at the side. The first is a 3D model of a short, big headed person which I found on google; I liked the simplicity of the shapes. The second is from the game 'Oxygen Not Included', which has one of my favourite art styles and manages to keep the characters unique but not confusing. The third which appears at the right hand side on the screen is the reference I chose specifically for each design. This is where I got the ideas for the composition of the characters and some pointers for colour and poses.
The brush I like to use imitates a pencil, and it's my favourite for sketching. This type of character is way out of my comfort zone, as I prefer harsh strokes and detailed pieces, so it was nice to challenge myself. I'm incapable of making things look cute, so I went for the scratchy eyes from Oxygen Not Included.
I left 0.5cm at the bottom of each character in order to slot them into the cork which I'm using to stand the characters up. I didn't want to cut any of them off, so I figured I'd make that adjustment early on in my process. I drew the characters more detailed than necessary, as when printed small a lot of the finer lines were lost. In the future I will bare in mind the physical size along with the maximum amount of information that will be seen, to cut down the time spent on the designs.
They were printed on paper and laminated to avoid damage, however this is just a proof of concept. In order to stand properly they would need to be printed on card, or a more sturdy material such as plastic.
WHAT
Character Design
WHEN
17/09/2018
The 'Death Spots' were initially just going to be an event for players to choose the stupidest way to die from their hand.
When presenting my idea to my peers, it was suggested that I include some kind of scenario for the Death's to be related to, as this is what makes games like Cards Against Humanity so popular. I had considered it in my earlier design ideas, however I did not want to produce a clone. When created the board for my game, instead of having simple a 'Death Spot' I chose to write a scenario where the player who is Death has to pick a word to complete. This way, the game can remain random and re-playable, whilst giving a unique twist to the scenario idea. Not all of the answers will match the scenarios specified, and what people choose to fill the blanks with will impact on whether any of the cards really work - however, the game is about stupid deaths and I want players to be able to get creative. Get weird, get wacky, and have fun.
WHAT
Feedback
WHEN
18/09/2018
The initial design for the board was drawn out on card that had been cut into quarter circles in order to replicate the folding of a real board game board. However, due to my inability to draw even lines and the off center rings, I decided to make the board on Photoshop.
Using a stock image of a spiral board, I sized the image to the correct diameter of my existing board. From there I set about distinguishing the Death Spots from the Item areas, which I used the magic wand tool to select. I had the draft board as a reference to ensure the spaces were spread out enough.
In the word document beside the Photoshop window, I had my ideas for the different ways to die. This is different to my original concept for my game, but I am happier with how this turned out, as I feel it gives the players more context for their Death Cards. When preparing the Death Cards, I tried to think of at least three cards that would match each of the different scenarios on the board; this way, as well as being silly, there were possibilities of trump cards among the pack.
I then changed the fonts to Georgia for the Death Spots (it needed to be a font that was as clear as possible) and a custom downloaded font called Punkboy from dafont.com for 'Item'. I later adjusted the sizing of the spiral to be slightly larger in order for the text to be seen clearly on the final board.
WHAT
Board Design
WHEN
18/09/2018
 I kept the design from my sketches and multiplied it to save paper |  I also kept the sketch from my first plans because I love the aesthetic |  I sized these to match up with the card design so I could print it double sided |
|---|---|---|
 I gave a brief description of each item along with a stock image to make the cards more interesting |
First Iteration Of The Rules
17/09/2018
The oldest player starts as Death.
Death shuffles the Death Cards, dealing each player including themselves 5 cards. Do not show other players your cards.
Place all of your characters in the centre of the board, and the remaining Death and Item cards in their respective places.
The player on the left of Death rolls first.
Make your way around the board based on your roll.
If you land on a Black Spot, all players except Death must choose the dumbest way to die from their hand and place them face down for Death to inspect. Death determines which death is worthy of stupidity, if it is your card congratulations you get to stay put! If one of the other players’ card wins, you go back to the start of hell. The cards are then put to the bottom of the deck.
Red spots are item cards. Each player only allowed a maximum of two item cards. An item card can be used at any time during your turn.
If a player rolls a six, they immediately become Death. Their character does not move until Death changes again. The first time Death changes, the player who had been Death moves to the next unmarked spot behind the last player.
You win if you make it out of hell!
After Peer Feedback
18/09/2018
The oldest player starts as Death.
Death shuffles the Death Cards, dealing each player including themselves 5 cards. Do not show other players your cards.
Place all of your characters in the centre of the board, and the remaining Death and Item cards to the side of the board.
The player on the left of Death rolls first.
Make your way around the board based on your roll.
If you land on a Black Spot, the player who is Death must come up with a word to fill in the scenario.
For example:
Pop Goes The ‘hot air balloon’ followed by ‘how do you die?’
Now all players except Death must choose the dumbest way to die from their hand and place them face down for Death to inspect. Death determines which death is worthy of stupidity, if it is your card congratulations you get to stay put! If one of the other players’ card wins, you go back to the start of hell. The cards are then put to the bottom of the deck.
Red spots are item cards. Each player only allowed a maximum of two item cards. An item card can be used at any time during your turn.
The Item Cards are:
Unicorn Favour – You’re granted one immunity from a Death Spot
Death’s Diary – You’re now Death, go forth and disappoint
Ol’ Boot – Boot the player of your choice two spaces back
Swiper no swiping – Swap hands with the player opposite
X-ray vision – Take a peek at another player’s cards
Chewing gum – Choose another player to be stuck with you for one Death Card round, if you lose you both go back to the start
Unknown substance – Drink to place two of your death cards instead of one
If a player rolls a six, they immediately become Death. Their character does not move until Death changes again. The first time Death changes, the player who had been Death moves to the next unmarked spot behind the last player.
You win if you make it out of hell!
After First Playtest
19/09/2018
The oldest player starts as Death.
Death shuffles the Death Cards, dealing each player including themselves 5 cards. Do not show other players your cards.
Place all of your characters in the center of the board, and the remaining Death and Item cards to the side of the board.
The player on the left of Death rolls first.
Make your way around the board based on your roll.
There are three checkpoints around the board, once you make it past these you are sent back to there upon losing a Death Card round. This does not apply if the 'Chewing Gum' Item Card is used.
If you land on a Black Spot, the player who is Death must come up with a word to fill in the scenario.
For example:
Pop Goes The ‘hot air balloon’ followed by ‘how do you die?’
Now all players except Death must choose the dumbest way to die from their hand and place them face down for Death to inspect. Death determines which death is worthy of stupidity, if it is your card congratulations you get to stay put! If one of the other players’ card wins, you go back to the checkpoint. The cards are then put to the bottom of the deck.
Red spots are item cards. Each player only allowed a maximum of two item cards. An item card can be used at any time during your turn.
The Item Cards are:
Unicorn Favour – You’re granted one immunity from a Death Spot
Death’s Diary – You’re now Death, go forth and disappoint
Ol’ Boot – Boot the player of your choice two spaces back
Swiper no swiping – Swap hands with the player opposite
X-ray vision – Take a peek at another player’s cards
Chewing gum – Choose another player to be stuck with you for one Death Card round, if you lose you both go back to the start
Unknown substance – Drink to place two of your death cards instead of one
If a player rolls a six, they immediately become Death and the scythe is passed over. Their character does not move until Death changes again. The first time Death changes, the player who had been Death moves to the next unmarked spot behind the last player.
You win if you make it out of hell!
During my first playtest, my friend and I discovered that as well as frustrating, it became rather repetitive to have to go through the same set of situations, even with different words to fill in, being sent back to the start. Due to this, half way through the game, we devised three places on the board to be check points, which is where you are returned to if you lose. This way, there is still the element of frustration, but it allows the gameplay to move forward, as resetting every time would be particularly irritating in a large group of people where you are less likely to win in the first place.
I learned a lot from this test, and was happy to see that despite a few kinks and revision of a few rules, the game functioned. It was playable and my friend and I had fun playing it. I would consider printing the characters double sided so that it is clear who is who no matter where on the board the players are. Once we were into the swing of things the suggestions got weirder and that made the array of cards to play funnier.
From this test there are a couple of things that I am going to be looking out for in further tests:
Does one player get stuck as Death for too long?
Are the check points well balanced?
Does it feel like a player who is winning will be unstoppable from doing so?
I decided to go for the vertical rules layout as it suited the amount of text I have to include and makes it easier to read in an orderly manner.
The rules include a description of the item cards even though they are written on the cards themselves, this is so that players can read the rules and begin playing the game knowing exactly what to expect. It was difficult to succinctly explain the rules without it becoming too overbearing or not descriptive enough. Depending on how the playtesting goes, I may change the layout/text again.
There is also a picture of the board and also close ups of the key points on the board. This is so that the description of each event is obvious and the players can clearly distinguish between the different parts of the board.
With the remaining space I included the designs of the Item and Death cards; to avoid any confusion I included the names of them on the card, but at least the players will be able to know their function before starting the game.
I had blank space at the bottom so decided to put the characters there. I think the rules includes everything that players would need to know before playing and hopefully it's not confusing or over detailed.
I chose the texture to be an abstract background because I liked the idea of it being simple but still giving a rough textured look. The text and images therefore standout and don't get swallowed by a complex background; it doesn't look plain and boring by just being white.
