2D Overwatch:

How to play:

This game is a simplified version of “Overwatch.” So the rules are also therefore straightforward.  It involves two players: Player A spawns on the left side of the scene, while Player B spawns on the right. Both players can shoot bullets at each other. When a player’s hp reaches 0, they need to wait to respawn.

The objective is the center of the map. Both players should try to capture the objective by just standing on it. The first player that reaches 100 points wins the game.

Artist’s statement:

Getting new players into “Overwatch” is hard because it’s tough to start playing. One of the reasons is that it is difficult to get started. Blizzard may have noticed this, maybe that is why they’re adding tutorials. The FPS part and the complicated maps make it hard for beginners.

Therefore, I came up with the idea of making an Overwatch without those elements which is a 2D version of it. Initially, my idea is to make it network-connected, so the players can control the direction of bullets with their mouse and I could add more players to the game in the future. But after trying to network in Unity for 3 days, I decided to give that feature up and redesign the entire game to make it can fit within one laptop. Also, because I’ve wasted so many days trying the network feature, at last, I

didn’t get enough time to implement the abilities to the game.

I was trying to set up the network.

But after several play tests, I would say the gameplay went better than I expected. Since there are no abilities, it is very easy for the players to get started and be good at it.

this was my first playtest

This project took some inspiration from “Pac-Manhattan”, the game that appropriates Pac-Man into the real world and make it easy to get into. Our game does the same for “Overwatch.” It’s more straightforward now. Also, In the Data Movement, artists made the audience see normal things differently, for example Duchamp’s “L.H.O.O.Q.”, our game makes “Overwatch” different and simpler, which changes the experience of gameplay.

This game takes you back through the day in the life of high school. Go through your daily routine in the morning as well as attending class each day. Play the game here before reading the rest:

https://nickconnorss.itch.io/artwork-4

This artgame is designed with the specific purpose of raising awareness about the realities and commonalities of school shootings in America. In chapters 2 and 3 of Works of Game, written by John Sharp, the author discusses the difference between ‘Game Art’ and ‘Artgames’ and how each one expresses something different. My game falls under the category of an artgame because it focuses on crafting an experience that delves deep into life’s metaphysical aspects, exploring themes of ethics and the human condition, which is how Sharp describes artgames to be. The design of this game is deeply personal, rooted in a personal experience with a school shooting incident at Saugus High School. By integrating this personal narrative, my game transcends traditional game mechanics and becomes a platform for players to engage with and understand the emotional and psychological impacts of a tragedy like this. This is in line with the essence of Artgames, where the gameplay and objectives should be intertwined with the artist’s vision. The goal of this artgame is to spread awareness and show that something as tragic as this can happen in a split of a second, affecting the lives of everyone around. Rest in peace Gracie and Dominic, you will be cherished in our hearts forever.  

Artist’s Statement:

Since beginning to learn about game design, a constant in all the games I have worked with has been to create a sense of fairness for the player. Create challenges and puzzles for a participant to overcome, but make sure the playing field is level for everyone involved. However, I felt that this wasn’t very reflective of the real world, where nothing is fair and victory goes to the people who can pay for it. My card game takes the simple premise of card dealing and poker, specifically black jack, but appropriates the goal of the game and the way the cards are dealt to provide an unfair advantage to those who were lucky enough to go first.

I wanted to convey with my game that the people on top in society have way more control over the lives of the people below them. The 1% get to influence where the country’s money goes, who is voted into office, and what legislation is allowed to be passed. However, I convey this message quite subtly through the lens of a simple card game, where the first player gets to directly impact what cards the people behind them get access to. Another point I wanted to convey to my players is a sense of loss of control, where you are directly subjected to the actions of the other players before you. When a player chooses a card from the limited pool of options, they are completely cutting you off from having that choice for yourself and are instead forced to create something from their scraps. I actually got this idea from a movie, a foreign film on Netflix entitled “The Platform”, where people are forced onto different levels of a building, and every day a platform of food travels down through the floors for the people to eat, but the further down your level is the less food there is for you. This movie is also an artistic critic against the system of the upper class, calling out the unfairness and hypocrisy of the system that rewards people for being rich.

Game Documentation:

The Rules:

Everyone rolls two dice to determine turn order – the person with the highest role goes first, then second, and so on

First player, draw as many cards as there are players PLUS ONE (ex. If there are 4 people playing, draw 5 cards)

Out of all the cards, pick one to keep and pass the remaining cards to the second player. Second player do the same, and so on until the last player

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME: First player to get a hand that adds exactly to 21 wins the round (Poker rules apply to card values, ex Ace is 11 or 1)

If someone collects a collective card value over 21, they are sent to last place for the next round

Whoever wins the round becomes first player, second place becomes second player, and so on

Play as many rounds as you want!

 
Bonus Rule: if one person has been in first for too long, all the other players can invoke a Revolution. A Revolution means that for the next round, each player who is not first must pool their cards and collect a total of ((number of players – 1) * 15) = for example, if there are 4 people playing and the bottom 3 players invoke revolution, the bottom three players must collect a total of at least 45 points before the first player can collect exactly 21 points. If they succeed, the first player gets sent to last for the next round. Note: A revolution can only occur if EVERYONE wants to participate (excluding the first player). After the first player has been sent to the back, the group must decide who gets placed to player 1 (if they cannot make up their mind, roll a dice again to determine turn order)

Post-Playtest 1 Notes:
– It was too easy for players to get to 21 within the first 2 turns

– There was an interesting game tactic deployed by the first player, where they would hoard all of the lower value cards each turn and just wait for the other players to get a hand over 21 in order to secure their position in 1st

– Changes: adjust the point distribution on the face cards – Jack = 11, Queen = 12, King = 13, ace = 1

Post-Playtest 2 Notes:
– the changes made to the face cards were unnecessary, I’m going to change it back to regular blackjack rules

– The games were short but sweet, and I believe they captured the message I was trying to send about unfairness and privilege towards the wealthy in the real world.

Example of a round:

Goal: Avoid becoming homeless and gain the most money in life. To become homeless, you have negative balance at any time

Instructions:

1. 1. Start with players at the start
   2. Player class is determined with a roll of a 6 sided die. 
      1. Player with the highest roll = higher class
      2. Player with 2nd highest roll = middle class
      3. Everyone else = lower class
   3. Keep track of points (school points) and total college debt left
   4. Roll a D6 to get a number of steps taken around the board
      1. Landed on an Yellow Empty Space, draw an school action card before
      2. If you pass a Red Tax Space, pay up job tax (indicated on career card) + percentage of total college debt (if applicable) + life tax ($50)
         1. If you do not have a job, you have to only pay life tax
      3. If you pass Green Pay Day, you get paid!
      4. If you pass White Career Space, choose a job!

• • University-required:

1. 1. 1. Doctor
         1. School Point Requirement: greater than 20
         2. Pay: $1500
         3. College Debt: $300 x turns spent in college
         4. Tax: $300
      2. Nurse
         1. School Point Requirement: 17
         2. Pay: $1200
         3. College Debt: $200 x turns spent in college
         4. Tax: $300
      3. Engineer
         1. School Point Requirement:15
         2. Pay: $900
         3. College Debt: $150 x turns spent in college
         4. Tax: $100
      4. Secretary
         1. School Point Requirement: 10
         2. Pay: $700
         3. College Debt: $100 x turns spent in college
         4. Tax: $100
      5. News Anchor
         1. School Point Requirement: 5
         2. Pay: $600
         3. College Debt: $50 x turns spent in college
         4. Tax: $ 100

• • University not required:

1. 1. 1. Barista
         1. School Point Requirement: less than 0 (negative)
         2. Pay: $100
         3. College Debt: $0
         4. Tax: $50
      2. Cashier
         1. School Point Requirement: 0
         2. Pay: $150
         3. College Debt: $0
         4. Tax: $50
      3. Waiter
         1. School Point Requirement: 1
         2. Pay: $200
         3. College Debt: $0
         4. Tax: $50

• • Other:

1. 1. 1. No job (Roll a NAT20 to choose a job)
   2. College vs Job:
      1. College:
         1. Higher class: Your family has been donating to the college for generations. You get in and your parents cover all your student debt. Earn 5 points for going to a well-known college.
         2. Middle class/Lower class: (needs minimum of 2 school points to go to college) 
            1. 1-5: You studied and did well for the PSAT and SATs so you got in with a scholarship (- 75% of college debt)
            2. 6:You studied and did amazing on the PSAT and SATs so you got in with full scholarship (- 100% of college debt)
            3. 7-8: You got into college, but you’re not outstanding, not a lot of scholarships were offered (-25% college debt)

Action Cards

High School:

Failed test!

• Higher class: your parents donates to the school, they don’t care and gives you a pass after a quick call to the principal. You get a school point.
• Middle class: Parents paid for tutoring to catch up in class. Roll a D8. 
  • 3-8: you paid attention and passed the final, the actual exam that matters. Get a school point.
  • 1-2: You didn’t pay attention and made the same mistakes on the exam. Lose a school point.
• Lower class: you tried to study, but trying to study without help is difficult. Roll a D20.
  • 20: You passed the exam through a miracle! Earn a school point
  • 1-19: You failed. Obviously. Lose a school point.

Great science project!

• Higher class: Your parents were so proud that they bragged to friends, family, and even colleagues. You made it to the town newspaper! Gain 3 school points.
• Middle class: Roll a D8. 
  • 3-8: The paper caught wind of you, so they decided to do coverage on you. You made the school look good. Gain 2 school points.
  • 1-2: You got an A on the project, earning 1 school point.
• Lower class: you tried to study, but trying to study without help is difficult.
  •  You got an A on the project, earning 1 school point.

AP Class!

• Higher class: Your parents are able to afford the exam as well as the test prep books for you to study for the test, you aced it! Earn 5 school points
• Middle class: Your parents were able to afford the $100 fee but you weren’t able to get all the prep books that you’d hoped for. You passed. Earn 3 points.
• Lower class: Your parents aren’t able to afford the exam, so you decided to not take the class.

College:

Cheating Accusations

• Higher class: Your family has been donating to the college for 5 generations. The college apologizes for accusing you of such things. Gain 5 school points as compensation. 
• Middle/Lower class: Roll a D8.
  • 1-3: You nearly forgot to show up to the board meeting. Thus, you didn’t prepare for it and were accused of cheating. Lose a point.
  • 4-8: You prepared and showed up with receipts that you did not cheat and have done the work all on your own without copying. College apologizes for doubting you. Gain 3 points

Extra Credit Essay

• Higher class: You pay an outside source to write your essay, allowing you to ace the class and bringing up your GPA even more. Gain 5 school points
• Middle class: Roll D8
  • 1-2: You have help from in-class resources to compose an outstanding essay. Gain 3 school points
  • 3-8: You did it to the best of your abilities but you didn’t have a full understanding of the course. You earned 1 school point
• Lower class: Roll a D20.
  • 1-19: You decide to not do the essay.
  • 20: You aced the extra credit, allowing you for more points in the class but it’s not great. Gain 1 school point

Internet Issue on Deadline

• Higher class: No way, your parents paid for the top-of-the-line internet, it never crashes. Gain 3 school points.
• Middle class: You have a hotspot and just made the deadline, but didn’t have time to add finishing touches to your assignment. Gain 2 points.
• Lower class: **** it you fail the assignment. Lose 3 points.

Career:

Car Accident

• Higher class: You got other cars, you’d be fine. You have connections to a great lawyer so you don’t have to pay for damages either!
• Middle class: You have good insurance, but there are still some fees that you have to pay. Lose $100.
• Lower class: You can’t afford to fix your car, so you have to use a bike to get to work until you have enough money to fix it. This makes you late to work, causing you to get paid less. Lose $100 from paycheck during Pay Day. You have to pay a fee from your sketchy insurance. Lose $150.

Hurricane!

• Higher class: You have an underground, mansion–sized bunker with immaculate insurance on your house. You got all the damages repaired for a great price while living in luxury. Lose $100
• Middle class: You have decent insurance, but some damaged items were not covered. You have to replace them out of pocket. Lose $500.
• Lower class: Your insurance is ****, they’re not replacing anything. Why do you even pay them? Lose $1500 to replace all your furniture and house.

Robbed

• Higher class: You had CCTV cameras in the neighborhood and were able to capture the robber’s face from multiple angles. The police made the arrest and all your stolen assets were returned to you.
• Middle class: Roll a D8
  • 1-2: All the CCTV Police are unable to track down the robber, lose $50
  • 3-8: The police in your area really love their job! They found the robber and even detained him through fingerprint identification! All stolen assets are returned to you.
• Lower class: You are the robber. Roll a D20.
  • 1-15: You robbed the wrong person, the police were able to ID you. After coming out of jail, you lose all your assets and job. It is now harder to get a new job. Roll NAT20 every turn to regain a job.
  • 16-20: Wow! You got lucky! You got away with robbing a house. Gain $500

——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-

Artist Statement

The idea behind this game was to go for the unfair social classes found in American society today. Social mobility is not as lenient as how the American Dream has made it out to be. The Upper class have the choice to slack off but still go through life without a lot of worry since they are provided certain privileges and opportunities that allows them to grow and benefit. Meanwhile, the lower class are at a disadvantage and requires luck to get such opportunities. Even then, they are in a different situation where their environment are also against them. The intention is for the lower class to lose around 90-95% of the time unless the players are VERY lucky. Meanwhile, the upper class doesn’t have to worry as much about going into debt since they are given a lot of chances and opportunities. After the first 2 playtests, I found out that the lower class are more likely to go negative school points by the time that they get to college. As a result, I implemented the point requirements for college. As a result, the lower classes are less likely to get the opportunity to obtain the higher-paying jobs. The university-not-required jobs are paying just enough for the player to get by, similar to that of real life struggles of those in the lower class. In the most recent in-class playthrough, the upper class player disregarded the written goal and tried to go into debt as soon as possible, however, they were able to get through the whole game and finished 2nd. I liked this result as it shows how the upper class are able to complete the goal of the game even if they are trying become their own enemies.

This idea is inspired from the game of life and the type of messages behind art games. Since art games are meant to call attention to topics that typical games do not emphasize about society, this game calls out an unfair nature of the class system. Rather than appropriating The Game of Life, I decided rebranded it with additional mechanics with the addition of the monetary value  of jobs and money. Since the only similarities would be the feel of the map, it was best to rebrand the game under a different name instead of declaring it as a DLC. I also wanted a playable game like the Uncle Roy game that we’ve seen in class as opposed to an art piece similar to Mario Clouds.

My game is called Misinformation Telephone. It’s a digital, online game meant to represent how disinformation is created and spread. In it, one player takes the role of the “consumer” and everyone else takes the role of the “reporter.” Each reporter has a specific role (specifically, they’re either a supporter or a critic of the fictional politician Bob Smith). The goal of the game for the reporters is to get the consumer to agree with their stance.

The game takes place in rounds. In the first round, original stories are given to each of the reporters. Each reporter’s job is to change three words of the story so it fits their stance better (as in, they need to bias it). The next round, the goal is the same, but instead of being given original stories, the reporters are being given a story second-hand from another reporter. This is where the “telephone” part of the game comes from; each story gets more and more distorted until the end of the game, when it finally reaches the consumer.

My goal for this was to represent the unreliability of the modern news landscape through a fun, Jackbox-style game. Because players can change the story however they want, they can go in absurd directions with their changes, which–in effect-makes each resulting story a parody of sensationalist reporting in the real world. I also thought it’d be interesting to put most players in the position of the reporter, since in real life, we’re usually the consumers–so switching people’s point of view on this phenomenon could add some insight into why things are the way they are.

This might seem strange, but I was largely inspired by the Anna Blume poem while making this. The way it parodied the overly flowery language of conventional romantic poetry made me realize the value absurdity can have in critiquing a trend. In the same way that the poem goes on and on with “thou”s and “thy”s to mock that kind of media, this project mocks inflammatory news articles by aiming to create stories as ridiculous as possible.

The pictures below show the game in action (from a reporter’s perspective). The first picture is from when they’re modifying a story, and the second is from the end of the game, when they’re watching the consumer evaluate the story.

Both versions of my game are available below. The new version has features like better visuals and a proper timer, but I’ve had some inexplicable issues when trying to run it, so the old version may be more stable. The networking tools I used in Unity don’t seem to work for HTML5, so I can’t upload the project to itch.io, and instead the game unfortunately needs to be downloaded.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13t3vnGiqXN3bPARVVXrchaDz519qZu-V?usp=drive_link

I struggled quite a bit with this project but I am extremely happy with how it turned out in the end.

The original concept for this game was to design a tile based board game where players must advance, however they have the opportunity to determine their own future. Just like in life, there is a game of chance on how much progress will be made in each round, and they may become more successful or unsuccessful through their own planning and design. I wanted to design the game in such a way that playing collaboratively would help both players succeed, however inherently incentivized them to play selfishly. This part of the game was heavily inspired by the game (sorry I don’t know the title of it), where the players were supposed to work together to win, however the directions never explicitly stated they should do so. Similarly, through the design of my game, I wanted to see what emergent gameplay would develop through intentionally vague rules, and see if players would force themselves into expected boardgame behavior, or if they would manipulate the design for their own gain.

On the first iteration of my game, players could place tiles anywhere, there were no connection points, however despite this they believed they could only place their tiles on the preset board. This is why I added connection points to the pieces. It also adds more strategy where players can block tiles from being placed on top of certain tiles. Additionally, I realized the player who went last had the most advantageous position for altering tiles, so I added a line into the instructions about how the player who goes last becomes the new first player for the next round.

On the second iteration, players were more limited on their tile placements, increasing the amount players strategized, however players still never placed tiles outside the preset board.

After these trials, I realized I needed to define my directions more explicitly, and also hint in the directions without explicitly stating so towards this desired emergent behavior. One of the key lines I added was “Players must move forward, they may not return to the tile they just came from”. This instruction was confusing to the playtest group as they assumed there was only ever one path, and despite voicing this confusion, they still never placed tiles outside the path.

While I was developing the tiles for this game, I realized that the board for the game may give away the behavior I desired from the players too obviously if I designed a preset board then put indents across the board outside of the main path. While this was a solution to hinting towards having players place tiles outside the original board, it was more obvious than I wanted. Eventually, I realized I could simply make the starting board out of the same tiles I was designing for the players, since these were individual tiles, I would have players assemble their own board at the beginning of the game and hopefully the act of doing this would help them realize that the starting board was not set in stone. This new design for the board also meant that players who realized it, could also modify the starting board mid game which was not possible in the past tests. I really enjoyed this new design and playtested to see how it affected player behavior.

While several of my earlier iterations of this game were unsuccessful on the emergent gameplay front, I had confidence that I might be more successful after I prototyped a more polished version of the tiles for this game, and I was right! By the time the tiles were designed, I had also rewritten the rules a few times to best encourage players to do more unexpected behavior and I think the design of the tiles also encouraged this. See end of post for the final game rules.

While playtesting this game I learned that players could alter the intended way to play if I did not word my directions very clearly so after each iteration, I attempted to modify the rules so they would be as clear as possible for the intended game play, while still leaving parts intentionally vague where I wanted players to discover they had more freedom then they may expect. As altering the starting board is an unexpected behavior, many of the people who playtest this game for the first would often only place their tiles on top of the starting board, and never mutated the shape of the board.

Another result of these playtests which was unexpected is that players were always ‘selfish’ in that they would play the game so they could win and no one else could. While this game is designed to be easy to win between 2 people, players never collaborated. Maybe because its completely possible to win on your own. I think its interesting to watch how players strategize in this game. Since the players designed the starting board, it was interesting to find that some players would isolate themselves and collect points in a 2×2 tile area, while others tried to determine the shortest path from the start to the end and place their tiles along this path. Additionally, players are hesitant to touch other players tiles or move the start or end.

I worry that depending on how much freedom the players realize they have, it becomes very easy to win this game, however because this is the case, players who play this game several time seem to enjoy how the strategy mutates along with their discovery of different interpretations of the rules.

I really enjoyed our discussions in class of games with ‘loose’ rules. We had discussed another students “graveyard” game and also I was inspired by how many designers of art games modify the way players interact with the pieces in order to change the expected interaction between players and the game. Thinking back to Mary Flanagan’s ‘giant joysick’ and how increasing the size of the controller forces people to move a single controller collaboratively, I wanted to design my pieces in a way where the core focus of the game is on placing the tiles and modifying the game space instead of acting on top of a designated board design. I also enjoyed how players had interacted in my score from the first project and wanted to return to that idea of mutating the game as you play. Additionally I wanted to continue with the concept I had for the intervention assignment where I tested if people would act different given signs in a test setting or if we have become so conditioned by tests that they wouldn’t even consider another action then simply taking the test. I wanted “gamify” this concept more where it was more replayable when players discovered their freedoms. I really enjoy games with greater player freedom and wanted to design a game where the players own freedom is determined by themself, similar how in life we are expected to follow a certain path, however people have more control over their direction then they know, and are often fearful to stray from what is expected of them. Just like in life, the only thing the player can not do is remain stationary, every turn they must move forward, even if it is just one tile. Even if they are not moving towards the “end” they are still making progress, often with a side goal (like collecting coins) before making their way to the end.

first playtest

tile development! I learned how to 3d print and vinyl cut while making this project!

first playtest after tiles were designed/printed

first playtest after players were able to design their own starting board

Rules:
@ GAME START
- players should connect 17 tiles to make the board, this should include the "start" and "end" tiles. All pieces should be connected; no islands
- all players should choose a color and place their player on the start tile
- all players begin with 4 tokens, ensure that there are 8 tokens left in the pot
- players should roll a die to determine who starts. 

@ EACH ROUND
rounds consist of 2 phases. all players should complete the first phase before moving to the second phase
PHASE 1: TILES
players must choose one of the following actions:
- place a tile
- move/rotate a tile
- remove a tile
- skip your turn for this phase

* tiles with a player on them may not be modified. 
* adjacent tiles must lie flat, 2 male connections cannot be adjacent. 
* adjacent tiles must be on the same plane
* if you must lift tiles to complete your action, this action is invalid. 

PHASE 2: MOVE
each player should roll the d4 and move that many spaces
* players may not move backwards (back onto the tile they just came from)

if a player lands on:
- THEIR OWN COLOR TILE: take your dice roll X2 tokens from the pot. if there are no coins in the pot, do nothing
- ANOTHER PLAYER'S COLOR TILE: give your dice roll of your tokens to the player whose color the tile matches to
- NON-COLORED TILE: pay 2 of your tokens to the pot

@ END OF EACH ROUND: player that went last, should go again and begin the next round

@ GAME END
This game ends for each player when they land on the "end" tile. At this point, they no longer take a turn even if other players continue
If a player finished the game with 9+ tokens, they win.