For my BCM300 Group Game Experience Pitch, I have grouped with Nicole Papadimas, Isaac Allen, Aliah Walton and Isaac Percy and we are currently in the process of ideating our game. We began ideating collaboratively via zoom calls for the past few weeks and this process has been successful, as our group was able to contribute significantly by providing examples of our own game experience.

 These individual experiences have allowed each of us to provide mechanics, rules and themes from other products that we have enjoyed. Each of us provided a game we had played, either during BCM300 or during our own time, and these games are:

1. Cluedo (1949)
2. Love Letter (2012)
3. Monopoly (1933)
4. The Resistance: Avalon (2012)
5. Ultimate Werewolf (2008)

Our currently untitled game combines the social deduction mechanism of Ultimate Werewolf (2008), Love Letter (2012) and The Resistance: Avalon (2012), with the grid movement of Monopoly (1933) and Cluedo (1949). Although Ultimate Werewolf is a party game, our game will be limited to a maximum of 8 players, as having a board makes it difficult to play with too many players. The game starts with one Alien, who is hidden and must eliminate the president, and cards such as the President and the Bodyguard whose goal it is to figure out who amongst them is the Alien.

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The narrative of our game draws heavily upon films which I provided, such as Alien (1979) and Mars Attacks! (1996), which both feature aliens as the antagonist, hunting down humans. Our game takes place in the White House, as well as at the Alien’s crash site, with players travelling between rooms attempting to discover each other’s identities.

For the creation of our Pitch, I was responsible for devising the character cards which each player is given, as well as the room cards and special cards which cause specific actions and moves. There are 8 character cards, with 6 of them for the Human team and 2 for the Alien team.

Moving forward, I am responsible for the creation of our group presentation alongside Nicole, which will be presented in PowerPoint format. We will both also be responsible for ensuring everything in the presentation is of high quality and flows flawlessly. I am also responsible for writing and presenting my 5 minutes of speech, which will be focused on the character, room and special cards for the game, as well as the game I researched, Ultimate Werewolf.

According to Statista.com, the board game industry was worth over $8.5 Billion (US Dollars) in 2019, and is projected to reach $12 Billion by 2023, this means the Board Game Industry is currently experiencing a massive growth in market value. This is partly due to the Internet’s ability to connect people with other people interested in the same things and makes accessing board games easier. Board games also allow people to socialise with friends and family in a fun, competitive manner (Sargeantson, E 2019). During my research, I came across these articles highlighting why board games are so popular, and I feel that our game is a good example of a game that lets you socialise with people whilst also having fun.

One set back I feel may hinder our game from functioning well is that the hidden identities may not remain hidden for long, making the game quite short and unfair for the alien team. However, whilst creating our game, I was particularly proud of the narrative we devised, as I feel it fits well with the mechanics of our game, as well as the characters and board design.

References

Board Game Geek, 2008, Ultimate Werewolf: Ultimate Edition, Board Game Geek, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/38159/ultimate-werewolf-ultimate-edition

Board Game Geek, 2012, Love Letter, Board Game Geek accessed 8^th May 2020, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/129622/love-letter

Board Game Geek, 2012, The Resistance: Avalon, Board Game Geek, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/128882/resistance-avalon

Board Game Geek, n/a, Clue, Board Game Geek, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1294/clue

Board Game Geek, n/a, Monopoly, Board Game Geek, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1406/monopoly

IMDb, n/a, Alien, IMDb, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078748/

IMDb, n/a, Mars Attacks!, IMDb, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116996/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0

O’Connell, L 2019, Global board games market value from 2017 to 2023, Statista, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/829285/global-board-games-market-value/

Sargeantson, E 2019, Why Board Games Are So Popular, my kind of meeple, accessed 8^th May 2020, https://mykindofmeeple.com/why-are-board-games-popular/