Week #5: Solitaire Mod Project Postmortem

 CAGD - 170 - 1 - Video Game Design

Week #5: Solitaire Mod Project Postmortem

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Antidepressant Solitaire Postmortem

A Mod of Klondike Solitaire

Group: 8

Game Summary

Our game is based on the Klondike version of Solitaire, but with a twist. We aimed for a game that gives you more chances to beat ordinarily unwinnable games. In our modification of the game we allow two uses of a card searching mechanic to retrieve a card in the Talon or Stock that would otherwise be inaccessible, as well as a pair of Joker cards that act like wild cards in other games.

Target Players

• Number of Players: 1
• Player Types: Achievers, Strategists, Casual Players, Explorer
• Player Interaction: Single Player vs Game

This game is designed for a single player to enjoy on their own, within a limited space. It involves strategic choices, some of which may cause an ordinarily winnable game to lose. 

Problems Encountered in the Iterative Design

Clarity of the rules was a huge hurtle. We wanted to be short and concise, but we found that there were still plenty of rules we needed to at least mention, which dramatically increased the size of our rulesheet. Eventually we settled on a casual set of step-by-step rules on how to get started and continue playing the game, as well as a section describing the full gameplay loop for those more technically inclined. 

Terminology was a back-and-forth battle between inventing our own names for the various areas of the game, or using the naming convention proposed in the official rules. We ultimately settled for the official names, as we were creating rules to lay on top of the original Solitaire system, not ones that dramatically altered it.

Task Completion within the Group

On the whole, most of our tasks were completed on time, and quite thoroughly. Group members were in constant contact with one another, and provided helpful feedback when possible. The biggest task that could have received more attention was external playtesting. We needed to get the rules in the hands of more people to receive more data on how the game was shaping up, or if there was anything critical that was missed. With how easy it is to lose a game of Solitaire, if our playtesters only played it once and lost, that is not really enough information to tell us whether our rules are working with, let alone improving, our game. 

What would I Change about my Development Process

Early playtesting with people other than myself and team members would be at the top of my list. The more I can hear live feedback on how my players are receiving the game, the better game I can produce for them to play. In an ideal world I would be taking my game to board game meetup groups and pulling people aside to try it out, live in front of me. I would give them short surveys to do, and be taking notes on their reaction to the game. Essentially I would be collecting as much data about my modified version of Solitaire as humanly possible so I know whether this game is heading in the right direction, or whether I need to pivot it's design. Worst case scenario, I would find out that my game is not fun at all, but doing so early would allow me change when it is easy to do so, and I have not invested as much time and energy into the project.

I think I would have also liked to use more illustrations as opposed to photographic images, though illustrations require a certain level of skill and commitment that we did not quite have at our disposal. If we planned to publish this game in an any official capacity, I would strongly consider updating the images we used to better guide our players through the rules.