Writing The Rules
Before starting writing the PDF for the rules we went over and redrafted our goals for the pdf:
- Clarity: The document should clearly explain the rules of play, as well as express the feeling of the game to players through the tone and structure.
- Theme: The feeling and tone of the game should also be expressed through the aesthetic design, which should convey the light-hearted nature of the game.
- Lean: While we originally wanted to pack the document to fully convey our vision of the game, we realised that keeping it lean would allow players to put themselves into the game and play it in their own way, by making house rules, and removing aspects of designer control from the document.
Structure
- Introduction: Describe the game, selling the players on the themes and feeling of gameplay, and providing ideas for potential roleplay
- Rules: Simple explanation of the rules that outlines how the game is played and gives minimal guidance for how to play each section of the game if needed.
- Example of play: An example of parts of the rules that may be needed as players have shown difficulty fully comprehending some parts of the rules without one playthrough, or an example
- Additional info: We realised that we wanted to include sections in the PDF that helped to guide players on how to get the most out of the game experience, as we saw it.
First Iteration
While no longer having images of the first iteration, the key differences were the Themes section, that aims to help players who have difficulty coming up with performances, and the general aesthetic design.
The goal of the design was to make the pdf look like a cross between a game document and a professional brief presented to the executives that the game attempts to make you roleplay. This is where the coffee stains come from and the more clearly structured design.
Second Iteration
In the second iteration, we decided to shore up the design a little bit, to add more visual flourish, and added the themes section as we had received feedback that some players had difficulty with the option space provided for the performances. This section would hopefully act to help guide players towards possible actions, allowing them to move away from the section once they had played the game a couple of times, as well as possibly providing a more guided experience for the game
We also included a section that talks about the platform that the game is played on, as we believed that it would improve the play experience to suggest ways in which players could use different VC software to supplement the game.
Third Iteration
From the second to third iteration, adjustments were made to the spacing of the document as well as a structural change to the rules section to add clarity to the repeated actions of the game. The goal for the final iteration will be to fill the empty space if needed by playtesting the game through the document.
The next section will detail the final iteration and evaluate the work throughout the project