Week 12 - board games

During the lecture on How Board Games Matter by Soren Johnson, I noticed one thing that stuck out to me more than any sore thumb could, “Transparent, visible mechanics increase player comfort.” The most interesting part to me is that this was a quote that was never spoken. Only shared via the slideshow along with the speech. However, I feel as if it was one of the most important parts of the speech.

I feel that this is very apparent through the Watch It Played series on YouTube. When Rodney Smith shows viewers the exact moves a player can make or the exact way to actually play a game, players are more comfortable.

In fact, I hear about studies very frequently about the attention span of an adult is constantly decreasing due to the introduction of new technology and the need for constant stimulation. I feel as if this idea has really been brought to light through my last week in San Diego. I have had many conversations with people that mentioned the need to have something playing on their television and playing a game or watching TikTok before going to bed. When game developers are able to present their game, movements, mechanics and rules in a quick and visual format, more players will be comfortable with their game.

When game developers, YouTubers or just people in general are able to physically show a person how to play a game or how to use a product. They are in turn going to be more comfortable because they can see how something is done and copy that exact motion.

While searching through the Watch It Played channel, I found myself attracted to the episode about the board game, Unmatched Jurassic Park. Which, of course, is named after and framed in, the same movie franchise. Through Unmatched Jurassic Park, players are trying to escape a forgotten dinosaur amusement park in aims to make it out alive. Depending on the way in which the board game players strategize moves, they will be forced to either engage or hide from certain dinosaurs just like scenes from the movies.

During the lecture, Johnson mentions the idea of transparency through board game design. I feel as if Unmatched Jurassic Park falls greatly into this category. Due to the statement that “when rules run in the player’s head, it increases engagement” by Johnson. With the function of the game, Jurassic Park can change just by the drawing of a card, forcing a player to engage with a dinosaur.

When a player is forced to interact with a dinosaur, or has the option to avoid any contact. Of course, this introduces the aspect of decision making to the players in the game. I feel that the game forces players to focus on working each situation they are presented with to reach one goal as opposed to “winning” by any means necessary. They need to take each stepping stone along the way.

The Jurassic Park board game is a great example of how players decision making skills factor into the playability of a game, transparency of a game and the players comfort.