Schteamomagic! | 2019
Game Design Internship (1 month)
Playtester (6 month)
Website
Theme
Trading card game - WarGame - Boardgame
Pitch
Schteamomagic is a trading Card game. Cards represent units or spells. They can be placed on a hexagonal game board to deploy the unit or use the spell. Units can move and attack. The first to destroy the opponent’s base on the board wins. You will need to build your deck, make a strategy, use the battlefield to your advantage, play your spells, and champion to destroy the enemy base!
01.
Context
During my first year of study I met the creator of Schteamomagic during a playtest. As a huge fan of board games, I've quickly got hooked to the concept. For 7 months, from November to June 2019, I followed the game’s progression and conducted weekly play-tests. Schteamomagic decided to give me an internship for a month, during July 2019.
02.
My work
A.
Playtesting for a long time
I was a playtester of Schteamomagic for almost 6 months, each week I would playtest and make mechanics propositions to improve the game. It was really interesting, because I could see the advancement of the project over a long period of time. At that time I understood the importance of having novice playtesters that don’t know anything about the game unlike me. Because the feedback I gave did not take the accessibility aspect into account , so when new players started to play, it was hard for them to understand the game.
B.
One month internship
1.
Design
During this internship, I worked on different aspects of the game. First I tried to enhance the accessibility of the game by simplifying core game mechanics. I also worked on the interface of the card to make it more readable and understandable by the player.
After that, I added new content to the game by creating 2 factions and cards with a unique operation for each.
2.
Organising playtests
My second task was to organise playtest and gather players feedback. I organised 2 sessions of playtests, where I would explain the rules of the game to the players, then write their behavior during the game and finally their feedback after the game. It was very helpful, especially to balance cards. I then wrote down the feedback obtained in excel and word.
03.
Conclusion
It was a very interesting experience, because I learned a lot about accessibility in game design, but also playtests organisation and forms. I also found that I prefer to work on a video game than a board game. Following this project during a long period was a good opportunity.