Week 3 (Activity) - Use this forum below to discuss your experiences in this area, good or bad. If you have ever participated in a jam or hackathon, what was it like? Do you have any tips for ideation? Do you have any first-hand experience using prototyping tools?
During my undergraduate degree at Solent University, I joined a society called Video Games Academy (VGA). One of my responsibilities was to promote game jams based on specific themes or holidays. Our game jams ranged from around 5 – 15 students at any one time and they would usually last for 48 – 72 hours. I remember being extremely nervous about participating, thinking I couldn’t possibly create a game in such a short amount of time. However, if you don’t think too much about it and dive right in then it easily becomes an enjoyable experience. In addition, game jams are a great way to collaborate with other developers! Since then, I have participated in a variety of jams and only ever managed to finish one game. You are encouraged to work fast and have fun! Scope and testing are crucial because more often than not you’ll find yourself trying to figure out solutions to problems you did not expect. This results in many developers leaving elements such as UI (User Interface) and sound to the last minute (yup, that’s me every time…). After a jam, I normally take a few days off to recover.
Figure 1: Solent University (Game Jam)
I have used a variety of prototyping tools in the past, however, due to the time constraints of game jams, I normally dive right into making the game in the engine. Although I love to paper prototype! It can be a great way of testing a game’s mechanics and visualizing an idea in low or high fidelity.
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis (1996)
To complete this activity, identify an artefact you feel is particularly interesting. Select one or two of the prototyping methods outlined this week and build quick prototypal representations of your chosen artefact. Note down any interesting characteristics of the artefact.
The artefact I have chosen to reverse engineer is Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle from the popular title, Logical Journey of the Zoombinis (1996).
Logical Journey of the Zoombinis (1996) or Zoombinis Maths Journey, is an educational puzzle game, developed and published by Broderbund. The game was remade by The Learning Company in 2001. The player begins at Zoombini Isle with 16 custom built Zoombinis. The objective is to eventually reach Zoombiniville by traversing a map and overcoming logic-based minigames. The puzzles get harder the more times you play and as a result, several Zoombinis may get left behind. At the end of certain puzzles, the Zoombinis can rest at a campsite and be stored to join another group if there are fewer than 16 Zoombinis left. The game is won when 625 Zoombinis make it to Zoombiniville.
What makes a Zoombini?
Figure 2: What makes a Zoombini?
Before I start to dissect Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle we have to recognise what makes a Zoombini. Four different attributes define a Zoombini (Hair, eyes, nose colour and feet) and there are five possible traits for each variable (Figure 2), resulting in 625 possible combinations. The name of the Zoombini is irrelevant, and players are restricted in creating the same Zoombini three times. Once the player has created 16 Zoombinis, they may begin their journey to Zoombiniville.
Captain Cajun's Ferryboat
Figure 3: Captain Cajun's Ferryboat (Not so easy - puzzle)
The aim of the puzzle is to sit Zoombinis next to other Zoombinis with at least one matching trait. Sounds easy enough, however, the puzzle gets harder when the seats get rearranged and more links become established. 'Not so easy' mode (Figure 3) requires only 2 links (right and left) for every Zoombini to be achieved (apart from the Zoombinis seated in the corners that just require a single link to be achieved).
There are many different puzzles within the Zoombini game I could have chosen, however, after playing Captain Cajun's Ferryboat (Figure 3), I determined that its use of external logic was far easier to prototype than a puzzle with internal logic. The answer is visual, rather than the solution being determined in code; having no visual indications of how to decipher a puzzle would make it increasingly difficult to prototype. For example, the 'Allergic Cliffs' puzzle randomises what bridge (out of a possible two) rejects a Zoombini based on a particular trait (which is also randomised). This could be achieved by using the 'Wizard of Oz' prototype technique where the designer knows the solution and plays with a participant. However, I was unable to procure willing participants.
Figure 4: Captain Cajun's Ferryboat (Not so easy - solution)
This is the solution (Figure 4) for Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle (Figure 3) on easy mode.
Level Difficulties
Figure 5: Captain Cajun's Ferryboat (Oh, so hard - 3 links)
'Oh, so hard' mode requires the player to achieve maximum of 3 links (right, left and up or down) (Figure 5).
Figure 6: Captain Cajun's Ferryboat (Very hard - 4 links)
'Very hard' mode requires the player to achieve a maximum of 4 links (right, left, up and down) (Figure 6).
Figure 7: Captain Cajun's Ferryboat (Very, very hard - 6 links)
The final mode, 'Very, very hard' requires the player to achieve a maximum of 6 links (right, left, diagonal left-up, diagonal left-down, diagonal right-up and diagonal right-down) (Figure 7).
Paper Prototyping & Sketching
Figure 8: Paper Prototyping (Seats & Zoombinis)
I decided to paper prototype Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle because I have the most experience using this tool. I could have used other techniques, such as game prototyping in an engine, however, being such a visual game, it was easier to sketch the Zoombinis and their traits on paper.
Firstly, there are two variables to consider when reverse engineering Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle. The first is the Zoombinis, and the second is the seats. One variable is known to change depending on the difficulty of the puzzle.
I started by sketching the seats in two rows of eight on a piece of A4 paper. I then sellotaped both sides of the seat and cut around the drawing. I repeated this method for the Zoombinis. Cutting out 16 individual seats (Figure 8) made it viable to then rearrange them based on what difficulty I wanted to play in.
Figure 9: Paper Prototyping (Not so easy - puzzle)
I then arranged the seats (Figure 9) as it plays in 'Not so easy' mode (Figure 3). The ability to manoeuvre the seats is what makes this a viable paper prototype. In addition, I can experiment with the puzzle by creating more complex shapes requiring more links to be achieved. However, the one constant I cannot change are the traits that make up a Zoombini having already sketched them. This restricts replayability of the same mode because the solution is unable to change (although the order could still differ). I would have to create another batch of 16 different Zoombinis to keep the prototype fresh and enjoyable.
Figure 10: Paper Prototyping (Not so easy - solution)
Having replicated the Zoombinis in my previous playthrough (Figure 3), I was able to find the solution to my paper prototype puzzle (Figure 10). Overall I am happy with the results and believe this was an effective way to prototype Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle.
Research Notes on Paper Prototyping
Paper prototyping can be a great way to rapidly test a game's mechanics. It is adaptive, cheap, and involves no programming, with its primary focus being the design (De Nucci and Kramarzewski, 2018). Another benefit of paper prototyping is its universal understanding. It can be used to communicate concepts to publishers and mechanics to developers (Mifsud, 2022).
Conclusion & Reflection
In conclusion, prototyping Captain Cajun's Ferryboat puzzle showed me that you could achieve replayability by simply manipulating variables. Paper prototyping allows total control over the game and can lead to experimental testing. However, the prototype does not allow the user to alter the traits of any given Zoombini. If I were to do this again, I would make customizable Zoombinis by using Velcro to easily change a trait of a Zoombini. This could lead to prototyping more puzzles within the Logic Journey of the Zoombinis.
Furthermore, if I had more time and willing participants, I could have used the 'Wizard of Oz' technique on more complex puzzles involving internal logic. I believe this would have offered more insight into the player perspective and the working framework behind each puzzle.
References
Broderbund.com. 1996. Zoombinis. [online] Available at: <https://www.broderbund.com/zoombinis> [Accessed 8 February 2022].
Zoombinis, 2016. Zoombinis Tips - Allergic Cliffs Levels 1 & 2. [video] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guPmL5hI_0U&t=65s&ab_channel=Zoombinis> [Accessed 8 February 2022].
De Nucci, E. and Kramarzewski, A., 2018. Practical Game Design. Packt Publishing.
Mifsud, J., 2022. Paper Prototyping As A Usability Testing Technique. [Blog] Available at: <https://usabilitygeek.com/paper-prototyping-as-a-usability-testing-technique/> [Accessed 8 February 2022].
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