Theme and Concept Statement: Transcendence

継続は力なり。 (Keizoku wa chikara nari) Literally: Continuance (also) is power/strength. 

Meaning: Don't give up. Just continuing to hold on will yield/reveal strength and power. Continuing on after a setback is its own kind of strength. Perseverance is power.

I found this Japanese proverb from a list found here:  http://www.linguanaut.com/japanese_sayings.htm 

The sentence that stood out for me was "Perseverance is Power". The quote seems a little powerful for a board game, but the more I think about it, the more it applies to my game. The two phases of my game are setting up your opponent's obstacles, and you have to overcome them to win the game. As we have play-tested I have noticed that the players are ruthless, and always try to make it as hard as they can for the other player to reach their goal. This is where the proverb comes in. To overcome the obstacles set before you, you must be creative and persevere or the opposing player will win. 

I know that mulan is Chinese, not Japanese, but this movie is the perfect example of a person dealing with adversity, and creating their own "path" through life. 

My game is meant to act as a giant metaphor for life:

• The game board= your life and it's possibilities. 
• Your path pieces= the path we choose to take. 
• The tools= the abilities we gain in life to help us grow and develop as individuals, and overcome obstacles. 
• The obstacles= the assumed "fate" of our lives, the "social norm" of our time, or anything else that may take control of our life away from us.
• The gates=  our major events in life 
• The stars= The minor experiences in our life. 
• The temple= The end of our life, the end of struggles, the Ideal goal. 
• The Cherry Blossom Tree (just a large symbol at the end of the game board)= The tree represents the transcendence of life, and mortality.  

There is also a Cherry Blossom tree in Mulan, In Chinese it represents female dominance, beauty, and sexuality. But as a design choice I have decided to go along with the Japanese meaning of life and mortality. 

So even though the culture of my game is Japanese- inspired, the narrative still is strongly simular to Mulan. She is faced with the choices (my gates) of fighting in the military, becoming a worthy warrior, and overcoming Shan Yu. Her smaller choices are the ones that made those events successful (my stars),  the choice to take her father's armor, the choice to climb the log and retrieve the arrow to make herself strong, and the choice to dress the soldiers up as women to break into the palace to rescue the emperor. This is why I have decided when a character's piece lands on a star then they will have small choice cards they will have to fulfill to pass. When the player reaches a gate, then they must complete harder chance-cards to pass. 

The obstacles in Mulan can be interpreted in social, geographical, and situational ways. Social obstacles would be the fact that in that era women were not seen as capable warriors. A geographic obstacle would be the mountain pass they need to defend from Shan Yu. The situational obstacle would be the fact that Shan Yu want's to attack the emperor of China. Those parallel the set- up of my game. In the beginning the social obstacle is the opponent who is placing your obstacles in your board, and how hard they are going to make it for you to win. The geographical obstacle is the physical obstacles the player lays down. The situational obstacles are where they place your two gates, and how hard it will be for you to connect your path to them. 

Motifs: The elements that repeat the most in my game. 

• Gates
• The Stars
• Light, pleasing, etherial colors

Due to all of this:

The new title of my game is: Transcendence

My concept Statement: "Perseverance is Power"

Play Test!

So far this is a good example of my game in the middle of play:

As you can see you have a variety of shapes you can make a path with, several items you have to connect your path too (the pink squares) and obstacles that prevent you from making an easy path to your end goal (a spot next to the big star). I have learned that this game is more enjoyable for people who like strategy. There are more items to think about that I thought because I personally like puzzles and strategy games. For those who don't...this game is not that fun. Honestly I don't think I'm going to change the difficulty because I do want to challenge people to think. 

Durring my "exit interviews" I have noticed that people would like to interact with the other player more. In the beginning you set up each other's obstacles (the brown rectangles and the grey hexagons), and even though it takes a while I have noticed that the players have enjoyed that the most. So far I know I will definitely I will be adding more obstacles. 

This is a form I had several people fill out after playing the game:

1. On a scale of 1-5 how fun was the game?

2. Which mechanic was your favorite? Which mechanic did you not enjoy?

3. Do you like the concept of being able to set up your opponent’s obstacles? If not, please explain.

4. Would you like more opportunities to interact with your opponent?

5. Did the game continuously keep your attention? When did you get bored?

#1 was obviously different from those who like thinking games, and those who just want to play a simple fun game. #2 was all about the obstacles, so I will continue to pay attention to the different options the players have with those. #3 was consistently a yes, even it it took a while. #4 was a yes as well, so I can tie that into more interaction with the obstacles durring game play, not just durring set up. #5 was a yes.