Design Idea Week 1

The dogma manifesto is an interesting take on originality in gaming, and how its often not there. As I’ve been thinking about an original idea for a game, its been quite tough. I looked at the series of dirty teacups in the sink and was thinking of something to do with washing, or (since the teacups were arranged in straight lines), something to do with dropping a ball / electricity and having to route a path through the cups / “switches”.

The game I have thought of is a sort of simulation / puzzle game, which is to do with woodworking. You are a furniture manufacturer, and so far I am not sure how many aspects to this game I should have, so I will write them all down:

Simple version of woodmaker game:

People come and give you specifications for some kind of furniture that they want installed in their home. They give you some specifications and leave the rest up to you. For example, I want a coffee table that is 0.5 m tall and can fit in a space about 2m x 3 m. At the beginning you will be given simple tools and materials, and as the game progresses you will be given harder and harder tasks, with better tools and materials to work with. You decide whether the table should have 1 leg or 3, straight or slanted, etc. If it fits with the spec and can function properly (eg. coffee table can hold coffee cups) then the solution is valid.

A more complicated version of the game would include pricing for different materials, with you having to also run a business and make sure that all the clients are satisfied on time and within budget.

http://comp4431.wordpress.com/2009/07/20/design-idea-wk-1-dogma-manifesto/

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