Week 07- "Life's a Game Log #7"

This week in class we worked around social deduction games. What is a social deduction game you ask? It is a game where players try to uncover each other's hidden roles or team alliances.  Using Macklin and Sharp's ten tools social deduction games use many of the different tools listed in the book. As stated in the book constraint basic tool is used in these types of games. The book summary for chapter 2 it states, "Constraint: The limitations we put on players through the design of the actions, objects, and playspace of a game." This shows that social deduction games used this tool on the part where people have their specific roles in the game and they have actions that are limitations set for the players through the card's role. In the book, the storytelling basic tool is used in these types of games as well. In the book summary for chapter 2, it states, "Storytelling: A series of tools for shaping player experience that borrows from traditional narrative structures." This shows that social deduction games mostly have stories set in place to make the game interesting and allow them to be understandable and entertaining. In the book skill, strategy, chance, and uncertainty are other basic tools that are used in social deduction games. In the book summary for chapter 2, it states, "Skill, strategy, chance, and uncertainty: Skill is the mastery of a game’s actions, whereas strategy is a player’s ability to determine a path to achieving the game’s (or their own) goals. Chance is the use of randomization in a game, whereas uncertainty is the unpredictable nature of what will happen as a game is played." This shows that these social deduction games take lots of strategies in order to make sure others don't figure out your role and also for you to figure out others' roles. These social deduction games use lots of the 10 basic tools of design that not only include the ones I stated. So these games are very versatile in the way they work and are played. The challenge of designing a social deduction game is mainly figuring out roles. I say this because roles are a huge part of what people do and it allows for everyone to be playing at pretty much the same time. So if the roles aren't correctly designed to work with one another that can be a huge challenge when designing a game. If I were to design my own social deduction game the theme I would use would be like the two rooms and a boom game. I think that game had a cool idea of a whole different room where people started and you had to figure out everyone's roles between the rooms while also trying to get yourself sent between the two to help your team do your specific goal. So Ya, I believe I would do a social deduction game like two rooms in a boom just with a different idea. I think that type of game was actually very fun and entertaining to play.