Game Studies FINAL COMPILATION

THE GLUCONOMY  FINAL COMPILATION


Zhang Wan Ru 0368214

21/04/2025—15/07/2025 (Week 1-Week 14)

Game Studies / Bachelor of Design in Creative Media / Taylor's University


Instructions





Weekly Updates

Week 1:
Ms. Noranis briefed us on the module, which requires us to create a brand-new tabletop game related to the Glucose-3 pathway. On the same day, we were divided into groups and began discussing ideas for the game. However, since we didn’t have much inspiration at the time, we decided that each group member would go home and come up with one game idea individually. Then, we would have a meeting to discuss all the ideas, give feedback, and eventually choose one to develop.

Week 2:
Test the game and improve it.

After our discussion, we decided to go with Cai Jun’s idea. We also suggested areas we thought could be improved. This week, we created a paper prototype of the tabletop game for trial use and tested it in class. Afterwards, we identified a few bugs during the gameplay and discussed them together to make improvements.


Week 3:
Go Out and Play

On this Wednesday, our group went to UnboxmoU to play board games and table games. When we got there, we chose to play Ticket to Ride. It took us some time to study the rules, but after we got familiar with them, we played it very quickly. We need to think ahead and plan the route we want to take, because as long as one of the players occupies the route you want to pass, you need to change the route. According to the points, the first one to reach 100 will be the winner.






Week 4:
Feedback from lecturers

In Week 4, my group member and I dedicated time to sit together and thoroughly playtest the new board game we designed for our project. This session allowed us to experience the gameplay firsthand, identify areas that needed improvement, and evaluate how well the educational elements were integrated. We also invited our lecturer to observe the session and provide constructive feedback, which was incredibly helpful in highlighting both the strengths of our concept and specific aspects that could be refined to enhance engagement and clarity.

Week 5:
Presentation

This week we had a group presentation in class. We shared the game concept and components and explained how players collect ATP to win. Overall, the presentation went well.
After the presentation, we discussed the next steps for our project. Each group member needs to design several cards by Sunday; after that, we will vote to select the final design. We also talked about the type of chess pieces we need for the game and considered buying them from online platforms such as Shopee or Taobao.


Week 6:
Making Our Cards!

On Sunday, we voted on the card design. After finalizing the design, Yee Qin went to print and laminate the cards. On Wednesday, she brought the laminated cards, and we started cutting them and drawing our game board.




Game Testing

After that, we started playing our Gluconomy board game. We realized that it was difficult to win, and no one succeeded because of the 18 ATP challenge. So in the end, we decided that the player with the most ATP would be the winner. We played for about an hour.

[Click HERE to watch the full video.]



Week 7:
Playtest-Alpha

In week seven, we played games with other groups, splitting into two groups to play different games. CaiJun, Rogan Bong, and I were assigned to playtest Group 7’s game, Glucose Rush, while the rest of our team played with Sugar Heist. Meanwhile, other groups also had the opportunity to playtest our game, The Gluconomy, which took about 40-50 minutes to complete. After each playtest, we exchanged feedback with each group and made constructive suggestions for improvements based on the game experience, game mechanics, and overall engagement.

Week 8:
Beta playtest preparation

There is no class on Week 08. We had completed the feedback form for the groups that we played.

Week 9:
Online

This week, we conducted our final iteration online due to unforeseen circumstances. The group that playtested our tabletop game last week had to stop in the middle of the game because they took too long and couldn't finish it before class ended. We thought about lowering the amount of glucose needed to win the game as a result. When we asked Ms. Noranis for her opinion, she recommended timing the session and having the same group perform again. If it continues to take too long, we can move forward with the necessary changes.

Week 10:
Continue Developing Game Assets

This week, there were no on-campus classes. Our group still got together to test our game further, though. Since another group stated that 20 ATP makes the game too long, we talked about whether we should lower the winning condition from 20 ATP to 18 ATP. Finally, we agreed that 18 ATP would be the winning condition.


Week 11:

Continue Developing 
Prototyping of tabletop game generation & project consultation

Test the game and improve it. There is no physical class this week. We had discussed the representative for the playlets with bioscience students in the group chat.

Week 12:

Final Playtest
Test the game and improve it. 

This week, Cai Jun and Rogan as representatives of our group have attended the final playtest with bioscience students. Cai Jun was the game master that leads the game, while Rogan was one of the players of Gluconomy.


During the gameplay, there’s a lot of laughter and unpredictable drama happening within the four players as they keep on stealing glucose tokens from each other. Although the game can’t be finished due to time concerns, we enjoyed the time bonding together. The winner of the game was the one who had collected the most ATP currency.

The instant feedback we gained at that moment was quite nice, but when it comes to the mechanic review, the bioscience players mentioned that the rules should remain consistent and easy to understand while suggesting reducing the side effects of players who lose their glucose tokens from steal cards. 

Therefore, we decided to ask for Ms. Noranis’s advice during the next class and conduct another game trial internally within our group to reduce frustration of players.

Week 13:

Hybrid Session

This week we went to the campus to discuss and complete the Iterative_Playtest_Report_Template form and asked Ms. Noranis about the steal card issue. We made corrections to the rules and conducted internal tests to experience the game step by step and more accurately grasp the time of the game. Then we assigned the task of the final slide.



Week 14:
Presentation

This week, which is also Week 14, marked the end of our project and the day of our final presentation. It was an important for our group as we had worked hard over the past weeks to prepare and refine our ideas. On the day of the presentation, all group members arrived on time and came fully prepared. We took turns presenting our parts clearly, covering all the key aspects of our project. The entire presentation lasted around 12 to 15 minutes, during which we explained our concept, design process, and the final outcome in detail. Overall, we felt that the presentation went smoothly.


Our group and our game


Link to Google Drive that includes final design of game, mechanic review, playtest videos and presentation deck


Reflection:

During this semester, I was very lucky to meet a group of excellent and united team members. We formed a happy group of 5 and jointly developed our game "The Gluconomy." This was my first time participating in the development process of a game, which was a new and very meaningful experience for me.

From the beginning of the project, we conceived the core mechanism and rules of the game together and conducted multiple rounds of brainstorming. We hope that this is not only an interesting game but also a system with strict logic and clear rules. The process of being able to formulate rules and design mechanisms by myself has brought me a lot of benefits and also made me have a deeper understanding of the complexity and creativity of games as an interactive system.

During the development process, we continued to test and optimize, trying to fix various bugs, so that the game gradually became more perfect and balanced. In this process, we learned how to listen to each other's ideas, communicate effectively, and resolve conflicts, and we truly experienced the power of teamwork.

Special thanks to our course teacher, Ms. Noranis, who gave us a lot of valuable guidance throughout the process. She once reminded us, "Don't let players win the game too easily, and add more challenges." This advice is very important to us. It prompted us to re-examine the game mechanism and add some more strategic elements and unexpected events, which greatly improved the playability and fun of the game.

This project experience not only allowed me to learn a lot of basic knowledge and skills in game design (such as the design of paper prototype cards, as well as the design of chess and card games, test iterations, and player experience improvement design, etc.), but also made me have a strong interest in game development. "The Gluconomy" is not just a game but also a testimony to our team's joint efforts, mutual support, and gradual growth under the guidance of teachers.

Looking back on the whole process, I feel very happy and satisfied. I hope there will be more such opportunities in the future, and I continue to grow in creation and learning.



















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