Games Studies （Exercise 1 and Final project）

Ding Jiaqi/0379388

Games Studies 2/ Bachelor of interactive spatial design

Exercise 1：My favourite video game/ table top game & what makes this game playful

Video Game: TFT: Golden Spatula

🎮Game Overview:

TFT: Golden Spatula is a mobile strategy game published by Tencent, based on League of Legends: Teamfight Tactics. It's an auto-battler game where 8 players compete against each other by building powerful teams using champions, synergies, and items. The last player standing wins the game.

Each round, your team automatically fights a randomly selected opponent. The player's task is to manage resources, choose champions, build a lineup, and optimize placement during preparation phases.

🌟 What Makes It Fun?

1. Strategy Meets Luck

Although it’s a strategy game, there's also an element of luck. Champion rolls, item drops, and carousel picks make each match unpredictable and exciting.

2. Diverse Team Compositions

Each set introduces unique traits and synergies (e.g., Mages, Guardians, Snipers), allowing endless combinations. You can experiment with different builds every game.

3. Fast-paced Matches

Games typically last 20–30 minutes, making it perfect for casual play during short breaks.

4. Easy to Learn, Hard to Master

The game doesn’t require fast reflexes—just smart decision-making. It’s ideal for players who enjoy tactical thinking and long-term planning.

5. Visually Appealing

The animations, special effects, and champion models are colorful and well-designed, making each battle feel dynamic and immersive.

Board Game: Avalon

🎭 Game Overview:

Avalon is a hidden-role strategy party game for 5 to 10 players, set in the legendary time of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Players are secretly divided into two opposing factions:

• The Loyal Servants of Arthur (Good guys)

• The Minions of Mordred (Bad guys)

The game is played over a series of missions. Each round, a team is selected to go on a mission, and players must vote to approve or reject the team. Success or failure depends on secret votes from team members—and on who’s truly loyal.

🌟 What Makes It Fun?

1. Hidden Roles & Deduction

You never know who to trust. The fun lies in reading people's behavior, analyzing speech patterns, and figuring out who’s lying.

2. Special Characters Add Depth

Beyond basic good and evil, characters like Merlin, Assassin, Percival, and Morgana introduce unique powers that add strategic complexity and surprise twists.

3. Psychological Warfare & Social Interaction

It’s a game of persuasion, deception, and clever communication. Whether you're hiding the truth or trying to uncover it, the tension and bluffing make every conversation exciting.

4. Replay Value

Every game is different because the roles, players' behavior, and strategies constantly change. No two games feel the same.

5. Perfect for Groups

Avalon is ideal for parties and gatherings. It’s engaging, interactive, and gets everyone talking, thinking, and laughing.

Final project

Ding Jiaqi/0379388

Games Studies 2/ Bachelor of interactive spatial design 

🎲 How the Game Works 

The board has 40 tiles, consisting of:

 •  4 Corner Tiles (special triggers) 

 •  4 Event Tiles (marked with “?”) 

 •  32 Body Condition Tiles 

  In the center, players share a Central Body Pool, which includes ATP tokens (1, 2, and 5 units), 52 Event Cards, and three Pathway Stacks (each with 18 cards—9 positive, 7 negative, and 2 neutral). Each turn begins with a die roll: 

•  If an even number ≥6 is rolled → move forward.

  •  If an odd number → stay and roll again next turn.   

Landing on: 

•  A Body Condition Tile: the player selects a metabolic pathway and draws a card. Based on the card type and path correctness, they gain or lose ATP.  

•  A "?" Event Tile: random positive or negative events occur (e.g. stealing ATP, extra rewards).

  •  A Corner Tile: triggers a special bonus or punishment.  

 The game ends after five rounds (days). The player with the most ATP wins. However, if any player’s ATP drops below zero, they suffer a metabolic breakdown and are eliminated immediately.  

 🛠 Feedback & Revisions: 

 Week 12 After the Week 12 review, we received valuable suggestions on how to improve both the cognitive challenge and long-term replayability of the game. 

🔄 1. Rephrasing Scenario Prompts 

Originally, prompts were too specific—phrases like “morning lecture” made it obvious which pathway the event referred to. Reviewers suggested using more ambiguous phrasing such as “listening to a lecture”. This forces players to think critically about what’s happening physiologically, rather than relying on superficial clues.

 Update: We revised our scenario cards to use neutral, multi-pathway language, encouraging players to second-guess and reason through each situation based on deeper understanding, not guesswork. 

🧩 2. Acknowledging a Limitation:

 Replay Predictability One insightful point raised was that while repetition helps with memorization, over time players may memorize the correct responses to specific cards. This reduces the cognitive challenge and could make future rounds too predictable. Reflection: We agree this is a valid concern. In future versions, we plan to:

 •  Introduce expansion decks with new, shuffled scenarios 

 •  Add timer-based pressure or multiplayer bluffing mechanics

  •  Randomize consequences even for “correct” answers to preserve uncertainty   

This feedback helped us reflect critically on the educational value vs. gameplay depth, especially for long-term use in classroom or revision settings.