Game Design Document

By Jared Skold and Miray Hepguler Summer 2019 Version History Date Description Who 07/15/2019 Initial GDD has been created Miray 07/20/2019 Rule and Card Descriptions Jared 07/24/2019 Changed rules (tuning) Miray 07/28/2019 Expansion of topics Miray 07/30/2019 Demographics, Marketing, Influencer, Gameplay Miray 08/02/2019 References, Gameplay Miray 08/02/2019 Balancing, Declaration, Metaphor Miray 08/04/2019 Cards, Metaphor, General Editing Jared 08/02/2019 Created player personas Jared 08/04/2019 Added details to metaphor, changed card no., target audience, taxonomy, art Miray style topics, design goals 08/04/2019 Updated Cards, Metaphor, Created SWOT, General Editing & Updates Jared 08/05/2019 Created Paper prototype and did Test 3 & 4 Jared 08/06/2019 Updated Market Comp. and Rules/Turns Jared 08/06/2019 Formatting, Metaphor, Further Design Explanations Miray 08/07/2019 Pros and Cons, Metaphor, various grammar fixes Jared 08/07/2019 Card designs added Miray 08/07/2019 Printed/cut cards, recorded playthrough video, added section for link Jared 08/08/2019 Added logo Jared 08/08/2019 Formatting Miray

Table of Contents Overview ...... 7

Genre ...... 7

Number of Players ...... 7

Playtime ...... 7

Target Audience ...... 7

Unique Selling Points ...... 7

What’s in the Box? ...... 7

Source Material ...... 7

Concept Breakdown ...... 8

Pros ...... 8

Cons ...... 8

Design Goals ...... 8

Demographics ...... 9

Target Audience ...... 9

Market Research ...... 9

Influencers ...... 9

XYbrid ...... 9

Evolution ...... 10

Bears vs Babies ...... 10

Game Components ...... 11

Cards ...... 11

General Characteristics ...... 11

Monster Cards...... 11

Mutation Cards ...... 11

Trait Cards ...... 12 Metaphor ...... 12

Prototype and Playtesting ...... 15

Test 1 ...... 15

Test 2 ...... 16

Test 3 ...... 17

Test 4 ...... 17

Risks and Mitigations ...... 18

Balancing ...... 18

Gameplay ...... 19

Goal ...... 19

Set-Up ...... 19

First Player ...... 20

Distributing Monster Cards ...... 20

Drawing Trait Cards ...... 20

Matching Monsters’ Traits ...... 20

Player Turn Structure ...... 21

Discard Pile ...... 22

Winning and Losing Conditions ...... 22

Playthrough Video ...... 23

Further Design Explanations ...... 23

Public and Private Information ...... 23

Resources ...... 23

Research ...... 24

Implementation of the Theme ...... 24

Target Audience ...... 24

Target Segmentation and Player Taxonomy ...... 25 Player Personas ...... 26

Intended Art Style ...... 27

References ...... 29

Games Cited ...... 30

Image References ...... 30

Appendixes ...... 32

List of Cards ...... 32

Monster Cards Front x 9 ...... 32

Monster Cards Back x 13 ...... 33

Mutation Card Front x 24 ...... 34

Trait Cards Front x 3 ...... 34

Mutation Cards Back x 3 ...... 35

Table of Figures Figure 1 – XYBrid – The Monster-building Transparent Card Game ...... 9 Figure 2 – Evolution Board Game ...... 10 Figure 3 – Bears vs Babies Card Game ...... 10 Figure 5 – Celtic Tree of Life Symbol ...... 13 Figure 5 – Oak Tree Silhouette with Roots ...... 13 Figure 6 - Super Monsters: Dracula, AHI, 1974, The Strong, Rochester, New York...... 14 Figure 7 - Frankenstein’s Monster, MEGO Corporation, 1974, The Strong, Rochester, New York...... 14 Figure 8 - Wolfman Assembly Kit, Aurora, 1962, The Strong, Rochester, New York...... 14 Figure 9 - Rare Monster Face Toy, by Hasbro from 1995...... 14 Figure 10 – Contest Card and Monster Card ...... 15 Figure 13 – Family Tree ...... 16 Figure 13 – Board Sample 1 ...... 16 Figure 13 – Board Sample 2 ...... 16 Figure 14 – Family Tree Generations ...... 17 Figure 15 - How to Set-Up ...... 19 Figure 16 - Matching Monsters' Traits ...... 20 Figure 17 - Offspring Style 2 ...... 21 Figure 18 - Offspring Style 1 ...... 21 Figure 19 - Sample Monster Generations Family Tree ...... 22 Figure 20 – Playtest ...... 23 Figure 21 - Character Theory Chart ...... 25 Figure 22 - Player Persona - Mark ...... 26 Figure 23 - Player Persona - Veronica ...... 27 Figure 24 - Mood Board ...... 28

Overview

Monster Generations is a 2-player, competitive, turn-based card game set in a world of competitive monster breeding. Players must pair together outlandish creatures and pass on ideal traits to future generations. It’s a race to complete your monster family tree before your opponents!

Genre Turn-based, competitive card game

Number of Players 2 players

Playtime Approximately 20 minutes

Target Audience Ages 7+

Unique Selling Points ● Pushing the limits of imagination ● Countless combinations of wacky monsters ● Friendly competition with unique monster breeding mechanics ● Possible expansion packs adding more diverse traits

What’s in the Box? • Instruction manual • 54 Monster cards • 24 Trait cards • 24 Mutation cards (backside is the same as Monster cards)

Source Material

In the original concept pitched by Jordan Mann, he introduces the game’s mechanics with the following description: “Starting with 2 random monsters each and a small amount of resources, players will take turns filling out their family tree. Players can place one monster card on the board per turn, whether it be an offspring or a partner for an existing monster. Players can also sell off their monsters, granting them an appropriate amount of resources and opening up a slot on their family tree. Additionally, at the beginning of each players turn, the item deck is shuffled and three cards are placed face up; these are the item cards available for purchase for the listed price during that players turn. When the turn is over, any remaining item cards are shuffled back into the deck.”

Concept Breakdown

Pros

The originality of the concept was a successful take on the given theme of family resemblance. For this reason, we wanted to keep original metaphor of a monster family tree and refine it. We wanted to continue fixing broken mechanics and engage in tuning for more successful gameplay. Simplified, the 2- player game could become a fun experience for a younger audience.

Cons

The original pitch was vague. The concept document did not provide information on how monsters could be created by combining cards together. In the original concept document, there were some components which were not explained in the components section but they were included in the gameplay, for example the tokens and board. The Contest card idea was not clear how to idealize a monster since each game session will be unique and pursuing an ideal monster could be quite difficult with limited card sets and combinations. These components were essential for the intended gameplay, but it was not clear how to progress and execute on them. Overall mechanics were found to be broken, and the game as pitched was too complex for the limited scope and time we had. A target market of 12+ would be too ambitious for this project.

Design Goals ● A card game without broken gameplay mechanics ● Appropriate for ages 7 and up ● Coherent and intuitive metaphor ● Thematic accuracy (Family Resemblance) ● Gameplay ←→ Metaphor ←→ Target Audience Demographics

Target Audience Monster Generations’ has an expected rating of ages 7 and up. This age group of players are able to make discrete decisions. The game contains limited interaction/prediction of other players and only a few game elements to manipulate and keep track of. It lacks violence, and while it deals with monster breeding, it does not have any sexual or adult themes, keeping the content appropriate for children.

Market Research

Influencers

XYbrid

Overview Combine brutal biology, relentless robotics, mind- bending physics and volatile chemistry as you compete to become the most infamous monster-building scientist. Each card is transparent, so building your monster is a creative experience unlike any other game—and because each card has different art on either side, the path to ultimate infamy is always Figure 1 – XYBrid – The Monster-building Transparent uniquely yours (Bored Leisure Co). Card Game

Players: 2 – 4 Playtime: 30 minutes Ages: 13+

Analysis Like most monster-building card games, this requires physically combining cards to form a monster. Each card is transparent and has a different body part. We didn’t feel this was the right solution for Monster Generations since our game is aimed at a younger audience and this would over-complicate things. Evolution

Overview In Evolution, players create and adapt their own species in a dynamic ecosystem with hungry predators and limited resources (North Star Games). Players: 2 - 6 Playtime: 60 minutes Ages: 12+ Figure 2 – Evolution Board Game Analysis This game uses a species board and marker tokens to keep track of evolutionary traits. It also uses food tokens as a resource in order to upgrade traits. Aimed at an older audience, we examined these components but found them to not be workable solutions for our project.

Bears vs Babies

Overview Bears vs Babies is a card game where you build handsome, incredible monsters who go to war with horrible, awful babies. Family-friendly, highly-strategic party game (Exploding Kittens). Players: 2 - 5 Playtime: 20 minutes Ages: 10+

Figure 3 – Bears vs Babies Card Game

Analysis This was another monster-building game where each card has different body parts that get physically combined to form a creature. This did not seem to be a part of the original concept pitch for Monster Generations. Instead we decided to focus on pairing monsters together, along with a single trait augmentation card, to build out generations of a monster family tree. Game Components

• Instruction manual • 54 Monster cards • 24 Trait cards (wings, horns, tail, spikes) • 24 Mutation cards (Backside design is the same as Monster Cards)

Cards Each box of Monster Generations includes three decks of cards: a Monster deck, a Trait deck, and a Mutation deck.

General Characteristics

The cards are standard US playing card size (2.5" x 3.5"), and they are designed in a way that will be both visibly appealing to children and easy to comprehend at first glance. Card material is 300 gsm blue core. Finish is gloss linen.

Monster Cards

Monster cards are the primary component of the game and are used for building out the monster family tree. Each Monster card has an image of a creature and is clearly labeled with two traits at the top of each card. In order to pair two Monster cards together, Monsters must share a common trait. Monsters that do not share a common trait must be augmented with a Trait card to make them match. Once two Monster cards have been paired together, they can produce an offspring. This offspring in turn must also have the matching trait of its parents. If not, the player draws a Monster card and/or can use a Mutation card.

Mutation Cards

Drawing a Mutation card allows a player to immediately pick a Trait card from one of the three face-up traits on the table. The Mutation cards act as a spendable resource, and upon exchanging one for a Trait card, the Mutation card is placed in the discard pile. Trait Cards

Trait cards allow players to augment their Monster cards by adding particular traits. For example, a Trait card might add a tail or a unicorn horn to a Monster. There are three face-up Trait cards on the table with the remaining Traits card deck faced-down next to them. When a player selects one of the face-up Trait cards, another from the deck is flipped over and placed on the table. To play a Trait card, it is placed directly alongside a Monster card in the family tree in order to augment that Monster.

Metaphor

The word metaphor comes from the ancient Greek meta (to take) and pherein (beyond) (Gualeni). It is a type of figure of speech that communicates a certain idea or state of affairs via analogy, comparison, or resemblance with something else. While all games do not require metaphors to function or achieve commercial success, it has been a design goal of Monster Generations to strive for a coherent and intuitive use of metaphor. With the theme of family resemblances, the family tree is a powerful metaphor in the game’s design. Players are creating ‘generations’ in the family tree - and ‘generating’ new monster offspring. By the time the family tree is complete, all the monsters will be quite different and may not share a single common trait amongst the entire group, and yet they are a family. The metaphor of the tree is an ancient archetypal one, and it symbolizes many things to many cultures. The tree symbolizes family through its network of branches, connecting the generations. It can be a metaphor for growth, fertility, or immortality. It can also represent wisdom, as it was the Buddha who received illumination while sitting beneath the bodhi tree(Fig 4 and Fig 5). “A tree is one of the best examples of a motif that often appears in dreams (and elsewhere) and that can have an incredible variety of meanings. It might symbolise evolution, physical growth, or psychological maturation; death (Christ’s crucifixion on the tree); it might be a phallic symbol; it might be a great deal more. And such other common dream motifs as the cross or the lingam can also have a vast array of symbolic meanings…” (Jung 90) Figure 5 – Oak Tree Silhouette with Roots Figure 5 – Celtic Tree of Life Symbol

Monster Generations is a game about pairing different monsters by their common traits and creating offspring from those paired monsters. According to the dictionary definition, ‘monster’ means an animal or plant of abnormal form or structure and one who deviates from normal or acceptable behavior or character (Merriam-Webster). Concept of monsters have been around since the beginning of time. Some say monster stories based on old superstitions, some say those creatures symbolize human desires and flaws such as: Rage, consumption, addictions, lack of knowledge, war (Davis). Creature or monster can represent a wide range of ideas and generally both words can be used interchangeably. Monsters can sometimes be a symbol of science who stands with deviated ideas against world of religion, a child who grows without love and moral lessons or a symbol of the outcast from society -poor and weak- (eNotes). If all monster and creature symbolism is based on fear, what is the reason for using the monster metaphor in a card game for kids? Most children have fears, and these fears are part of the development. Things that seem harmless or not scary to adults might be a frightful experience for children. This separation can show us different levels of cognitive development between individuals. Development of fear differs between certain age groups.

Figure 8 - Wolfman Assembly Kit, Figure 7 - Frankenstein’s Monster, Figure 6 - Super Monsters: Dracula, Aurora, 1962, The Strong, MEGO Corporation, 1974, The Strong, AHI, 1974, The Strong, Rochester, Rochester, New York. Rochester, New York. New York.

In too many cases, when kids describe or draw their fears, they start with monster figures. When they encounter something unknown, they call it a monster, and this a way of facing their fears. Around ages 6 - 9 (our target audience), children start to face their fears by watching movies or playing with scary toys, and they start to experience the ‘fun’ side of the horror (Cantor and Oliver 72).

Figure 9 - Rare Monster Face Toy, by Hasbro from 1995.

A lot of kids love monsters. Interestingly, monsters should terrify kids because they are powerful, weird- looking and aggressive creatures (Burns). However, with the contributions of popular culture, monsters have become more friendly, while the kids are beginning to more easily accept them. Meanwhile, these strange-looking creatures foster kids’ imaginations. Toys and games allow children to play with their fears. Especially with physical deformity (Scotese). The current monster metaphor had been established in the received concept document, and we wanted to keep the original metaphor as it is, since it is appropriate and encourages creativity for the target audience of ages 7 and up.

Prototype and Playtesting

Our initial prototype was made to be faithful to the concept document that we received. Consequently, we encountered some issues, as well as unexplained mechanics. These problems have been explained in the concept breakdown section.

Test 1 The game contains: ● An abstract board ● Monster Cards ● Item Cards ● Contest Cards ● Tokens ● Drawn Board

Figure 10 – Contest Card and Monster Card

Players: 2 players Playtime: 60 min.

Results ● The game board shape and what kind of information it has was not clear ● Contest card was not clear ● How to pair/breed monsters and create an offspring was not clear ● Tokens and purchase system were not clear and it was a somewhat abstract topic for a 7 year old target audience Figure 13 – Family Tree Figure 13 – Board Sample 1 Figure 13 – Board Sample 2

Test 2 The game contains: ● Tokens (purchase system) ● Monsters Cards with 4 different color groups ● Item Cards ● Joker Cards (different gameplay mechanics such as: Now skip one generation, your opponent should discard their latest generation, Draw one more monster card)

Players: 2 players Playtime: 60 min.

Results ● Purchase system or tokens used very rarely; 1 purchase per player ● Joker Cards have made the game more complicated than anticipated; Hard to grasp for ages 7 and up players ● Monster Color Groups have no effect on the gameplay ● Making Monster Generation family tree by using full card size for each generation was not efficient and each player required a huge space for their cards

Test 3 The game contains: ● 60 Monster cards ● 24 Trait cards (with 6 different Traits: horns, spikes, wings, claws, fur, and tail) ● 24 Mutation cards

Players: 2 players Playtime: 22 min.

Results ● The game was played out till completing the 8th generation of the family tree (16 Monsters) ● The game felt too confusing for younger players with too many moves available and too many cards in-hand (often 10+ cards)

Test 4 The game contains: ● 48 Monster cards ● 24 Trait cards (with 4 diff. Traits: horns, spikes, wings, and tail) ● 24 Mutation cards

Players: 2 players Playtime: 12 min.

Figure 14 – Family Tree Generations

Results ● The game was played out till completing the 8th generation of the family tree (16 Monsters) ● The game felt easier to keep track of things with when testing with only 4 Traits as opposed to with 6 Traits ● It still felt like there were not enough Monster cards on-hand ● Playtime felt good. It could have gone to the 10th generation to extend the length. Sorter games feel better, like players could do a ‘best 2 out of 3’

Risks and Mitigations

In spite of limitations, we have made some changes to the gameplay and mechanics: ● No purchase system or tokens. With this decision, we also have avoided possibly encouraging or teaching gambling for young audience. ● Joker cards reduced to one type of Item drawing card. ● No monster card colors. Pairing by monster traits is sufficient for the resembling family tree. ● New Monster Card Design implemented. ● Contest Card has been taken out. It was not clear how to describe an ideal monster since every game session could end up very different from each other.

Balancing

Currently card numbers are even, and in this way, we tried to stay away from some number oddities and calculation complexities. 54 Monster cards. If 2 players play the game, each player can receive approximately 24 monster cards and 12th offspring means: • 2(1st)+2(2nd)+2(3rd)+2(4th)+2(5th)+2(6th)+2(7th)+2(8th)+2(9th)+2(10th)+2(11th)+1(12th)=23 monster cards necessary for each player in order to finish the game. • Traits were divided 4 main groups and each trait spread out evenly throughout monster cards. This way each player will have equal opportunity during each game session.

o Horn, Wings, Tail, Spike • 4 card series have been created for monster cards. By no means are they different from each other during the gameplay. However, during the designing and balancing stages, they gave us opportunity to control traits and to make different paired trait variations. Originally, we only have 6 different monster cards and the rest are duplications of that 6 original cards.

o Horn-Wings, Horn-Tail, Horn-Spikes, Tail-Wings, Tail-Spikes, Wing-Spikes Gameplay

Goal Players compete with each other in order to be the first to reach and complete the 10th generation of their monster family tree (20 total Monster parents/offspring).

Set-Up • Monster cards and Mutation cards are shuffled together, and one player deals 3 monster cards to each player at the beginning of the game. The remaining Monster and Mutation cards are shuffled together, and the deck is placed face down in the middle of the table. • 3 Trait cards are placed face up to the side of the table, and the rest of the shuffled Trait deck is placed face-down next to the 3 visible Trait cards. • There should be a place for discarded cards as well.

Figure 15 - How to Set-Up First Player Select someone to be the first player.

Distributing Monster Cards Each player is dealt 3 monster cards at the beginning of the game. This information is kept hidden.

Drawing Trait Cards On their turn, each player can select a Trait card(s) from the 3 face-up Traits on the table by spending a Mutation card (this then goes to the discard pile). Traits can be purchased at any point during a player’s turn - either before or after playing a Monster card.

Matching Monsters’ Traits Each Monster card has 2 traits. By matching one of those traits, or even both traits, Monster cards can be paired together (Fig. 16).

Figure 16 - Matching Monsters' Traits

This pair can then generate an offspring. The offspring Monster must have at least one matching trait with its parents (Fig. 17 and Fig. 18).

Figure 18 - Offspring Style 1 Figure 17 - Offspring Style 2

Player Turn Structure Each turn, there are 3 optional actions and 1 mandatory action. With each turn, players can perform any or all of the following actions:

(A) Place Monster cards; (B) Purchase Trait cards; (C) Place Trait cards;

Finally, before ending each turn, players must draw a single card from the Monster deck.

Example: 1. The first player places his/her Monster card(s) on the table if the player has matching traits on the Monster cards. Otherwise he/she may choose to place only one monster card onto the table. They may also choose to select a Trait card from the three on display by using a Mutation card. Finally, they draw a new Monster card from the deck, ending their turn. 2. The second player takes their turn in the same way, ending with drawing a new card from the Monster deck. 3. The first player places another Monster card(s) with at least one trait matching their last generation Monster down on the table. They may also choose to place a Trait card if necessary. The player places a Monster card on the table below the first two, representing their offspring. This must have a trait matching the parents, otherwise it requires a Trait card played alongside it to augment it. A card is drawn from the Monster deck to end the turn. 4. The second player then takes their turn. 5. These steps continue repeating, with players matching more Monsters and offspring and adding Trait cards when necessary.

Figure 19 - Sample Monster Generations Family Tree

Discard Pile After using a Mutation card to purchase a Trait card, that Mutation card should be placed in the discard pile.

Winning and Losing Conditions The first player to build out their monster family tree with 10th generation wins the game! This means that 20 parent/offspring Monster cards should be played on the table in their family tree. The game is intended to last under 20 minutes, and if players choose, they may play best 2-out-of-3 games! Playthrough Video

Figure 20 – Playtest

A video playthrough of the game is available at: https://drive.google.com/a/lcad.edu/file/d/1Y867er014f9VWXW5vWMaZ0ZE3hRYmjGV/view?usp=drive sdk

Further Design Explanations

Public and Private Information

Each monster card that the player holds, along with the the faced-down deck, is private information. During the turn, if the player chooses to play his/her monster card by building a family tree, then that card(s) becomes public information. This rule also applies to Mutation cards. Faced-up three trait cards are always public information, while the rest of the deck is private information.

Resources

The Trait card deck and Mutation card deck are Resources in Monster Generations. Under Resources we can distinguish each card deck with different resource types. Such as: Trait cards are Sources in Monster Generations and Mutation Cards are Converters. Sources means economic operators in a distinguished game world and Converter have ability to transform one resource into another resource. Research

Implementation of the Theme Monster Generations introduces unique pairing and breeding mechanic which provides family resemblance, even though not all the monsters are connected by one essential trait. Rather they show a resemblance by a series of overlapping similarities. One trait could pass to the second generation or not. Lack of one common trait that is found in all of the monsters cannot prevent them being a family. This whole argument has become famous by Lugwid Wittgenstein who proposes an idea about these overlapping similarities as ‘family resemblance’, in Blue and Brown Books, or ‘language games’, in Philosophical Investigations. He explains this phenomenon by, “I can think of no better expression to characterize these similarities than "family resemblances"; for the various resemblances between members of a family: build, features, colour of eyes, gait, temperament, etc. etc. overlap and criss-cross in the same way. – And I shall say: "games" form a family” (Wittgenstein). In the intended concept theme ‘family resemblance’, Ludwig Wittgenstein describes concepts and word meanings, in Blue and Brown Books, as formal descriptions apart from their real meanings which we - humankind- perceives (Wittgenstein). With this in mind, Monster Generations is an attempt to explain and materialize Wittgenstein’s idea of ‘family resemblances’ through gameplay, while avoiding textual explanations or representations, and then presenting these ideas in a way that is appropriate for its target market.

Target Audience When researching the target market audience of Monster Generations, we take some statistical elements into consideration such as: duration of attention span, logical operations to be performed, language skills, dealing with sensitive themes, etc. Monster Generations’ has an expected rating of ages 7 and up. This age group of players are able to make discrete decisions. The game contains limited interaction/prediction of other players and few game elements to manipulate and keep track of. (Gualeni) It lacks violence, and while it deals with monster breeding, it does not have any sexual or adult themes, keeping the content appropriate for children. Based on our target audience research, children ages 6 - 7 years old may be able to retain their attention span for a maximum of 20 - 30 minutes with interesting play activities or while engaged in a task in small groups. This is the reason we tried to limit each play session to 20 - 30 minutes. Most children learn to read by 6 or 7 years of age, and some learn at 4 or 5 years of age. Even though Monster Generations’ gameplay does not require a high level of reading skills, at the beginning of the game the help of an adult might be necessary.

Target Segmentation and Player Taxonomy

Richard A. Bartle, who is a writer, professor and game researcher; published a paper in 1996 about player taxonomy based on a character theory. He suggests that players can be classified according to their preferred actions within the game. This theory originally was a classification of players of multiplayer online games; however, it has become well-known reference for single-player video games’ player types. The theory consists of four main character categories: Achievers, Explorers, Socializers, and Killers (Fig. 21)

Figure 21 - Character Theory Chart

Monster Generations is a simple card game and designed for children (7+). According to Bartle’s classification Monster Generations will mostly appeal to Achievers and Explorers player types. Achievers can be described who prefer to gain quantifiable measures of their success. Since Monster Generations is a card game based on a competition with players’ cards and completion of their family trees. Achievers are great completionists. Explorers prefer discovery of new and strange ideas or places, learning about hidden areas, creating maps and levels. They tend to feel restricted if a game wants them to play within a certain time or a fixed path. Since Monster Generations’ designed to play-per-turn, within designated turns players are not restricted with their time usage or preference of their play other then ending their turn by drawing a monster card. Monster Generations is a great example of discovery and randomness for players. Each game will be unique.

Player Personas

Based on our target audience research two sample imaginary personas were created. These represent players who would be interested in the game based on a variety of factors including age, personality, hobbies, and game experience. Geographic location, Bartle type, and advertising channels were also considered. The following images show these personas:

Figure 22 - Player Persona - Mark

Figure 23 - Player Persona - Veronica

Intended Art Style The art style of Monster Generations is designed to appeal to a young target market, with creatures that are friendly and colorful rather than frightening. This visual aesthetic was intentionally chosen with the audience in mind, and it conveys meaningful information to players in a minimalist way. Additionally, the design and colors deal with the subject matter of monster breeding in a way that is not off-putting to parents (Fig 24).

Figure 24 - Mood Board

References

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Games Cited XYBrid. Bored Leisure Co., 2017.

Evolution. North Star Games, 2014.

Bears vs Babies. Exploring Kittens LLC, 2017.

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https://bored-leisure-co.myshopify.com/products/xybrid-the-monster-building-transparent-

card-game . Accessed Aug 2019.

Evolution Board Game. Image.

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Bears vs Babies Card Game. Image.

https://explodingkittens.com/store/products/bears-vs-babies-core-deck/ . Accessed Aug 2019.

Celtic Tree of Life Symbol. Image. https://www.scambieuropei.info/simboli-celtici-

significato/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+scambieur

opei1+%28Scambieuropei%29 . Accessed Aug 2019.

Oak Tree Silhouette with Roots. Image.

http://getyourimage.club/resize-8-august.html . Accessed Aug 2019.

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https://www.museumofplay.org/sites/default/files/blog/full-

images/Super%20Monsters%20Dracula.jpg . Accessed Aug 2019.

Frankenstein’s Monster, MEGO Corporation, 1974, The Strong, Rochester, New York. Image.

https://www.museumofplay.org/blog/2018/10/the-strong-acquires-monster-toys . Accessed

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Wolfman Assembly Kit, Aurora, 1962, The Strong, Rochester, New York. Image.

https://www.museumofplay.org/sites/default/files/blog/full-

images/Wolfman%20Assembly%20Kit.jpg . Accessed Aug 2019.

Rare Monster Face Toy, by Hasbro from 1995. Image.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/273371694/sale-rare-hasbro-monster-face-toy-sealed . Accessed

Aug 2019.

Character Theory Chart. Image. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Character_theory_chart.svg .

Accessed Aug 2019.

Player Persona - Mark. Image. https://xtensio.com/user-persona/ . Accessed Aug 2019.

Player Persona - Veronica. Image. https://xtensio.com/user-persona/ . Accessed Aug 2019.

Monster Image – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. “Vector Alien Monster Transparent & PNG Clipart Free Download - YA-

Webdesign.”

YA, https://ya-webdesign.com/explore/vector-alien-monster/. Accessed Aug. 2019. Appendixes

List of Cards

Monster Cards Front x 9

Monster Cards Back x 13

Mutation Card Front x 24

Trait Cards Front x 3

Mutation Cards Back x 3