The Road To Olympus

For the second action project of my Electives course, Game Changers, we were asked to showcase the games we created. Some games were solo and some games were duo-created. I had a partner who just so happened to be a great visual artist. Since I have a very creative mind as well, our partnership came to be very successful. We created a Greek Mythology themed game, where Hades has sent 7 demigods to the underworld and they must make their way up to Mount Olympus. Hades has put several different creatures on the road in hopes of tethering the young heroes, but 3 demigods must win! The process of creating this game was time-consuming and really fun! The most difficult thing about this project was definitely the creative part; specifically looking at the lore of the story, and the abilities and roadblocks. Our project was very well-thought-out and has really gotten better over the last couple of weeks. I hope you guys like it!

Our quick elevator pitch: Hello I am DR and my partner is NVA and together we have created the game, Road To Olympus, a Greek Mythology game where you can play as one of 7 demigods. Hades has captured these 7 demigods and now they must make their way back to Olympus. They must go through 5 creatures the Sphinx, the Cyclops, the Hydra, the Minotaur, Medusa, and Hades himself to get to Olympus. They can pray to the gods to help them, but their prayers can be heard by any god, even Hades. Only 3 of the demigods can be victorious in making it to Olympus.

Below is a slideshow, showcasing our failures and successes throughout the creation process:

Below is a video, explaining gameplay more in depth:

The game-creating process is no joke. This class has really showed me that some games were a lot harder to create than they are to play. Even with our almost pure random game, the experience was just really hard. I enjoyed every second of working with my partner, but we did struggle, and there's beauty in the struggle. If you ever feel as if you are struggling, then that means you are improving. The hardest thing that we had to overcome was making sure there was smooth gameplay. We wanted a very balanced game. It was very important to us that the consumer is happy. If whoever is playing the game, thinks it is genuinely unfair. then we were open to feedback. Feedback was huge in creating our game. We had feedback that spanned from our classmates to professional game developers. This made our drafts a lot easier to create because we just tried to solve every problem that we encountered. My partner and I are extremely happy you guys took time to look at our game. We truly did put our all into creating this game. When people are having fun playing it, it actually means the world to us! The Road to Olympus stemmed from our love for Greek Mythology and for just have a good time. Our 7 player game is more fun, the more people that play, and we would really suggest it to anyone! Let creativity prosper and create your own game! Games are more than rolling dice and moving. This project has taught me that.

Some Afterschool Fun

For the first action project of my Game-changers course, we were asked to create a scenario and choose the correct game to fit that situation. Throughout the unit, we analyzed a bunch of different games to then write notes on those games. In the notes, we described the game in grave detail, pinpointing the things that work and the struggles of the game. We also discussed what a game was. We came to the conclusion that a game played with only one player is no longer a game; it is actually a puzzle. This project was actually really cool, but quite difficult. It took me a long time to complete this project because of my passion for video games. I wanted to make sure I could share some of my favorite games with my recommendee while making sure it meets the requirements of the situation. I ended up recommending Spades and Chess. Both of these games are some of my favorites and I'm happy that I got a chance to look deeper into these games, and take on the role of a game designer. I really enjoyed creating this project for you guys! I hope you enjoy viewing it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

The classroom setting that I chose was a very simple one. In middle school, after school was a huge part of my life, both emotionally and academically. I met my best friend in after school, as well as some people who helped me turn into the man I am today. After school is a place of fun, but I tried to also make the games stimulating.

Here's a link to my Stat Sheet so that you can think about my games from an analytic point-of-view: Stat Sheet

I chose two games: Chess and Spades. I think they both are great fits for this setting. Chess is more stimulating than Spades, but in most cases, it is less fun. However, Spades is, in most cases, more fun than Chess so they are both great fits, but they lack some of what the other game has. Thinking about the age group I am trying to panther to; I believe that fifth-eighth graders (11-14) would have a lot more fun playing spades. The best part is that all they need is a deck of cards and a surface!