Midnight Masquerade
An engaging physical tabletop strategy game built around the deception and manipulation between two players.
Disciplines
Game Design
Interaction Design
Tools
Adobe Illustrator
Various
Class
DSGD 109: Motion & Interaction Design
Date
Nov - Dec 2024
01 Highlights
How might someone create a game that is engaging, easy to pick up, and creates meaningful interaction between players?
Context
The project had four key requirements: it must be a physical game, incorporate the object of "masks," tie into the semester-long theme of "celebration," and be visually appealing.
To make it engaging, it should be simple to learn, replayable, fair, and rich in strategic depth.
03 Design Process
Brainstorming
I brainstormed starting from the requirements. What format should the game be? What overall theme should the game have? What would be my visual language?
Gameplay Goals
Beyond meeting the basic requirements, I wanted to achieve an engaging and balanced game experience. There were four key gameplay goals along with their respective design solutions that I aimed to work towards throughout the project.
Prototyping
Now that I know what direction to bring this game towards, I can work towards creating a prototype.
Since this project would eventually be a physical game, I created a digital prototype to finalize the core mechanics via playtesting before committing to physical production.
I chose FigJam for its collaborative online gameplay features and versatile widgets that could effectively represent various game pieces.
Playtesting
With the FigJam prototype built, it was time to playtest with a few friends.
Over the course of a week, I was able to get three playtest sessions. The diagram below showcases the last session and serves as an example of the kinds of information I could gather and iterate upon within a single session.
Building Core Pieces
Once the testing was done, all that remained was to finalize the designs and build out the physical game.
For the instruction manual and playing cards, I designed them in Illustrator and prioritized visual and informational clarity. For the physical game, I built the prototype using foam, paper, paint, and magnets, ensuring the components were cohesive and functional.
04 Final Design
05. Reflection
Simplify & Engage
Designing Midnight Masquerade was an exciting opportunity to push my creativity in a new direction by blending interaction design with physical game mechanics.
Games can be challenging to understand, and this project tested my ability to simplify complex information and create an intuitive experience for players. Another major challenge was managing the game’s visual identity which required careful consideration to balance aesthetics and functionality.
Go check out my other projects!