Evolving Systems Through the Paper Prototype

Paper prototyping is a great way to test systems and gameplay without needing to spend time creating it in a virtual environment. I used this method to help come up with the design of enemy encounters and pathing while planing out the game “The Magic Swordsman.” There were four playtests that I completed to gain enough understanding of how players would maneuver through the map, while iterating through different tests.

Risks involved and how to mitigate them

There are several risks involved when paper prototyping and developers must be aware of these risks. What is being prototyped on paper does not always transition to a virtual space. Whether it be gameplay elements or the different atmosphere the game is played in, creators need to account for these risks and should expect it to change throughout development. For my own prototype, I had several risks that are difficult to translate from paper to virtual and vice versa. The risks that I could see as potential issues were the player’s map knowledge from seeing the entire map throughout the game and the enemies pathing, while also not showing the direction the enemy is facing.

Through my rounds of playtesting, I learned to mitigate these risks while also understanding that more risks could arise. The important idea to keep in mind is that I was just prototyping one system through these tests, not the entire game. While there will be risks associated with the enemy system, I need to stay focused on how the system works based on how the player is playing. After each playtest session, I would document my observations and discuss different iterations I could. While during the first session I had the map shown to the player throughout the entire playtest, by the last test I completed, I was only showing parts of the map that would help showcase player vision in the virtual game, and only moving the enemies when the player was close enough. This helped me to understand more of what the actual end result would look like.

What I learned

There are several aspects of design that I learned while making my paper prototype and how important this process can be, especially when you first start coming up with the idea. You can use these to quickly test ideas that you have to see if they work and can also be used when testing throughout development.

Throughout my first playtest of this prototype, I tried to make the entire experience into a small board game while also not having clear enough goals of what I should be testing. I tried to keep the game extremely simple while only using one enemy type, which would be good for testing the opening section of the game, but for the overall game, it lacked player engagement and challenge. I continued making iterations with the rules and systems throughout my next playtests to help understand what makes players engaged in the system, whether that be the overarching goal, the map layout, or the enemy placement.

In my final playtest, I had adjusted the map layout with hexagonal tile map instead of square, the building shapes and sizes were adjusted, blocking out sections of the map the player wouldn’t see in the virtual game, and also placing an extra objective the player must complete within the game. This allowed the player to strategize with the information they were given to find the optimal strategy. This helped me understand more of what players would do in the virtual game, and how the systems would work.

Conclusion

Paper prototypes are extremely useful tools that can used to test out different systems and gameplay elements, and find out how players would play your game. This can be done cheaply and quickly and was a great help to me when trying to plan out my game.