IMS 212 Final Project
Gavin Osterday
Spongebob Squarepants Card Game
Overview
For this prototype, we were asked to create a fan-friendly game, built around an established and approved IP ("intellectual property," sometimes referred to as "a franchise."). Additionally, we were not allowed to incorporate any trivia-related aspects to the game, in order to make it friendly to all users. Moreover, we needed to have our game mechanics and dynamics relative to the IP we selected.
It was an easy task for me to select the IP to move forward with, and as you can see from the title, I chose SpongeBob. The reasons for me selecting this IP, were that I felt that SpongeBob is an extremely well-known animated series, and also appropriate for a younger audience. This show has been around for an extensive time, and most people have watched it at some point, or at least, are familiar with the SpongeBob character.
The first step was selecting the targeted audience. The ideal audience would be people familiar with the series, or recent viewers of the show. While creating the game, I kept in mind the targeted audience, younger children, ranging from 5-10 years old, who would be playing the game.
Strategically, I created a card game for all ages to play, with the intended audience being younger children. My goal was to create a very simple, yet exciting game, related to the SpongeBob series. This card game includes strategy, luck, chaos, silliness, and laughter, incorporated all throughout the game. Below, all the details of this card game have been included, so it is easy to follow the thought process in creating this game, and be able to experience the final product, at the conclusion.
Process
To start off my card game brainstorming, I simply created ID's for the cards by placing characters with numbers ranging from 1-10. From there, I thought of a couple different game mechanics that could be used for this game. I slowly built out my game mechanics and came up with a simple "collect all the characters to win" idea. This was a very straightforward and understandable objective for all players.. I wanted to make this game as easy as possible, so the younger generation could play. After meeting with my professor to discuss my game, I was told the idea of my mechanics were there, but it did not correlate with the IP's theme at all. From there, I brainstormed and thought about the show for a while. The thing I was missing, that is a huge part of SpongeBob, is the silliness and humor. After figuring this out, I went back and added some funny cards and some special cards that were associated with objects from the show. While keeping the “no trivia” aspect in mind, I made sure the purpose the cards held were very understandable for all users.
To start off my card game brainstorming, I simply created ID's for the cards by placing characters with numbers ranging from 1-10. From there, I thought of a couple different game mechanics that could be used for this game. I slowly built out my game mechanics and came up with a simple "collect all the characters to win" idea. This was a very straightforward and understandable objective for all players.. I wanted to make this game as easy as possible, so the younger generation could play. After meeting with my professor to discuss my game, I was told the idea of my mechanics were there, but it did not correlate with the IP's theme at all. From there, I brainstormed and thought about the show for a while. The thing I was missing, that is a huge part of SpongeBob, is the silliness and humor. After figuring this out, I went back and added some funny cards and some special cards that were associated with objects from the show. While keeping the “no trivia” aspect in mind, I made sure the purpose the cards held were very understandable for all users.
Enclosed are my original rules I wrote for the card game in my game journal. After playing the game a few times, I noticed some flaws within the rules. So, I changed them accordingly. The final rules will be posted down below in the following text.
The design of the cards
I chose to create these cards using knowledge from my Minor, which is, Communication Design (Graphic Design). I went into Photoshop and created a bunch of artboards, that were 2.5 x 3.5 inches, to match the height of normal playing cards.
I made one back/info card that had the IP, type of game, who sponsored the show and from what channel it aired. Through Photoshop, I was able to create 21 different cards. I kept the background, typeface, and style of each card identical to each other, but only altered the color. This indicated what type of card it was. Color coding the cards leaves less room for confusion when playing the game.
Blue cards= characters
Purple cards= special cards
Orange cards= Fun/silly cards
From here, I decided to print out the cards and tape them, back-to-back. I used a blank playing card as the middle so that it was sturdy. I used tape and scissors to create these cards.
I think these cards turned out great in terms of color, design, and creativity. Furthermore, they are very sturdy and functional. These playing cards fit the style I was attempting to create, and are very uniform, within their design. I think these cards are suitable with my IP’s, and could easily turn into an actual game.
Final Game
I spent roughly 15 hours of design and playtesting.
This game is a multiplayer card game, where the objective is to collect all the members of the Bikini Bottom. As one collects the characters, they can also add some flare and fun into the mix. This game allows one to collect, strategize, and steal from other players, on top of all the fun and laughter within the game. The point of the game is to collect all the characters in Bikini Bottom to win.
Rules
Common cards (Blue cards)
· Collect all 10 characters to win
· Start off with 4 cards
· Go around and draw one card from the deck at a time
· Repeat cards of your current possession go into the Goo Lagoon (Discard pile)
Special cards (Purple cards)
· Jellyfish net= Great catch! Take another player’s card that you do not currently have. (Call out for said card amongst the group)
· Secret Formula= Shhhhh! Takes place of any missing card
· Bubbles= Pop! Choose a player’s card to discard and ask them to draw a new one
· Krusty Krab= Safe! Keep one card safe from other players that cannot be tampered with.
Funny Cards (Orange cards)
· Krabby Patty= Pretend to eat your cards like a Krabby Patty
· Jelly fish= Swim around the group like a jellyfish till you return to your spot
· Goofy Goober= Dance around the room playing the song till you return to your spot
· Karate Glove= Challenge a player to a quick game of karate (First one hit loses a card)
· Boatmobile= Drive around the group till you return to your spot
· Spatula= Collect all your cards and flip them like a patty. The cards that you do not catch much go into the Goo Lagoon (Discard pile)
Funny Card Rules
· If you choose to not act out the card you must lose a card and put it into the Goo Lagoon (Discard pile)
· If your effort is not 100%, the rest of the players will determine if you are safe or give up a card
