The Phases of Game Design and Implementation
A game goes through many stages of construction from concept to implementation. The initial “idea� stage usually begins with one or two GMs who may have some interesting concept of a setting or a mechanic with which they would like to use in a game. The next step may involve the recruitment of additional GMs interested in working with those ideas, thus bringing additional skills to the GM team. From there, an extensive preproduction phase begins, with GM teams meeting in meetings to flesh out the concept into a system of mechanics, characters, spaces and a useable scenario.
GM teams often send emails to mailing lists to inform potential players that a game is in the works. The emails solicit for more ideas from players with the understanding that the GM team is neither required to accept any of the suggestions nor to ensure that the player who came up with the suggestion would necessarily be in a position to take advantage of the idea during the game. This is known as a “call for pre-applications,� or “preapps.� Preapps are useful tools for GM teams to gauge the interest of potential players and to construct game plots and mechanics that would make the experience more enjoyable for players. Given that the players making the suggestions are not privy to all of the game information that is shared among the GMs, the GMs must usually perform some amount of dexterous manipulation on the suggestions before it fits into the greater outline of the game. However, aside for a nonbinding advertising blurb, the GM team has not produced any text or data that would be eventually seen or read by a player in the game. Thus, integrating such ideas or making changes to the game is still a feasible proposition.
“Sheet writing� is the actual stage when the GM team turns concepts into readable prose and tables for use by the players. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has a computer-literate population so most of this work occurs in the digital realm, often incorporating the use of coding tools developed by members of the MIT Assassins’ Guild. The produce of this endeavor usually consists of many kilobytes of page-description code that can be run through software to produce reams of hardcopy. Any actual hardcopy produced during sheet writing are merely samples to help members of the GM team vet each other’s material. “Sanity checking� or “san-checking� combines proofreading, comparisons with notes from the preproduction phase and cross checking among the written rules to find overlooked loopholes or potentially unfortunate interactions of mechanics. Better-organized GM teams set an early deadline for sheet writing to allow san-checking to occur with all the drafted sheets in hand, although GMs understand that the point of san-checking is to make meaningful revisions to the sheets.
At the beginning of each school semester, Guild games must be scheduled with the elected board of representatives of the MIT Assassins’ Guild known as the High Council. As a result, many games are placed on the semester’s schedule before they have completed sheet writing, creating a firm deadline for the GM team in the middle of development. The actual participation and execution of a game is known as a “run,� a term borrowed from computer software. The GM team sends out a call for applications over email as the run date of the game (also known as “game-start�) nears within two or three weeks. These “apps� are itemized email forms that players who wish to participate must fill out to provide specific information to the GMs. The appendix includes an app used for one of my games.
This information is important for “casting,� when GMs allocate characters to the players according to their preferences. Armed with the knowledge that specific players will be performing as specific game characters, some GM teams may make further changes to sheets to better fit the preferences of the players. Some GM teams, however, would still producing new sheets at this stage and such accommodations for the players could be trivial (incorporating them into sheets that are still being written), problematic (propagating changes through several sheets that have already been written) or low-priority (devoting full effort to completing unfinished sheets instead of making changes to sheets that are nominally complete).
“Production� or “prod� is the next phase of the game production schedule. This involves the systematic rendering and printing of all the page-description code into readable hardcopy, customized for each individual player. Some sheets need to be cut up into strips to reduce paper waste or stapled shut to restrict information to players (see the section on Information). The strips and sheets are placed in separate manila envelopes for each player in preparation for handout.
Players may be able to access digital copies of rules or general information about the game over the Internet but most players only receive actual information about their character from a session known as “handout.� Occurring a few days before game-start, GMs meet with the players in a classroom and explain the rules of the game, clarifying some of the more complicated mechanics and answering questions from the players. The envelopes are then given to the corresponding players. GM teams usually intend to have all sheets completed by prod and handout, but many GMs (myself included) fail to meet this deadline. These GMs will tell players at handout that their packets may lack some information that would be made available before game-start.
Between handout and game-start, GMs will have to “setup game-space,� where they print and post paper signs on walls throughout the MIT campus to indicate the geographical limits or significant areas of the game. Some games include puzzles that require the discovery of concealed strips of paper or colored adhesive dots near specific locations, and those must also be in place before game-start. Typically, loose props and contrivances that may interfere with daytime classes are added to game-space classrooms in the hour before game-start. Many GM teams allow the game to start before they have finished setup if they know that a few missing items would have minimal impact on the game.
