The journey to the final piece

After concluding my research on all aspects of Ancient Egyptian life, multiple ideas popped up in my mind regarding the final piece. My first idea was to create an artist book that could include hand made objects and illustrations surrounding the life of a Pharaoh (with items similar to what an ancient tomb would include)

Here are a few sketches from my digital 'sketchbook' where I compiled all of my ideas:

After a few meetings with my teachers, I came to the conclusion that my initial idea would be too ambitious, therefore I decided to focus on only one aspect of my plan: the gameboard! Here's the initial sketch:

To continue my research I started looking at pop up books and books aimed at children (egyptian themed) to find more inspiration:

Egypt Magnified 

Gods and Heroes:

Also pop up books about Egypt!

I attempted to do a pop up pyramid following this tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aWS1BKB0vM (didn't go very well)

I decided to not continue my research on pop up books as it's not something I'm particularly interested in or good at.

Furthermore I looked at this is a game made by a previous MA student. This has helped me with my research as it's a good example to follow regarding the design, game pieces, concept etc. Looking through her work I discovered that she custom made the game online, uploading all the artwork to a website (www.thegamecrafter.com). 

I really liked her game and I think it was really well made but this student worked on the project for a full year (during her MA) therefore I knew I wouldn't be able to create a game this intricate in the period of time that I have left until the hand in day. Therefore I've decided to come up with a simpler game, aimed at younger children.

RESEARCH: The history of games

https://www.vam.ac.uk/moc/exhibitions/gameplan/

Why do we play games? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFapT0I8ujs

Game based learning: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uj_8C2L9bXI

I had a look at the National Curriculum so I can see around what age children learn about Egypt in school!

This is how I decided how to choose the age target for my game. 'Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years'.

After a visiting a charity shop I found this package that contained a DVD and a puzzle which made my think about the possible idea of incorporating a puzzle into my final piece! I thought I could use one of my digital drawings for the puzzle and I searched the web for possible websites that offer the possibility of making your own puzzle.

Here's what I found on www.jigsawpuzzle.co.uk

I picked a lower number of pieces for the puzzle as the age range for my project is 8-12 and a more complicated puzzle wouldn't be as attractive to children. After a brief consultation with one of my tutors I have decided not to order the puzzle as I won't be able to incorporate it in my final piece, but it's still interesting to see how easy it is to transform an illustration into a simple game!

Games suitable for Key stage 2 : https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/7-11-years/ordering-and-sequencing-numbers

http://primarygamesarena.com/Years/Key-Stage-2

Link to a channel that reviews games. I watched most of these ones about Egyptian related games to get inspiration: https://www.youtube.com/user/thedicetower/search?query=egypt

I visited a game cafe in Portsmouth and played 'The Game of Life' with my friends so I can get a better understanding of how the game works as I plan on using it as a big inspiration for my own project: http://diceportsmouth.com/

My friend Faith won the game but we both had so much fun playing!

After playing a few rounds I realised that the game is a bit too complicated for a young child to understand so I thought of ways to simplify it, but then I stumbled across a version of the game made especially for children!

Game of life JUNIOR => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7p-b3Ux7kPg

One of my teachers recommended me to take a look at this website to see how a game convention looks like and how people organise their stands (It will come in handy for the degree show in June) 

https://www.meeplemountain.com/articles/the-board-gamers-guide-to-board-game-conventions/