Concept 3: Your Dictionary

CONCEPT 3: YOUR DICTIONARY

The Idea:

This idea came from my childhood kitchen; more specifically, the magnets I used to have as a kid. These magnets were used as advertisements for Yoplait yogurt and featured either the front or back end of an animal, as well as their names split in half. The idea was to combine two random animals to create a new one with a new name... or, if you weren't as creative, to just put the animal back together. I fell in love with the idea of having players and consumers make their own words and animals. This idea is a lot less serious compared to some of my other ideas, but it still begs the question - can we make up our own words and definitions to replace those we've lost?

From this, I had the idea of coming up with some sort of multiplayer card game - a party game - in which players have the opportunities to create their own words with unique definitions.

The Gameplay

Essential Experience:

Details on the Essential Experience can be found here on a previous page.

When playing this game, I wanted my players to have a joyful experience; one that they could experience in the presence of good company; that would take their minds away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life, and provide laughter and entertainment. To have this experience, players would need to have as much autonomy as possible. While it's not necessary, a larger crowd would make gameplay much more exciting, so the game needs to be available to cater to large groups. Your Dictionary achieves this by allowing players to create all their own words (to allow players of all ages to have fun), split them wherever they choose, and by not having a limit on the number of players who can join in gameplay.

For this, I didn't create a one-page pitch - I just got straight into testing to see if the idea would work... I wrote down a few words, chopped them up, and invited players to create either a definition for said word or phrase or a story based on the word.

A Deeper Dive

Gameplay Walkthrough and Prototype video:

I pulled 'NOS PET' from the pile and invited players to either create a definition for this word, or a story based on what this phrase could be. Below are the stories my two players came up with...

“It was a peaceful Saturday night… I was hanging out with my mates, doing nos balloons as we usually do. Suddenly, I hear pained howling from the hall. My dog, gizmo, had somehow found a balloon and taken some of our nitrous oxides! He was as high as a kite – running into patio doors, opening kitchen drawers, and creating renaissance-style art. It was great! Then he pegged it.”

“I, Lord Daimon Hellstrom, have successfully infiltrated the Vatican – as the NOSPET (Newly Ordained Saint of Peterborough, Enfield, and Tipton). I plan on taking out the Pope, and the entire Church of England, ergo resulting in the downfall of modern society as we know it! Lucifer, father; I hope I can finally make you proud…”

Obviously, our sense of humour is quite crude. Here, I gave players the words, but the next time we played, I allowed complete control. Some of the words written down were slang that older/younger players would have been confused by, but what we found hilariously funny. This is why I was giving players complete control over the words they're able to use - what people my age will find funny might be unfunny, or even redundant, to other generations. It also allows for easy access across different languages and cultures. Below, I talk through a prototype that I played with some friends at a party...

For this playthrough, instead of using premade words, I invited the players to create their own words…. Of course, we’re all big adults and they were very PC with the words they chose…

I then had the players chop up the words in the same way I had done previously. However, some players left certain words uncut, some created separate words, and some words became incomprehensible – turning into single or double-letter pieces. It's entirely up to the player. These were all thrown into a massive pile, and players were invited to take a handful of 10 random pieces...

We began to play. I added some rules as we went along – there were 3 rounds; players take turns in picking words and judging, while the others are saying their story or phrase outloud. The player who chose the word then judges the best story. The person chosen keeps their winning story in a pile. Whoever had the most words/phrases collected at the end of the 3 rounds wins. Players can use as many pieces per turn as they wish, but

all pieces have to be used by the end of the 3rd round. We played for a couple of sets, and I got really positive feedback afterward. On that note, I will leave you with Olivia telling us what the statement “Maryjane is ket” is supposed to represent…

Why Your Dictionary?

A dictionary is a book of words that gives users its definition, pronunciation, and place of origin. I chose this as the name for my game because players are essentially creating brand new words with brand new definitions - their dictionary is theirs and theirs only, and only exists in their brains.

Gameplay Loop:

Details on Gameplay Loops can be found here on a previous page.

Activity and Risk: Players create their own words and tell other players the definition. A player acts as a judge. This game is highly repeatable as players create all their own words and split them where they like - it's highly unlikely that two games will ever be played the same. As players cannot see the words before they choose them, players risk getting 'bad' word combinations. They also risk not being chosen by the judge and losing the game.
Reward: If a player comes up with an interesting word and definition, they are likely to be picked by the judge and win the round. If players win all three rounds, they win the game and gain great satisfaction. While playing in my group, we chose to have prizes, too.

Opportunity: With each game played, players have the opportunity to write new words and create completely unique definitions. Gameplay should be fun and exhilarating.

Ratings and Controls:

For Your Dictionary, I'll be using the 'Everyone' ESRB Rating and 'PEGI 3'. As players can completely create their own words, players of any age, with any literacy level, can play. It would probably be good for youngsters to develop their creative minds, too. This is a major multiplayer game with no limit on the number of players - as long as all players have the same level of grammatical and literary understanding.

UIX:

The way words are written is entirely down to the players themselves... as they write the words. I didn't want players to constantly be throwing away paper, so I thought of giving them small, mini-whiteboards to use. However, I have absolutely no idea how they would then split up words, so I think I'll have to go back to the original idea of providing them with paper, and then encouraging them to use their own scraps when they eventually run out.

Concerns:

1) I worry that players will separate words in ways that mean other players struggle to create new words and definitions from them. They can re-pick words, however, I would have to work out the logistics behind when a player is and isn't allowed to do this (so they don't overuse this element).