Scuba Scuffle: A Post Mortem

 Scuba Scuffle: A Post Mortem

Group 13

Team Zeta Beta Omega Frat Boys

Scuba Scuffle, a game of skill, strategy, and luck. Players must weigh their chances in this rock, paper, scissors-esque game. Attack, Defend, Reroll: The choice can secure the victory or cost you the game.

The game was made for those 20-32 years old. It’s player versus player and fits a wide array of player types. 

After employing the valuable lessons learned from the previous unit I can say with absolute certainty that communication and understanding are unequivocally the most important in the iterative process. We constantly communicated our interpretation of the game and it’s rules. We didn’t always have the same understanding but after discussion and clarification we found ourselves in a better position with much more superior adjustments made. 

The sole reasons as to why I argue for such in depth communication is we had seen where the lack of it cost other teams quality. Teams with a lack of communication and understanding had significantly less flushed out games that were oftentimes disjunct and contradicting. 

With the rules understood we benefited from being able to make more intricate decisions in the games balance without playtesting. Discussing possible balance fixes and issues we eliminated a great deal of troubleshooting we would later have to deal with. Playtesting the first time our game worked beautifully. It kept players engaged and entertained. There were some notes on balance we could make to improve the game but the game was playable and entertaining. We would implement some of the notes taken from the first playtest after discussing the changes in great detail. Going into the second playtest I would say our game was all but finished. We had left the game open to add on content and had we been looking to publish the game it would surely garner a good reception.

In all honesty the iterative process bore little to no issue. Going forward I will without question be open to clear and honest communication. In the previous unit I had found this to be extremely beneficial to the iterative development of the game. I touted then that this was the key to success. Now, a whole unit later that belief held true. How can we expect a player to understand our game if we the developers can’t understand or agree upon the very foundation of which the game is built. The ninth element necessary to developing a good game is communication. Without that element the game is doomed to a development process wrought with issues. 

It’s painful to see one half of a development team look at the rules when we seek clarification and respond that they don’t quite understand the rules purpose and function. It sets the iterative process backwards because like adding too much clay to a throw wheel, one must cut away far more erroneous details compared to adding details as necessary. 

I have continued to find success in what I will coin THE NINTH ELEMENT and will continue to use it going forward. I find that I am competent in game design to where I try to address issues that may arise. I may find an issue in this mentality going forward but that is for a later post mortem and future me to address.