Week 6 - Paper Prototype Reflection 2 (Electric Boogaloo)

The game I decided to model this week was Super Paper Mario for the Wii. I wanted to model the dimension flipping aspect of the game because I thought it was a very interesting idea that could benefit from paper prototyping. In the game, Mario can switch between 2D and 3D at any time. Many of the levels use this to create unique puzzles and challenges for the player. The game combines the challenge and point-of-view aspects of game design to create a unique experience for the player (Macklin and Sharp, ch 6.). What I found interesting during the playtest of my design was how people interacted with it. 

It was a great way to see Jesse Garrett’s five planes of user experience in person (Macklin and Sharp, ch. 4). As people interacted with my game, they took in all they could from the sensory details and drew information from it. For example, I had placed many gold-colored pebbles along the map hoping that players would understand that they represented coins — or at least things that can be collected. This worked, and most people understood that the golden pebbles on the map should be collected, even if they were nonessential to the goal of the model. I was honestly surprised that people understood it so well. I had one map drawn on paper to represent the 2D version of the level and one map that was made of small, plastic blocks that represented the 3D version. After a little help, the players understood that the two maps were different versions of the same level.

I really wanted to create the same experience I had when playing Super Paper Mario. “One of the best tools to guide the creation of play experiences is design values” (Macklin and Sharp, ch. 6). I wanted to imitate the play experience of Super Paper Mario by modeling what I think is the most important part of the game — dimension flipping. The mechanic of “flipping dimensions” not only affects the challenge and perspective of the game, but it also affects player decision-making and strategy while reinforcing the theme and context of the game — all core values of game design (Macklin and Sharp, ch. 6). The ability to flip dimensions at any time gives the player a constant decision, which necessitates strategy. This mechanic reinforces the theme of a paper world and helps establish a context for the story.

While my model was not as grand as the original game, I think that it did convey many of these values in as simple a way as possible. If I had more time, I would create a more intricate level that better demonstrates the potential of this mechanic. I was limited by time and the supplies I had available, but I still like what I created. One criticism that others had when playing my prototype was that it was hard to judge what distances Mario could jump. I should have made the distances more standardized in my model, but the overall experience was what I hoped it would be.