Process
For an in-depth process of developing the gameplay and aesthetics of the board please refer to the pdf below
Hacker 3
Continue reading for a more concise process
Iterations
First idea
My first idea was to make the game security guard vs. hacker where players played mini games to advance in the game.
I decided against this game because I wanted the game to be a game, and not just a format to count points for two people playing mini games — it didn’t fit in with the sci-fi theme of the board
Draft
this is my final draft! At this point I was really excited and had an almost clear idea of how I thought the game play would work.
Goal
The goal of the game is to be the first ‘hacker’ to successfully hack your way through blocked pathways to retrieve software, and then escape!
Gameplay
Player pull cards that serve as classified “coding” that locks and unlocks pathways. Strategy comes into play with these cards because players can shut pathways on each other, or lock in someone who has retrieve the software!
Once a player reaches the software, if they don’t have a key then they have to take a longer route to escape. This makes the game riskier as you are able to lose the software by being on the wrong space, or getting passed by another player.
Mechanics
You use dice for the turns, you can move in any direction but can not back track within a turn, you can open pathways but if a pathway that is open correlates to the pathway on that card that says “anti code” then it shuts that pathway, the green triangle (the software) fits in the game pieces so players can ‘hold’ it, and red triangles work the same way (which you can earn from landing on a space with a red triangle). Players can exit through where they got the software only if they are holding a key, if not they have to go the long way. Players can steal keys.
One mechanic that I was really excited about and think it would give the game a lot of personality if it was physical was the use of covering blocked pathways with a piece of plastic that slides out from under the board like in the travel bingo that I used to play on road trips as a kid (pictured below)
Packaging Iterations
I spent a lot of time trying to get the aesthetics of the packaging right. I studied previous 80s art styles and color schemes (which is included in the PDF at the top under ‘process’). So I knew I wanted to include neons and a perspective grid. I also wanted to include the use of chrome letters and wanted to use the green triangle from the game within the design.
Below are my favorite versions that I came up with.
Final Visuals
