I didn’t know what to expect when building a board game with my partner Ryan. As the game has developed I’ve realized that a board game project stretches across many different design sectors, all of which I’m interested in!
Layout Design
The game itself uses hexagonal interlocking tiles to gradually build the gameboard. These tiles need to look cohesive while also informing the player about the area and what resources it contains.
Informational/Navigational Design
Most any board game needs a handbook. A semi-involved, strategy game needs a great handbook. As we begin to write and design our handbook we are drawing inspiration from other games we’ve encountered so we plan to include extensive cross referencing as well as index and quick start guides.
Branding
The identity of the game will affect every other piece of the design and be a user’s first interaction with the game as a whole. Playing as a space exploring artificial intelligence, I wanted the logo to reflect a kind of futuristic corporate polish while the tiles and cards are meant to feel technical and straightforward.
Packaging Design
The box art as well as the inserts that hold the game pieces are two of the most important pieces in the project. Every time a user plays the game they will interact with the packaging inside and out so it must be invisible and engaging in all the right ways.
Further down the line we’ll also need Marketing and 3D modeling for game pieces!
Iterations are my favorite part of any project so please enjoy this gallery of Rover Progress!
