{"id":40598,"date":"2020-07-01T14:14:23","date_gmt":"2020-07-01T18:14:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/?p=40598"},"modified":"2020-07-01T14:14:25","modified_gmt":"2020-07-01T18:14:25","slug":"game-design-and-3d-printing-a-perfect-partnership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shapeways.com\/blog\/game-design-and-3d-printing-a-perfect-partnership","title":{"rendered":"Game Design and 3D Printing \u2013 A Perfect Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Inherent to the 3D printing revolution are several amazing design\naesthetics that are ideal for prototyping toys in the game category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether your game time involves traditional board games like Monopoly and Clue or you are an RPG (Role Playing Game) enthusiast engaged in dice-based fantasy like Dungeons and Dragons; the application of 3D printing can be a perfect fit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Let me explain!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Perhaps you are a game designer looking to find ways of adding unique playing pieces to you game prototype. A quick review of existing board games provides a clear insight into how 3D printing can offer a great path to success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Aesthetics of Game Piece Design<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
No matter the board game, playing pieces have two key features that make them ideal for 3D printing: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1) Game tokens are never articulated <\/p>\n\n\n\n
2) They are always a single bright color<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why is this? Functionally, these two design parameters have\nbeen part of the manufactured gaming category for decades because both design\nchoices make the playing pieces simple to move around the board and visually\nstand out to each of the players. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether one is looking at the \u201cpawns\u201d of Sorry or the silver object pieces of Monopoly, the essential play pattern of a board game requires players to easily identify all of the objects on the board (or \u201cfield\u201d). And because board games require a higher cognitive level (compared to building blocks or action figures\/dolls) the market is almost always an older child or adult, removing much of the risk of toy safety issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not Just Classic Games, But Ancient Games!<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Even going back to ancient games like Chess, the success and popularity of the board game was directly dependent on players being able to quickly recognize both their own pieces and their opponents. Likewise, visual identification within your own pieces is just as essential. Reviewing a Chess set, while the material for the pieces can vary from metal, porcelain, wood to plastic; the shape of the individual pieces are unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like the colors of the two opposing \u201carmies,\u201d shape in game pieces like Chess help players (and spectators) to quickly identify each type of piece and likewise their unique abilities\/moves. A queen\u2019s silhouette looks nothing like a rook, and good luck mixing up a knight and a pawn visually!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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An even more simplistic example that also supports the need\nfor uniform shape and color is Checkers \u2013 or even Chinese Checkers. Both games\nconsist of \u201carmies\u201d of a single color attempting to outwit the opponent\u2019s\npieces and move across a game field. Unlike Chess, Checkers in all of its forms\nhas one unified shape for all of the pieces. Color is the single factor used to\nidentify your team versus your opponents. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In modern manufacturing and licensing, there have been a\nfantastic amount of Chess and Checkers sets that break these basic visual\nrules, and to be honest, doing so often leads to versions of games that are\nsurprisingly more difficult to play. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As an example, in licensed Chess sets where the traditional-shaped pieces are replaced by characters from a specific intellectual property (i.e. Star Wars, Super Heroes, Harry Potter, etc) adding colors and unique shapes to every piece may make them visually fun to look at for a fan, but at the same time it makes them exponentially more difficult to identify during play. While these sets are fun to collect and display, attempting to play out a game with multi-colored, multi-shaped pieces adds to the difficulty of playing the game itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Why Simplistic Design is Needed for Game Pieces<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
The goal of a board game is to win, and winning takes more than strategy, skills or luck; it also takes focus and concentration. Simplifying the game token shape and using uniform single colors is a proven tactic for successful game design. This is the reason that manufactured games for the last 80 years have embraced this aesthetic technique. Likewise it is the reason handmade game sets going back thousands of years have also utilized this concept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The human eye is instinctively drawn to color and shape and those are two of the major advantages to 3D printing game pieces with Shapeways. 3D printing is maximized when a single color and single shape are generated. The board game category is literally dependent on this design choice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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