Melusine

Winner 2008 Best Thesis Proposal Award

This is a board game which is centered around the idea of using emotion to create the mechanics of a game, the visual component of my graduate thesis on utilizing the six primal emotions. It is currently in a beta prototype phase, with final production being soon underway.

The game is for 3 - 6 players, using a combination of cards and tabletop pieces to create the physical system. The game follows the story of a northern, resource taxed country invading it's southern neighbors for land and food. The players are from a small island nation caught in between the warring nations, and have to either 'fight' to keep their country intact and neutral or play against each other by siding with one of the warring nations.

"Faction Points" are awarded to players to represent allegiance and loyalty to the different nations, and are totaled up during the game at various points to determine the tide of the war which narrative events that effect the current gameplay rules. At the end of a set number of turns, divided into seasons and years, all the Faction Points on the board are totaled the nation with the most points wins the war. The player holding the most faction points for this country is then declared the winner, creating a dynamic where the players have to constantly play each side against another and keep track of what every other player is doing.

The game is currently being used as a research tool for the thesis, and will be showcased in a documentary about the research process and data collection. Estimated completion time May 2008. Final designs, rule set, and pictures of game in use will be posted after publication of the thesis in June 2008.

Other Current Piece Examples:

Quest Card	Player ProfessionCard
Resource Card	Play Mat

Finished Board Game: