So far, exploring my essential question is already different from how I expected it would go. I originally had 3 parts of my project in my proposal: creating a game, interviewing industry professionals, and creating an expansion pack to the game Dominion. Three weeks in and so far only creating the board game has been working out well, though I think it will still be enough to answer my essential question. I was surprised by how much longer it would take to prototype my game. While I struggled with making the initial design document, I found it even more challenging to actually create what I had envisioned. To prototype the game’s cards, which took me only around 30 minutes to write, took me around 8 hours to format, print, and cut.

I think that my experiences so far have taught me a lot about my essential question, even if I struggle to explain what I’ve learned. As I wrote in my last CR, I’ve learned that the amount of work that goes into creating an idea is far less than the amount of work that goes into actually creating something. Though it was challenging at first to come up with a concept for my game, once I did the process was fairly easy. To actually create the game, there was a lot more to consider, like materials and how to print everything efficiently. The main thing I’m curious about now is how playtesting will affect the process and what it will teach me in answering my essential question.