Hover

Several native solitary bee species live and explore in this small but fertile park. During the day, each bee enthusiast (the players) protects the native bees by growing one of the five species of plants, helping bees find flowers to pollinate, making bee hotels and collecting bee bread. Despite all this good work, players will …

Introducing Drone: a board game about bees

It's one thing to design a game with a team of people, it's another all together to do it by yourself. Obviously I'm a sucker for punishment and despite the overwhelming amount of work that I'm having to do all on my lonesome, I'm enjoying the process. Something, something... the journey is better than the …

Designing a board game 101

I'll be the first to admit that going into this project, I underestimated the amount of work that my team would inevitably dive into. I know now that designing a board game is no easy task. Despite what the internet may tell you, there's a lot more to good board game design than just having …

Game Pitch: Turning an idea into something more

Original Idea: A board game that allows players to experience the life of a bee; exploring their environment, foraging for pollen and nectar and serving the hive. Why: I couldn't get this theme out of my head and I can imagine it looking simplistic and beautiful. Inspiration for this game comes first of all from the …

Contemplation of the everyday life-cycle of a tree

"#%@$. Oh, no! I'm really angry..." These are not the words you'd expect to hear during a game whose theme is about as non-violent as a daffodil. Photosynthesis is a board game that encourages players to explore the simple life-cycle of a tree. Yet behind this charming concept, beautifully designed pieces and clever game mechanics, …

Reflection – Fighting Procrastination in Universities

As part of this university semester I was tasked with conducting a research project. The focus was on procrastination and time-management. My key question; 'what do university students do to overcome procrastination?' When I began I didn't know where to start. Although it seemed like a simple question to answer, I had little experience with …

BCM212 – Update

This is an update on an ongoing research project: 'How do university students manage the effects of procrastination?' Read my original proposal here. Procrastination is the process of delaying an action. The aim of my project is to explore the solutions students and institutions have developed to control procrastination and create time-management skills. To do …

Research Ideas

This semester I have been tasked with developing a research project that explores an element of the university experience. With such a broad area of focus I have spent this week trying to decide upon a direction to take. It hasn't been easy but I have managed to come up with a few ideas that …

Curiouser and Curiouser

I’ve had to admit that I’m exactly the sort of person who struggles to do anything without conducting research beforehand. I’m a bit like Hermione – furiously flicking through ‘Quidditch Through the Ages’ to prepare for her first broomstick lessons – sometimes the research just isn’t practical. But it’s often a lot of fun. One …

A conversation of their own

This week in my BCM206 lecture we discussed the concept of the Internet of Things. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail (follow the links for more information) but basically this idea can be explained as the connection of any device or thing to the internet. This can be anything from your …