I did a playtest group with Liam, Kayla and Audrey. Although my game was a solo game, I played it with the whole group all together, which was an error. Most of the time was spent joking, which while a good sign that the game was fun, limited me from properly testing the mechanics. They made characters as jokes, mostly giggling with each other, as the game did not provide them enough substance to use for a story. While I wrote the setting description briefly at the top, adding an additional section about the plot would help guide the players in the story. They wanted more of a framework, so I think that providing a story structure would be helpful. At the very least, having beats would give them a better idea of the game. I got similar feedback from the players, too, that I received from the professor. They wanted a more interesting and inspiring prompt set, which when combined with Professor Fox’s feedback about creating prompts that relate more to the symbolism of tarot cards, I think could make the game far more interesting.

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       I made this game as an entry into the alchemy game jam in order to participate with Game Studio Club, but really, what inspired me was a moth that I found at one of my clubs. He seemed injured and appeared to be dying, and there was great uproar about there being a bug in the room and all such similar feelings. I took him home with me, setting him up near the window in case he wanted to leave, and left him a little bit of fruit. He was gone the next morning, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Why had such a small creature ended up in such a large, loud place? I knew that scientifically, moths are drawn to indoor lights because they confuse them for the moon, but it seemed odd to me regardless. I also truly expected the moth to die with me, and it made me feel almost guilty, as I had moved him from his chosen resting place. His disappearance in the morning confused that guilt, and felt vaguely magical. In actuality, I believe that he simply flew elsewhere in the house – he actually sat with me after I submitted this game! But at the time, it got me wondering about how moths experienced death, and their interaction with humans, as we serve them a cruelty we don’t quite understand by abusing their evolved skill. When I sat down to write for this assignment, that is what came out. I did try to incorporate the jam theme of a key – the moths are trying to find their ‘key’ to the other side – but the jam was mainly intended for computer devs anyway.

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         I chose to do a journaling game because I have never made or played one before, and I felt like it was the right medium to tell such a contemplative story. Ultimately, my playtest didn’t really move towards that goal, but the process of simply writing the game was cathartic to that end. I have also gotten into scrapbooking recently, and I wanted to dissect what made that kind of chaotic beauty. I didn’t have time to make all of the scrapbooking guides that I wanted too, but I think it would be interesting to keep exploring. Part of the choice to use tarot cards was because they would make good scrapbook elements.