Yesterday, before leaving Wimbledon, I found a lovely felt material in A2 size and some ribbon at a nearby arts store. As I’m no expert in sewing, I kindly asked my flatmate who studies fashion to cut the felt down to size, and create a small ribbon to affix to the felt sheet. This will form a fabric inlay, which will reduce jostling of the blocks, heighten the experience of the block reveal, and elevate graphic quality of the game.
I understand that when I set out this project, I was investigating how to make a cost-effective version of the game. I can appreciate looking at the final outcome (below), seems to contradict this pursuit. However, in creating this higher-end version of the game, I have been greatly informed by the processes to manufacture this game at a much lower cost. The manufacture, processes and packaging would be almost identical, just that every item has been rendered to a higher standard. Instead of a custom packaging done at a bindery, a more affordable version would use a grey board box; instead of maple blocks, beech or recycled rubberwood would be used; a tray could be reduced to a paper insert, if at all included. Simply put, I wanted to put this high quality version to be included into the show, so it can catch the eye of employers, and make my family (who are all coming from home to see this game), proud. It already got the eye of the recruiters on Saturday, anyway.
Indeed, on Saturday afternoon, I attended a Silicon Milkroundabout, a startup/tech-based jobs fair. I played Misfits with game recruiters from Ubisoft, as well as recruiters beyond the game industry, such as ASOS, Unilever and Arcadia Group. (Of course, in most of the rounds of gameplay, I allowed the recruiters win!)
To me, there are a few things remaining with this version of the game. As I do not receive an ISA for this submission, I felt many of items were rushed to make tomorrow’s deadline. I would certainly redo some of the blocks to make sure each fit correctly into the box. I would also look further into the colouring process, or at least finishing the blocks with a wood wax. I’d likely redo this photo above, as this photo was done this afternoon, the day before the deadline.
