Board Game : Brainstorming

As the first part of our interaction unit, we are designing a board game using the theme symmetrical. The game will be for 2-4 players. I have to use iterative design practices to achieve this which means lots of playtesting.

I started by trying to break down the theme of symmetrical into slightly more digestible parts so that figuring out how and where I could leverage the theme would be simpler.

Symmetry is an interesting concept as it has a rougher common meaning and a much more precise mathematical meaning. Commonly it can mean anything from reflection, pattern, harmony to balance, whereas the mathematical meaning is that invariant under some transformations.

There is also the fact that different types of symmetry also perceptibly don't offer the same amount of symmetry, for example, reflectional symmetry is what most people think of when you mention symmetry as its the most common type seen in mirrors and commonly used in board games such as chess, but offers the lowest amount of symmetry only being symmetrical across one line/plane. Other types often occur together and across many lines/planes or even infinite lines/planes like spherical because it is infinitely devisable like a circle.

I want to try to incorporate multiple layers of symmetry into my design both in the physical elements such as the board, game pieces, rules and meta-narrative. Utilising the theme of symmetry to be more than just a surface level aesthetic is important to fully explore its potential in my eyes, so I'm going to try to use make use of narrative symmetry as well as ludic-symmetry.

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