TASK #1
Title: One Game = 1000 words
Tagline: Get to know your peers and their vision of games

Pawns, Wizards, Mushrooms, Dice, Power-Ups...What comes to your mind when you think of your favorite games? In this task you will have to create a word cloud using Wordle (or any other tool of your choice) to share what YOU think makes a game. Don't spend too much time on this, just quickly scrible the first few words that come to your mind. You can use your favorite game as a starting point. To complete this task share a few words about yourself along with your wordle in the discussions. Check out what everybody else made and if you are so inclined create a new wordle out of the words your peers have posted. 
What patterns do you see? What do you think makes a game?

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5071081/Games

TASK#2
Title:Supersize me; BIG games
Subtitle:Time to play some games in the real world (and let your peers know about it)

In this task you will escape the "little world" of games as you know them, and venture into the "real world" to discover what big games are all about. From alternate reality games, to street games to new sports, you will explore new forms of play that take place in public spaces, such as city streets, parks and other non-traditional game venues, outside of the boundaries of our tabletops, consoles and desktops.

To complete this task choose a game from the Ludocity collection (http://ludocity.org/wiki/Category:Playable_games or another game of your choice that loosely falls in the "real world" category, gather a group of friends to play with and write a blog post about the experience.  Try to share with us the story of game-play rather than presenting the rules of the game.

Here are some questions that you should try to answer in your blog post;
Was the experience fun? If yes, what was fun about it? If not, why not?
What suprised you during gameplay?
Did you notice anything new about the space you were playing in?
How did the game transform your relationships with the other players during gameplay?

Share a link to your blog post in the discussions and don't forget to check the games your peers played and leave comments on their posts.

If you do not have a blog already, here are some recommended places to do that:

JK notes: that Ludocity link didnt give me anything. Other than that, this seems super good and simple.

TASK#3
Title:Eureka, its a game!
Subtitle:Come up with a new game idea and pitch it to your peers

Game ideas can come from anywhere! In this task you will look around you for inspiration; explore city spaces as playing fields, fun mechanics, your favorite arcade games or even nature to come up with an idea for a new BIG game. 

To come up with an idea we are asking you to:
1) choose an existing well known outdoor game such as Hopscotch or Soccer, or your favorite game from Task#1 or even better the game that you played in Task#2. 
2) change one (or more) things about it. 
Here are some suggestions;
Change the space; i.e. what if Hopscotch was played on a wall? 
Change the mechanic; i.e. what if in Tag you had to jump on one foot instead of running? here is a nice list of common game mechanics by Ludocity http://ludocity.org/wiki/Common_game_mechanics )
*Mechanics is a common word we use in game design to describe the action players take in the game, for example running, jumping, sunbathing are some mechanics. 
Change the number of players; i.e. what happens when the game is played by 10 people and what happens when its played by 100? How can game-play be balanced so the game doesn't break?
Change the story;  i.e. what if a game of Hide and Seek was set in the 80's? 
Change the rules; i.e. what if you played a game in total silence? 

To complete this task you will have to create a one paragraph pitch to share your BIG game idea with your peers in the discussion wall. 
Your pitch should include a game title and a paragraph inviting enough for someone to want to play your game.

Here is an example from SFZero
http://ludocity.org/wiki/Journey_to_the_End_of_the_Night
Journey to the End of the Night
The city spreads out before you. Rushing from point to point, lit by the slow strobe of fluorescent buses and dark streets. Stumbling into situations for a stranger's signature. Fleeing unknown pursuers, breathing hard, admiring the landscape and the multitude of worlds hidden in it.
For one night, drop your relations, your work and leisure activities, and all your usual motives for movement and action, and let yourself be drawn by the attractions of the chase and the encounters you find there.

If you are struggling to come up with ideas, do not bang your head against the wall. Take a look at some types of games as they are displayed below for inspiration:

Location Based Games using the open source and free to use platform ARIS link http://arisgames.org/
New sports like Circle Rules Federation link  http://circlerulesfederation.com
Real life versions of favorite arcade games like Pacman or Frogger link  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEL454ixFpc
Games that hack existing platforms like the Wii, Kinect and the PS3 move controler. http://gutefabrik.com/joust.html
DIY games that use programmes such as Processing, Arduino & OpenFrameworks
link http://www.giganticmechanic.com/games_shadowplay.html
No materials games link http://www.hideandseek.net/projects/tiny-games/


JK notes: is "mechanics" a word that needs to be explained? I think this task needs some work. Maybe you should have the call to action be to hack an existing game, possibly building off of Task 2? Also, how are the participants supposed to pitch their idea? Blogpost, comment, video? Playing along with a game... that has rules?

TASK#4
READY, SET, GO!
Make your first game

In this task you will design and prototype your first game. 

Need props? Here are some prop ideas from Ludocity which could prove useful in prototyping your game http://ludocity.org/wiki/Prop_ideas 
Need extra advice? here is some words of wisdom from the top notch Sandpit Organizers in London http://ludocity.org/wiki/Game_design_advice.
To complete this task create a blog post that explains how the final version of your game is played (bonus points if you create a video). 

Your post should include; 

TASK#5
One more time!
Play-test your game to find out what works and what doesnt.

Making the first prototype of your game is only the tip of the iceburg. To fully develop a well balanced game you will have to play-test your game many times to find out what works and what doesnt. Playtesting is a word we often use in game design to explain the process of playing your game with others to test how good it is.

Here are some playesting tips for you:
1)Silence=gold! When running your game avoid telling your players what is the best strategy to win the game or what to do when they get stuck. As a designer you want to observe the points that your game might be broken and think of ways to improve it. 
2)Your players are your most valuable asset! At the end of your playtesting make sure to ask everyone for suggestions that will improve your game. 

To complete this task write a blog post summing up what you learned during playtesting your game.
Your post should address the following;