Illustration by Michael DeForge
Oraculum
Emma Raventos, Chika Zhang, Lancy Zhan, Livia Alexander, Zezhen Wei
Emma Raventos, Chika Zhang, Lancy Zhan, Livia Alexander, Zezhen Wei
+In one or two sentences, describe the main themes present in your game.
To explore the idea that the creation of language is an ongoing tug of war, we chose area control and pattern recognition as our core mechanics. Just as language is built through consensus and contested interpretations, players must strategically claim space and decipher emerging patterns to gain influence over the unfolding game state.
+What was the inspiration of the game?
What made your team decide to make this game specifically?
This game was created in response to a prompt to “make language” for our game design class. We explored language as behavioral recognition, using rope and crystals as symbolic conduits of communication.
+Were there difficult moments when developing the game? What led to those difficult moments? What did you learn from it?
As we continued developing the game, it naturally grew in complexity. Especially since we, the designers and primary playtesters, became increasingly familiar with its mechanics. However, playtesting with people outside our team revealed how challenging it is to effectively tutorialize such a complex system for new players.