A MODERN SPIN ON A CLASSIC STORY
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Although there are many theories to where exactly Chess originated, it was always a popular game of logic. In the Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, Chess was a “luxury” game. It was part of the aristocratic culture. It was also used to teach people war strategy. In 18th century, Benjamin Franklin wrote about Chess, “several very valuable qualities of the mind, useful in the course of human life, are to be acquired and strengthened through by it ”. He outlines three strategies that we learn from chess: foresight, circumspection, and caution. Although today it is still one of the world’s most popular games, it appears to be loosing its touch with the younger adults and teenagers.
I propose that we reinvent Chess in a way that would bring its popularity back. Below you can see a concept of a Chess set that would appeal to a majority of young population. It would feature few sets of game pieces and not just old and boring black and white. I propose that we create four sets. One after the most famous American animated sitcom “The Simpsons” featuring Homer and Marge as King and Queen in the nude and various other “The Simpsons” characters. Nude King, Queen and Bishops would appeal to the young adult group rather then kids and will defiantly bring around lots of laughter and discussion. The second set would be made after yet another American television sitcom “Family Guy”. The third set would be designed after the multiple award-winning film director and film producer Tim Burton. His “dark” characters would appeal to the alternative group of young adults. Lastly, the fourth set would be made to resemble our “lovable” politicians and our neighbor’s politicians.
Initially I was planning of only having two sets, but after observing people play with the concept Chess set and hearing their feedback I have decided to make four. Also as you can see in the photo below, I have used Rayman’s Raving Rabbits as one of the sets, but decided to go against it when most of the testers were unaware of the characters and were not able to relate to them. Furthermore, some of the test players felt “childish” playing with pink rabbits. Another thing that will be changed is the board, some of the test player thought of the board as “too girlish and flamboyant”. That is why I believe that an elegant wooden box with four draws for sets storage and a marble black and white game board on top would be much more popular (simply because the owner would want to exhibit the game in the open space rather then hiding it in the drawer). It would be a positive change, because it would strike up conversation and the desire of others to purchase a similar stylish, yet very fun game. Of course to improve the usability of the system we would need to clearly distinguish the characters according to their function.
I strongly believe this game is fun because it is very elegant on appearance. Furthermore it is very addictive, educational and you can always pause a game and come back to it on a later date. Many people would be able to relate to the characters and know each character individually, which may lead to some fun role playing. It is a very simple game to learn and requires no feedback like many other “techy” games. Since it is a reinvention of a classic game all the affordances are already planned out, we just have to make sure to include a very simple set of rules to allow the user to successfully employ those affordance. The game requires no mapping as it has no controls, this makes the game more fun (dues to its simplicity). The game is also fun due to its physical path constrains and logical constrains. The game facilitates thought and each time you play it is a whole different game. Although the game has semantic constrains that rely on the knowledge of the pieces, this problem can be easily resolved if we clearly identify the Chess pieces and their functions. Eventually the game would be so addictive that it would put the player in state of habituation, where he/she will no longer be thinking of the rules, but will apply logic to advance on the next level of the game.
Thus I strongly believe this game of Chess would be a guaranteed best seller; a modern spin on a classic story.
I propose that we reinvent Chess in a way that would bring its popularity back. Below you can see a concept of a Chess set that would appeal to a majority of young population. It would feature few sets of game pieces and not just old and boring black and white. I propose that we create four sets. One after the most famous American animated sitcom “The Simpsons” featuring Homer and Marge as King and Queen in the nude and various other “The Simpsons” characters. Nude King, Queen and Bishops would appeal to the young adult group rather then kids and will defiantly bring around lots of laughter and discussion. The second set would be made after yet another American television sitcom “Family Guy”. The third set would be designed after the multiple award-winning film director and film producer Tim Burton. His “dark” characters would appeal to the alternative group of young adults. Lastly, the fourth set would be made to resemble our “lovable” politicians and our neighbor’s politicians.
Initially I was planning of only having two sets, but after observing people play with the concept Chess set and hearing their feedback I have decided to make four. Also as you can see in the photo below, I have used Rayman’s Raving Rabbits as one of the sets, but decided to go against it when most of the testers were unaware of the characters and were not able to relate to them. Furthermore, some of the test players felt “childish” playing with pink rabbits. Another thing that will be changed is the board, some of the test player thought of the board as “too girlish and flamboyant”. That is why I believe that an elegant wooden box with four draws for sets storage and a marble black and white game board on top would be much more popular (simply because the owner would want to exhibit the game in the open space rather then hiding it in the drawer). It would be a positive change, because it would strike up conversation and the desire of others to purchase a similar stylish, yet very fun game. Of course to improve the usability of the system we would need to clearly distinguish the characters according to their function.
I strongly believe this game is fun because it is very elegant on appearance. Furthermore it is very addictive, educational and you can always pause a game and come back to it on a later date. Many people would be able to relate to the characters and know each character individually, which may lead to some fun role playing. It is a very simple game to learn and requires no feedback like many other “techy” games. Since it is a reinvention of a classic game all the affordances are already planned out, we just have to make sure to include a very simple set of rules to allow the user to successfully employ those affordance. The game requires no mapping as it has no controls, this makes the game more fun (dues to its simplicity). The game is also fun due to its physical path constrains and logical constrains. The game facilitates thought and each time you play it is a whole different game. Although the game has semantic constrains that rely on the knowledge of the pieces, this problem can be easily resolved if we clearly identify the Chess pieces and their functions. Eventually the game would be so addictive that it would put the player in state of habituation, where he/she will no longer be thinking of the rules, but will apply logic to advance on the next level of the game.
Thus I strongly believe this game of Chess would be a guaranteed best seller; a modern spin on a classic story.
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