Bank Boss - Watson Game

The Jam team at Winchester school of art (Southampton University) had 3 days to create a resource management game using IBM's Watson API systems to create a game that is fully controlled by speech - We go over the steps we took to create this game from ideation to completion.

Before you begin creating assets for your game, work with the ideas that you have and create a paper prototype or a board game variant to test the mechanics and outcomes, this is a quick and effective method of testing without taking up too much time.

After the paper prototype, make the necessary adjustments and begin planning out (still on paper) the route you plan to take in regards to the transition from paper prototype to a digital medium.

If you are working in a team, ensure that everyone has a good idea of what their role is. Set milestones for yourself and for your team members and ensure good communication between all of the developmental elements of the game.

After creating multiple visual assets and audio assets, have integrated your API systems (Watson Speech to text in our case) and have your core game programmed, work on embedding the assets and creating your MVP (minimum viable product) This can always be added to later, however it's easier to add content rather than drop it because of time constraints.

Testing your builds is crucial to creating a working game, essentially repeat the process you worked on during the paper prototype, this is often a simple process that involves readjusting numbers and variables within the code unless a large flaw is discovered, repeat the testing process until you and several others cannot find a way to break the game.

This is the point that as a developer you should seriously consider the platform for this game and make any adjustments accordingly to suit this experience better. After that, the game has reached a state of completion.