"The Games Show" Designing a Mechanics-Heavy Game Show

Inspired by my love for mechanics-driven game shows like The Genius and De Mol, I set out to design one of my own. Collaborating with Zoryana Herman, we created and playtested an episode of The Games Show with game design students as contestants at the University of Gothenburg.



The episode was structured into three distinct phases, each featuring a unique mechanic inspired by these influential shows but tailored to fit the theme and setting of our own creation. The playtest lasted over three hours, culminating in a competitor claiming victory (and a sweet prize). The game ran smoothly, provided plenty of excitement, and was both fun to watch and to play.



Encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive feedback from contestants and onlookers, who expressed a desire to see and participate in more episodes, we are now working on designing additional content and exploring the possibility of filming future episodes.

Board Game Prototype

(The game being played at the Gothenburg Game Conference)

Growing up, my friends and I didn’t have access to many board games, so we made our own using just pen and paper. Some time ago, I revisited some of these childhood creations. While most were understandably unpolished, one stood out as having real potential.

I decided to refine and modernize the design, removing half of its original mechanics, introducing new ones, and playtesting extensively. The result was a surprisingly engaging and genuinely fun game.

Educational Historical Game

This game was developed as part of my bachelor's thesis. Using real historical records, I crafted a narrative that spans the entire recorded history of my hometown, allowing players to participate in and influence key events. One of the game's core aims was to educate players, which introduced a unique design challenge: balancing player agency with historical accuracy.

The solution to this balancing issue came from the history itself, as my hometown (and Croatia in general) had little to say about it's own fate, with major events often shaped by outside forces indifferent to the local population. Showing this lack of control through mechanics, as your decisions were constantly being overridden by outside forces, was a fun and elegant solution to the balancing issue. It also meant less branching narratives for me to implement 😅

Snake

Android version of the classic snake game with a couple of twists, made using Godot. Includes a global leaderboard and unlockable palettes and backgrounds

Strashni Pritchy; file 0

A (very) short interactive horror experience made in two days for the "Spooky Game Jam 2024". Made in Unreal with Zoryana Herman