Here is what I learnt…
Lately, I have taken up a new pastime. I have over the last two years become a big fan of playing board games. I am also regularly organizing board game Meetups in my local community.
And since my creative mind never seems to cease, thanks to my ADHD, I have decided, I would like to try my hands on designing a board game, or two, myself. Currently, I have two games in the making. To help me in the process, I have been using generative AI to aid in creating the prototypes.
I think, it is appropriate to give a disclaimer. I have been using Chatgpt and other generative AI’s in my teaching work for a while now. And I do find, that it is a useful tool to help me in many aspects of my work. But it is also just a tool, so I do not beleive the hype about generative AI cancelling all jobs. The reason for that is, that ChatGPT and co. do have some severe limitations, some of which can never be overcome.
I already stated in a previous post, that the revolution does not come frome the technology itself, but from the ones using it.
How I Use AI in My Teaching Work
To make it clear, I do not let AI “do the work.” Usually, the output is far too low quality, in many cases. But there are some specific cases, especially when designing lesson materials, where I find AI particualarly helpful.
- I sometimes create short stories with specific prompts, that will be used in the lesson materials for the students to work with
- AI is a useful tool to create rough outlines for lessons on a particular topic, to help me structure my lessons better.
- I also use it to generate illustrations for specific purposes.
- AI can help me to quickly create worksheets with e.g. grammar exercises
- To “brainstorm” some ideas with myself, by prompting an idea to Chatgpt and exploring that idea further
The above list already makes it clear, why I do not fear AI will replace creative workers or, in my case teachers, any time soon. These are very specific use cases, which simply help me cut down the time to create lesson materials. But I still find myself reworking the output from AI every time. Either, because the output has inconsistencies, or factual errors, or the phrasing is not quite appropriate for my target group.
But I still use it. Because it can help to design my lessons, including the needed materials, much more efficiently.
What Has That Got to Do With Designing a Board Game?
Board game design is a complex, creative process, that involves multiple steps.
- First, you need a rough idea for a topic and some basic game mechanics.
- This idea needs to be refined and fleshed out in detail
- Then, you need to create a prototype, with all the materials needed.
- That prototype needs to be tested extensively. Ideally with as large a crowd, as you can muster. Based on the feedback, you need to make adjustements to the game mechanics, the balancing and the layout.
That last step is very important. And takes a lot of time. Hopefully, at some point you are satisfied with the result. With the two games, I am currently working on, I am about to test the first prototype.
I use AI to help me flesh out and describe the mechanics, create the game manuals and craft the game components. This is especially helpful, because I can outsource menial tasks in the process. Like generating descriptions for game cards, etc. The AI can also give me useful ideas for how I should design the game plan, or player tableaus.
AI Has Some Big Shortcomings, When I Use It for Board Game Design
I want to make this very clear. AI cannot design board games. Whenever it suggests a game mechanic, it is either inconsistent or will not work well.
The texts and descriptions for the game components often contain contradictions or can easily be misunderstood.
If I use AI for creating artwork, it often fails to maintain a consistent art style. And the AI formulates the texct for the game manual, it suddenly starts inventing game mechanics in the description, that are not part of the game.
So, in essence, I need to rework the output a lot. And I still need to do the gritty work of designing the components themselves. But AI still makes it an efficient tool for this job. Because I can quickly pitch ideas, to see if they can actually stick. I can use it to organize my million ideas into something, which is much more consistent. And I can use AI to quickly help me design the prototypes, so thze fun part of testing the game can begin.
With all these shortcomings and limitations, I think the narrative of AI replacing creative work is vastly overhyped. But I do see a lot of potential in making creative process much more efficient. Then again, I have yet to see some creative output from AI that is anything better than “just good enough.”
But that is, what creativity is. It lifts the bar from “just good enough” to “superior quality” whil at the same time being unique.
Not only in terms of layout, but also in how the ideas behind it a carved out in text, imagery and final product.
So, Tell Me About This Board Game of Yours!
I will not reveal the details just yet. But when it is finished, I will provide a Print & Play version in my download section for free. Or for a very small, symbolic fee. So far, it is a hobby project, So I cannot tell if I am willing to take it further. The basic premise is, that it will be a somwhat humorous card game, where you play as a teacher that needs to manage his unruly students without getting a burnout.
That is all, I am willing to reveal for now. Let me know in the comments, if you have ebver tried your hands on designing board games and how it went. I am also curious to know, how your experience has been in using generative AI in the process.
