The process of transforming a non-digital game to a digital application

Abstract

It is becoming more common to transform non-digital games into digital applications. The aim of this project was to explore this kind of transformation in detail, and to investigate what problems and opportunities that follow such a process. To be able to accomplish this, the team subjected itself to this transformation by taking an existing tabletop game, and transforming it into an application for the mobile medium. The design process was built around player experiences from the original tabletop game, and the goal throughout the transformation was to maintain as many player experiences as possible. This report covers the whole longevity of the design process, from the initial ideas and paper prototypes to a final digital prototype. The findings in this project were expressed as a list of seven recommendations covering important aspects of what to consider before attempting to transform a non-digital game into a digital application. In addition to the recommendations, the process also resulted in a functional and playable game prototype.