Document Type
Honors Thesis
Major
Music Education
Advisor(s)
Justin Dimmel
Committee Members
Hollie Adams, Beth Weimann, Jon Ippolito
Graduation Year
December 2024
Publication Date
Winter 1-2025
Abstract
This project aims to explore the concept of emergent design by developing and testing a trading card game. Included as a part of this was an analysis of games that were perceived as supporting emergent design and an analysis of other written resources. Through the research for this project, different articles and games were analyzed. From the games and articles, a list of characteristics was created that could define emergent gameplay. After the list was developed, they were used as guiding principles to shape a creative project. This final product of the research is a fully playable trading card game prototype. The prototype consists of a written game rulebook, and 115 unique cards (including 25 double-sided Bot cards, and 90 Program cards). This set of rules and the cards were changed and refined with playtesting sessions to better align with the goal of emergent gameplay, and principles of good game design.
Recommended Citation
Bradley, William, "Creation of a Trading Card Game Through the Exploration of Emergent Gameplay" (2025). Honors College. 903.
https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/honors/903
