Summary

For this university project I had to design a casual video game, so I came up with the idea of a game for iOS (iPad 3+) that contained a mix of adventure with the hidden object genre. I chose to set the game about Buffalo Bill and titled it Old West With Buffalo Bill, a title that could be reused for a sequel such as Old West With General Custer.

I first off made wireframes and personas. Next I made pixel perfect mockups (to the iPad 3 screen size) and turned those mockups into wire-thumbs. From the beginning I started working on a design document which I updated throughout.

The only difficulty I had was with the sizing of the mockups, as I made them to a different size then tried to change them to the iPad 3's retina screen size. So next time I would use a different peace of software that is more flexible in that department. I would also next time make a greater quantity of wireframes and mockups etc.

The Design Document

Throughout this project I was working on it's design document, which covers many aspects of the game such as a pitch, the concept of it, it's story and what technology it will use.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/118i8j8hf6lhqul/BuffaloBill2Ddesigndocument.pdf

Even though next time I would write more in it and make it more in depth I feel this part of the project went the best.

Mockups and Wire-thumbs

Below you can see the Mockups I made (to iPad 3 screen size).

Also below you can see the wire-thumbs 

And lastly you can see a mockup of the main interface inside an iPad.

The problem I had with these pixel perfect mockups is that the sizing to an iPad 3 screen size was done after I made them (at a different size) so they look a little stretched. Next time I would use a different program.

Wireframes

Basic wireframe of the main menu, showing logo, New Game, Load, Trophies, and Quit buttons.

The loading screen with an image at top then the progress bar.

This demonstrates the Bag/inventory open.

This simply demonstrates the layout of the main interface.

This shows the 'are you sure you want to quit' dialog box.

Next time I would make more of the wireframes and maybe make them more detailed, however I was always conscious of the fact that a wireframe should be simple.

Similar Games on iOS

Looking into similar adventure games on iOS I have found there is be plenty.
See link below for examples:
http://www.adventuregamers.com/topgames/view/iphone_and_ipad

Looking into similar hidden object games on iOS have found them to be in abundance.
See link below for example:
http://www.squidoo.com/hidden-object-games-for-ipad

They are not only in great quantity but also have good reviews, especially those of the hidden object genre which are very popular way for people to past the time both on handheld devices and desktop computers.

Diagrams

I made a few different diagrammix for trying to decide upon an idea for a casual video game.
In the end I combined two of my ideas together, an adventure game and a hidden object game.

Next time I would perhaps make the diagram a little more varied, as the two side repeat a lot. however this does work for the style of the game.

Personas

I made two personas, one for a child and one for an adult to demonstrate the two very different types of people who might play the game and why.

Another time I would make more Personas, however these two I made do well to show the main different types of people who may play the game and why.