Photos
Follow the evolution of Wu Wei.
Color Blind Players
It came to my attention during play testing that color blind players have a hard time distinguishing between the different types of chi. It is my goal in the latest version of the game to offer pieces that are easier to distinguish. Cardboard tokens would work for this but I’m hoping we will be able to produce custom “Go” tokens with the element design pressed into it to create greater distinction and texture.
Multiple Prototypes
The amount of prototypes grew from 1 to 6 in this time period as copies of the game started to circulate for review. Here you can see me hand painting all the pieces. Needless to say, each prototype copy was very costly to produce. I’ve been working on making new prototypes in a more cost effective way.
Artwork
The artwork for the animals is now going to going to be included on the player pieces. In addition, new artwork for player screens and the box cover is now going to be included in the game.
Another Evolution
This is another permutation of the game. In this version I was attempting to include little dice to show which piece had moved. The box had changed at this point. This table was just perfect to show off the game.
Lineage Cards
This version included lineage cards to distinguish the players. These cards didn’t really serve a purpose (other than to display your lineage marker) and so they were eventually cut from the game.
Third Prototype 2012
The third prototype included redesigned cards and a more final set of rules that included a Winter Gathering at the end of every season cycle. This allowed players to change the player order on occasion and allow different possibilities to come to light. This version completely did away with the idea of interchanging turns and paved the way for what is now known as the “Master” level of the game.
First Prototype 2010
This is the very first prototype for Wu Wei. This photo was taken some time during 2010. All of the octagons were drawn by hand with permanent ink. The player pieces were also colored with ink and it came off during game play! This was an excellent lesson that led to using paint pens in later prototypes.
In this version, players need to keep track of the direction of their player pieces. This proved to be way too challenging and led to games of epic length. This precious mechanic was abandoned as the game evolved.
Second Prototype 2011
The octagons in this prototype are polystyrene. This was a major upgrade in components. The wood pieces were laser cut and the cards were printed at Game Crafter. There are player sheet and coins for tracking turn order. In this version of the rules you had to move one piece then the other on alternating turns. Eventually that mechanic was changed because it was too hard to track.
The Original Box
I found a cool box and started using this tote around my prototype. The goal was to pack as much as possible into a little case. Keeping the game modular and easily packed was a big part of the earlier prototypes because I had no idea how big the final box was going to be.