Launch
Students will enter the project through a playable mini RPG experience, analyze what made the session clear or confusing, and begin framing the design challenge around historically grounded storytelling, user needs, and project expectations for their own tabletop game kit.
Days 1 - 2
Research & Plan
Students will investigate player needs and historical context, gather evidence from peers and a community partner, and turn those findings into empathy artifacts and a design brief for a historically grounded tabletop RPG.
Days 3 - 8
Ideate & Prototype
Students will turn user research and historical evidence into testable tabletop RPG directions, generate multiple concept options, build low-fidelity prototype materials, gather feedback from peers and a community partner, and complete documented revision cycles that improve clarity, balance, narrative tension, and historical grounding.
Days 9 - 13
Refine & Showcase
Students will refine their tabletop RPG prototypes through evidence-based revision, validate design choices with new users, and assemble a stakeholder-facing story of how historical research, writing craft, and playtest feedback shaped their final game direction before the public festival.
Days 14 - 18
Showcase
Students will present their finished historical tabletop RPGs to authentic players, observe how guests use the materials, gather final evidence about clarity and player experience, and complete a peer and self-assessment that explains how research, writing, and revision shaped their final game kit.
Days 19 - 20