Emehlia Nelson

Course: Classical Mythology, ENGL-225
Professor: Isabel DeFeo
Assignment Title: Divine Intervention Board Game

Assignment Details

This assignment was created to explore a topic of Greek myth in further detail using any medium we wished. For my project, I chose to present the stories around the Greek goddess Artemis. I wanted to explore a medium that would allow audience interaction and create an enjoyable experience, so I chose to create a board game.

I used the myth around Artemis to display what her traits were, as well as what sort of morals her stories were meant to teach. Many of the gods had very specific talents, unique interests, and had a significant impact on daily life for the ancient Greeks and even the Romans. The best way I felt that I could portray the lessons Artemis taught was to have a strict set of right and wrong presented by the cards and their directions. What Artemis sees as good actions will move you forward, while unsavory actions delay your turn.

Application

I used many processes that would tie to my field of study as a graphic design major.

To create the visuals of the game itself, I made a great effort to make the design match those of the terra-cotta vases and bowls, such as a Krater. This ceramics depicted stories of the gods through a series of pictures.

It’s important to understand your audience. I kept information simple enough that the people from my class, as well as anyone else who knew Greek myth, would be able to understand how the game relates to the stories of the goddess Artemis.

Results/Conclusions

I was able to use my knowledge of classical myth to create this game, but I found it somewhat harder to create cards that are easy to understand. Going into this project I had an understanding that the Greek goddess, Artemis, was one of the lesser-known gods, making it a bit of a struggle to keep the project concise. I wanted to put as much information about the stories of Artemis that I could, but it would have compromised the quality of the project.

The more I worked on it, the more I was able to understand that my classmates would have the background knowledge and a deeper understanding of the game objective. However, I learned that even if someone doesn’t know the stories, they can still enjoy the game and be intrigued enough to ask follow-up questions and learn more about the topic.

Challenges and Successes

One of the challenges I faced during this project was ensuring that the information in the game was concise. Creating such a game based off classical myth, there was no guarantee that the player would know each story. As a solution, I kept the cards simple, but I also included a manual. While the game instructions will direct the actions of the cards, the follow-up sheet will explain the meaning of the cards in relation to what myth is being displayed.