Mimicry: Bringing Biomimicry to the World of Tabletop Games
I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t play a lot of games growing up. What did interest me, however, was the process of game design and the creative potential of all games to create worlds, tell stories, and challenge players. As I began my final semester in the Biomimicry MS program at ASU, I saw an opportunity to explore a new creative avenue. It began with one question: how would one make an immersive biomimicry game?
What is biomimicry?
Biomimicry is an innovative approach to problem solving based on consciously emulating successful strategies found in nature. Within nature we have discovered ingenious forms, processes, and systems that have evolved in response to the inalterable conditions of our planet. First described by Janine Benyus in her 1997 book Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, the practice of Biomimicry developed into a comprehensive, interdisciplinary approach that can be utilized in any design process.
There are three essential elements at the core of biomimicry:
Emulate: Approach nature as a model and mentor to be emulated when solving human problems.
Ethos: An ethical imperative to respect nature and seek solutions that are not just sustainable, but actively create conditions conducive to life.
(Re)connect: Facilitating and nurturing the inherent bond between humans and nature.
More information about biomimicry and its practice can be found here.
As the practice of biomimicry becomes more widely recognized and pursued, a crucial consideration is the dissemination of information through education, media, exhibits, and other means. One “niche” that had yet to be fully explored was the concept of a biomimicry strategy game.
The ultimate goal of this project was to design a fun, immersive game that not only introduces players to interesting biomimicry case studies, but actively immerses them in the thought processes that biomimics use to make connections between natural strategies and design solutions. This is not meant to be a replacement for formal biomimicry training, but an experience that encourages the immersive absorption of new ways of thinking through entertainment. The target audience of this project was adults of all ages with varying levels of interest and experience in biomimicry, but the first version of the game was developed to be neutral enough to be applicable to different age groups and experience levels with biology. The initial goal that this project grew out of was a vision of a game where players making connections between natural strategies and the challenges they face drives the game forward.
In an early playtest of the game, for example, players are faced with a challenge: climbing a sheer cliff to get to a research station. With no climbing gear, the players must devise a solution to this challenge by observing the organisms around them, many of which use ingenious strategies to stick and unstick to surfaces. Temporarily sticking to a surface is a function, a key concept in biomimicry that acts as a bridge between survival strategies organisms use in nature and designs created by humans by highlighting a common function they achieve. To succeed, players must not only identify these functions and look for organisms that achieve them, but observe the organisms to learn the mechanisms behind their strategies, uncovering its secrets. In the early playtest example, players had to not only find a gecko on a nearby tree, but humanely capture it and observe its feet to learn about the complex microstructures and nanostructures it uses to stick and unstick to surfaces.
The final outcome of this project is a detailed Player’s Guide outlining all of the rules of the game that have been developed up to this point, and a GM (Game Master) Guide that outlines the information another person would need to run the game. There is significant overlap between the two documents, but the GM Guide contains all of the tables utilized in the game, and reflects in as much detail as possible the work done by me to create the game, as an example to future GMs.
The guides for this game are available below, and reflect the development of Mimicry up to this point. While still the attempt of a novice, I am proud of this work as an instance of thinking outside of the human-constructed box, as all biomimics are encouraged to do.
This project would not have been possible without the support network behind it.
Thank you first and foremost to Nature, for being the inspiration, mentor, and model for this game.
Thank you to my success team, Anne LaForti and Byron Bennet, for keeping me on track and providing emotional support in our weekly meetings.
Thank you to Michelle Fehler for giving me the opportunity to pursue this project through her course, and encouraging me to dream big.
Thank you to Andy Ashcraft for providing consistent feedback and advice on tabletop game design at critical parts of the development process.
Thank you to my Playtesters: Anne LaForti, Andrew Garcia, Lexie Vanderveen, Dakar Lawler, and River Croft, for volunteering their time and aiding in the most crucial and nerve-wracking part of the game development process.
Thank you to Dakar Lawler for providing honest feedback on game design, encouraging me to think creatively, and providing emotional support.
Thank you to Eric Torres for providing helpful and encouraging advice about collecting feedback and the game design process.
Thank you to Daniela Esponda for providing crucial support and advice on graphic design and formatting for my final documents.
Finally, many thanks to my partner Kris Lockington for providing consistent support and advice on game design, being my sounding board for many difficult decisions, and providing immense emotional support and reassurance throughout this process.
