Just over two months into ever working with programming, I made this to help me develop my skill in C#. It was challenging to incorporate a vast set of elaborate board game rules, but a rewarding task.
The game was built for Android, and one challenge that threw up was how to keep the essence of a strategy game, where an overview is a must, without the pieces and targets for touch interaction getting too small to hit comfortably. I dealt with that by adding a pinch and zoom function for the camera and an easily accessible camera reset button that brings you back to a board overview.
The complete ruleset is implemented and ensures that the player cannot make illegal moves, making cheating much more challenging than with a physical copy of the game. While it is possible to play with just two players and shorter game modes can be selected in the menu, it is recommended for ideally four or more players split into two teams.
Made between June and July, 2021, as a part of the M.A. in Game Design and Development at the National Film and Television School.
'Dadu' is a mobile game based on a traditional board game from my grandmother's community, the Gujarati Bohras of Mumbai, India.
The boards are usually hand knitted and passed down for generations.
The game is played with shells instead of dice, and the shells' open face value decides the moves a player or team can make every turn.
The game is often played at large family gatherings and was a large part of my childhood.
Watch a playthrough here.
