The space-western storytelling card game 鈥� dubbed Galactic Scoundrels 鈥� is inspired by beloved fictional scoundrels like Han Solo from 鈥淪tar Wars鈥� and Malcolm Reynolds from 鈥淔irefly.鈥� The game is designed for 3-5 players to play for 90-120 minutes.

鈥淚t started out with an idea of telling space scoundrel stories. When I was a kid, I wanted to be Han Solo,鈥� said Joe Williams, associate professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Writing and lead designer of Galactic Scoundrels.

Williams started designing the game with Tanner Marshall and Olivia Dunlap, graduate students in the Department of Computer Science; Brad Sims, instructional designer and media specialist for the College of Education and Health Professions; and Robbie Hunt, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumnus. Kevin Cates, associate professor of graphic design, joined the team and created all of the art for the game.

鈥淚鈥檓 older now, but my friends and I still want to tell great stories when we get together for game night, but we don鈥檛 have time to generate those stories over weeks, or months, or years. Usually, all we have is an hour or two. It lets us tell the crazy, quirky, sideways tales we love.鈥�

Players gamble and bluff each other to win a job and then tell the shared story of that job by playing cards. Each job is a mini-adventure lasting 15-20 minutes with spaceships, crew, cargo, strange and wonderful characters, and exciting twists.

The game has simple rules, which can be learned in about 10 minutes. This allows players to emphasize storytelling, negotiation, and social interaction. A full game lasts 90 minutes or so, but players often just play as many stories as they feel inspired to tell.

Williams and crew, who co-founded the Little Rock Game Designers group in 2014 and last year formed a company called Little Rock Games, have started a to raise money to have the game manufactured. They have already raised nearly $11,500 from 271 backers by June 28, so odds seem favorable that they will reach their $17,000 goal by July 25.

Backers can pledge $5 to get a print and play PDF version of the game, $25 for one copy of Galactic Scoundrels, and $40 for the game plus an expanded universe card pack. Those who pledge $75 or more get the extra honor of designing a card for the expanded universe card pack.

If the Kickstarter campaign is successful, Little Rock Games plans to produce an initial launch of 500 games that they will sell to online and brick and mortar retailers. Williams said two local game stores have already ordered advance copies of the game.

Williams will be interviewed on the radio show 鈥�,鈥� which broadcasts on 101.1 FM at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 30. The show will be, and listeners can call in during the show at 501-823-0965 or tweet @ShanePlays.

鈥淚 think we are just really excited,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淣one of this would have been possible without us connecting at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. We love that the university provides a creative place to generate ideas like this and let them grow.鈥�

In the upper right photo, the creators of Galactic Scoundrels (L to R) include Brad Sims, Robbie Hunt, Joe Williams, Tanner Marshall, and Olivia Dunlap.

Those two days were marked by tears, anger, frustration, and little sleep, but the end result was a moment of triumph as the participants, some who had no previous game development experience, banded together to complete five creative games in a short time period.

鈥淚t was exhausting, but incredibly rewarding,鈥� said Olivia Dunlap, a 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock senior and co-founder of Little Rock Game Designers who led the event. 鈥淚 was able to stay up for 36 hours straight without dying. Everyone was very energetic and positive, but there were a few tense moments as the clock started to run out.鈥�

This is the first time 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock has participated in Global Game Jam, which is similar to a hackathon but is focused on game development. Nearly 43,000 people participated in Global Game Jam 2018, resulting in 8,597 games developed at 803 sites in 108 countries. Participants were given a theme and then had 48 hours to create a game.

The participants included 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock students Zach Bolt, Olivia Dunlap, Kyle Hooks, Tanner Marshall, co-founder of Little Rock Game Designers, Geoffrey Townsley, and Loren Snow, as well as Alex Barton, local artist, Robbie Hunt, 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock alumnus and co-founder of Little Rock Game Designers, Joe Williams, associate professor of rhetoric and writing, and Jason Zak, lead artist at the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Emerging Analytics Center.

鈥淭his year鈥檚 theme was transmission,鈥� Dunlap said. 鈥淚 feel like it was a good theme because it allowed for some good interpretations and some very interesting stuff came out of it. Across the world, people made car-driving games; some interpreted it as a transmission of information or the transmission of disease. There was a lot of variety.鈥�

You can check out the games on the. They include:

1. 鈥淎辫耻蝉鈥� by Zack Bolt, Geoffrey Townsley, Loren Snow, and Jason Zak

A small, fast-paced strategy game where players have to simultaneously bring peace and balance to four planets by transmitting heat, cold, life, and technology among them while managing breakouts of war and disease.

2. 鈥�Chaotic Good鈥� by Joe Williams

A narrative game where players converse with people to determine if they have contracted a mysterious disease while trying not to be infected. Players must choose the fate of the people, and the disease in question isn鈥檛 quite what it seems.

3. 鈥�颁丑谤辞尘补迟颈肠颈迟测鈥� by Olivia Dunlap

A short narrative cyberpunk game with many beginnings and one ending. Color is indicative of your android鈥檚 archetype. Players choose a palette, and see how their  choices can affect it while following a mysterious call toward the center of a sprawling city.

4. 鈥淕ot a Moment?鈥� by Kyle Hooks and Alex Barton

An old man is tasked with imparting his wisdom to a young girl struggling with life. Players give her advice to influence her choices in a balancing act of managing logic, empathy, selfishness, and compromise in a volatile relationship.

5. 鈥沦补濒驳谤别产鈥� by Robbie Hunt and Tanner Marshall

A card-matching puzzle game with a twist; players must answer the mysterious Salgreb鈥檚 questions, and the cards seem to move. Players must figure out the patterns  to succeed.

While many people assume that art, design, and coding skills are needed for game development, Dunlap hopes to show people that anyone can help create a game.

鈥淭he cool thing about game design is that there are some really accessible tools,鈥� she said. 鈥�For example, there is a tool called Twine that is a text editor that allows writers to easily create branching stories. It’s a robust tool, but is also easy to pick up for first timers or anyone who isn’t programming-minded. There are a lot of options for people who can鈥檛 do art or code. Anyone who is interested in game design can come to an event like this and learn a lot.鈥�

糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 event was sponsored by the Department of Rhetoric and Writing, Little Rock Game Designers, and Little Rock Games. For more information about other game design events in central Arkansas, email Olivia Dunlap at playlittlerockgames@gmail.com.

In the upper right photo, participants in the 2018 Global Game Jam brainstorm ideas for new video games. Back row (L to R): Zack Bolt, Tanner Marshall, Geoffrey Townsley, Alex Barton, Joe Williams, and Kyle Hooks. Front row: Olivia Dunlap, Robbie Hunt, and Loren Snow.