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Sara Mizannojehdehi
Illustrator and Digital Storyteller
The Boardgame
Multimedia Project 2022
Acrylic Paint, Procreate, InDesign, Written
The board game brings the different parts of "Briefly in Scenery" together in a non-traditional format: a simple board game.
Unlike an actual game, the instructions here are abstract.
While you play, you get to explore the painted panels of Briefly in Scenery and tell your own story with them and other components.
The Board
The Idea:
When I started painting panels of significant moments in my five years of university, I wanted to find a unique way to display them.
I created a board game-style story, where I would attach a short piece of writing behind each panel. When someone rolled the dice, they would move forward on the board and "collect" the wooden panel.
With the writing attached to the paintings, they could piece together their own university story from the game.
Each time a player would take a panel out, another one would be added in until there were no more panels.
With time, I made a few alterations to the game.
Firstly, instead of dice, there would be a wheel that would give you an adjective. You would then select the panel that best matched your adjective. In this way, the game would have more freedom, just like the university.
The panels themselves would also lead to a page in a zine instead of having text on the back. In that way, it would again allow for more creativity with the player creating their own story, while also getting a chance to read mine.
Planning:
The Process
Though I've worked on this for over two years now, the game is still a work in progress.
Summer 2020
The Table + The Dice
I began to carve the table. I traced out places for the panels and created little etchings around them. I also began working on a dice.
Spring 2022
Painting the Table Top
After almost a year of ignoring the table and working on the panels, I finally finished designing the table top
Summer 2022
The Wheel
I painted and created a wheel that helped as many adjectives as I could fit in.
Spring 2023
Finishing the Table
Painting the sides of the table and its legs in the same style as the table top.
Symbolism
While creating the table, I wanted to emphasize the symbols used in other parts of the project.
The Ottawa South Groceteria
This location was one of the landmarks of my walks in university. I wanted to represent it in the boardgame.
OC Transpo
Throughout the boardgame, you can see several visual symbols that represent public transportation. You can find bus numbers, seats, and buses themselves.
Book titles and food
Across the board, I've added the meals and snacks I had in my university years.
Lyrics and Music
One of the most signifcant parts of my univeristy degree has been the music that carried me through it. There are several mentions of lyrics and artists across the board.
Course Codes
I also included several course codes around the boardgame as they relate to the painted panels.
Preston Street and the Prescott
This was another one of the landmarks in my walks around Carleton. I always loved the sign for the Prescott
Hover to see even more symbolism!
The Wheel Completed
The Wheel: Progress
The wheel came together relatively quickly.
Originally, I wanted to create a phenakistoscope, but I realized that it wouldn't work for the purposes of my game.
A phenakistoscope is one of the first animation devices that used a spinning wheel and small slits to create the effect of movement
As I had already made eight circular cuts with a drill, I decided to use them as a part of the wheel in the game.
I wanted the wheel to have a similar colour scheme to the table, but more neutral, so it would act as an in-between to the panels.
On the wheel, I've painted out the Ottawa region with a person walking around it.
The zine has one piece of writing per panel. Some panels have a longer story attached, others are short poems, and some are comic retellings.
As many of these pieces are works in progress, they're not presented here.
I turned the first piece from the zine into the basis of the Briefly in Scenery animation.
As I complete and edit the zine, I'll post snippets here!
