Jacob p's Senior Project Blog

Project Title: Tabletop Cultures: Designing a Card Game About Bacteria!
BASIS Advisor: Piper Lizak
Internship Location: Baxter's Realm
Onsite Mentor: Richard Baxter



Project Abstract

Microbiology is one of the most studied fields in biology, however there is a lack of research into bacteria that do not have direct human applications. There are countless interactions between unstudied bacterial species that have gone undetected by science due to a lack of both public and private interest. To remedy this, I will be designing a card game about bacteria. I will focus on bacteria living in the harshest environments to the most tranquil environments. To study board and card game design I will be researching at a local small business, Baxter’s Realm. I'll have access to the most popular card games like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Magic: The Gathering, and Lorcana. By the end of this project, I will have a flushed out card game including: a guidebook, environment tiles, bacteria cards, and gene cards.

    My Posts:

  • Come See my Senior Project Presentation on Saturday, May 17th!

    Well, I'm afraid it's time to say goodbye my marvelous microorganisms. I have added so much and still have so many plans for this game. I have printed out more cards, made more bacteria, environments, and new card types. I wish I could continue to keep you guys updated. Alas, this is the final post... Read More

  • An End Faster Than Lysis

    I'll be missing you all soon, budding bacteriophages. This is the last normal blog post I will be making here. Hopefully the new artwork I did can make up for this unfortunate news. The title of this post is a reference to bacteriophages and their types of reproduction. Lysis is the fastest way they reproduce... Read More

  • A Mad Scientist’s Approach

    I will now present this week's blog post, virulent victors. I have mixed feelings about this week. It's a really weird one in comparison to the other weeks of my project. The title is a little teaser for the new angle of the game which I will discuss a little in this post. A major... Read More

  • Some Bacterial Cultures, Finally Brought To The Tabletop!

    I would once again like to welcome you to my blog post, pathogenic partisans. Yet again, I have had another insanely productive week. I would even consider this week to be my most productive so far. And yes, the title is correct. I have finally got my game to the point where I can start... Read More

  • Environmental Disaster?

    Hello pathogenic patrons! This week I was really busy with my site placement. The title of this post is a bit clickbaity but I hope you can let it slide. Basically, this week, I was failing at creating the environment tile designs for my game. The disaster portion of the title comes from a card... Read More

  • Breaking Through The Biofilm

    Kenshi is one of my favorite video games of all time. It isn’t a triple A game from a big studio and doesn’t have the fanciest graphics either. Instead of having a huge budget, it has a soul. For a long time, Kenshi only had only one developer, Chris Hunt, who poured 12 years of... Read More

  • The Issues With Starting Microscopic

    Glad to see you all again, Plasmid Pioneers. These past weeks I've been dealing with upsizing my drawings (from the microscopic level I like) and finding new methods to speed up the process. I have also been very busy with the trip to Madrid (I hope the Lactobacillus bacteria in my gut can stand alcohol)... Read More

  • Working Around Different Cultures

    Good evening, unicellular undertakers! This week I managed to make up for last week's lulls by working extra hard on bacteria artwork. I did have a minor hiccup because I was on a couple flights (where I had to be more sedentary than a Staphylococcus aureus in a biofilm) yesterday from Phoenix to Madrid. Nevertheless,... Read More

  • It Was A Gut Feeling

    Welcome back, bacteria boosters! I’ll be the first person to admit that this hasn’t been the most productive week for me. This week, I really procrastinated on getting Tabletop Creator Pro, so I started card design later than I would have liked. Now let me explain the title: Your gut and mind are closely linked... Read More

  • Drawing My Card: The First Step

    Hello microbe mega-fans. I hope everyone has been able to relax better than a Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus after infecting a host bacteria. For me, this first week has been a little strange with starting my site placement and pacing myself for this project. From how card game shops run to learning how to playtest a game,... Read More

  • Don’t Wash This Deck! – Mixing Microbiology and Tabletop Games.

    Hello fellow bacteria enthusiasts (and maybe bacteria haters, I guess)! My name is Jacob Parker and for the past two academic years I have been obsessed with all things biology. For my senior project, I am creating a card game about bacteria, hence the reason you shouldn’t wash this deck (you wouldn’t have anything to... Read More