Two years ago, during February break, Belmont resident Keegan Franck challenged himself to create a new game every day.
Born from that challenge was a game he calls Endless, which earned him first place at the 2023 Young Inventor Challenge, a competition hosted by People of Play. A year later, he won the 2024 challenge in the Most Innovative category with a game called MetroNet.
“It was pretty cool,” said Franck, 14. “I really wasn’t expecting to win twice in a row. It was a very pleasant moment of surprise, and [realizing] ‘Yeah, I’m getting the hang of designing things.’”
Franck said it all began with the game-a-day challenge he set for himself in February 2023. In March 2023, after deciding one of the games he created over break was pretty good, he brought it to the game convention PAX East.
“I brought it to ‘unpub’ which is for unpublished designers and games; you can just go there and people will walk by and test your game and give feedback,” he said.
While there, he met a fellow game designer who encouraged him to submit his game for the Young Inventor Challenge.
And the rest is history. A year later, he entered again with a new city-building game.
“Originally, it was not called MetroNet … It originally started as a mushroom-themed game; that’s where I got the inspiration for it,” he said, describing how mushrooms form beneficial networks. “It eventually transitioned to a city-themed game because there was a new mechanic I added, where you could become better at building specific types of buildings and other buildings.”
To a designer, a mechanic is a fundamental building block of a game.
The game consists of 25 triangle pieces, each with laser-cut etchings along its edges to symbolize different elements of city building, such as residential development, utilities, or agriculture, for example. Players place tiles with matching etchings next to each other, earning points noted on the tile. Both players can earn points in one move, so each player must make calculated decisions based on what benefits them more than their opponent.
In the case of MetroNet, the creation process took about two to three months. But before a game is ready for competition, much of the initial playtesting happens at home, mostly with friends.
“Friends are great, because they’re brutally honest,” he said, laughing. “When it becomes slightly more advanced and I’m more confident the game won’t melt down in the middle of a playtest, I’ll take it to a place called Omar’s World of Comics in Lexington.”
When it came time to enter the competition, the Belmont High School freshman filled out an online form essentially pitching it to the judges. In it, he described the game and how it differs from others in the genre.
He then showed up in person, where he was given a booth to set up his game with a poster that included the rules. Passersby were offered a chance to playtest.
For Franck, the appeal of game making is simple.
“There’s the idea that a game is a different way to approach a problem,” he said. “You’re creating a problem with the intent of it being solved in numerous different ways. … A game is just a bunch of mechanics working together. For me, the best part is figuring out where each mechanic goes and how it should be explained in the rules, and what theme works for all of them, and then linking them all together so they end up being a result that’s fun for everybody to interact with.”
If other young people are interested in the world of game making, or have an inkling of an idea for a game, Franck said it’s worth taking the shot. Registration and virtual submissions for the 2025 competition are due in October. In-person presentations and awards will take place in November. More information can be found online at chitag.com/yic.
“You’re not losing anything by entering the competition,” he said. “I think a good part of it is thinking about something I want to be able to do with other people … Take that and get it on paper, and if it turns out you’ve done a good job making the thing you enjoy, definitely give it a try.”
