Genji-GameDesign


 * IDEAS FOR SERIOUS GAMES**toc

Middle school students enjoy games but teachers don't appreciate that. Teachers feel that students should read and write to gain greater understanding about world issues. The problem to be solved is to make a serious game that is about a world issue.

**Requirements:**

 * 1) Game must be accessible to the intended players
 * 2) Game must be well-paced to be enjoyable
 * 3) Game must be challenging to the intended players.
 * 4) Game must have a clear goal
 * 5) Game must be winable.

** Constraints: **

 * 1) It must be possible to create this game with the tools available to middle school students (computers, wikis, blogs, cardboard, poster board, glue, colored pencils, markers, scissors, rulers, paper cutter, exacto knives, glue guns, found objects, dice, spinners, and other common items found in the home and school)

1. A Serious Game Using Gamestar Mechanic that follows the design brief. If I were using Gamestar Mechanic, there would be a lot of symbolism in my game. I don't think there is an option of creating your own avatars, is there? I might make the hero the United States, or even an Iraqi soldier or spy, and try to defeat the opposing army or just sneak by. I would add the explanations into my Game Label, add different labels to it, and possible base it on important events that happened in history. I could even add some facts into the introduction, and if possible a narrative. I will read the "Gamestar Mechanic" instructions again to see if there are any ways to change the avatars. Maybe, if it were possible to make allies, it would make the game much more fun. __SKILL B1__ Genre- Adventure. I think I can make different levels along with different stories and objectives. It's like a campaign or story mode in other games. If I make a game in Gamestar Mechanic, I think the game will be similar to the Mario series of games. You get through levels, defeat enemies, and get to the yellow starred door or the red flag. CORE MECHANICS There will definitely be a goal because that is one of the requirements, but the goal varies. You might want to sneak by the opposing army to get to the goal, or defeat all the enemies. The obstacles will probably be simply the cement blocks.... and hordes, and hordes of soldiers. There aren't any spiky red blocks, cloud blocks, alabaster, etc etc in real life or warfare. There will be points and an avatar you control, but chance will not be incorporated in my game if it were make by GameStar. I want the game to be a skill-based game.

2. A Serious Game Mod for an Exisiting Boardgame that follows the design brief. I think that maybe I can make a "Serious Game Mod" on the game BattleShip. That game is a game of chance and a little skill, but the main idea of the game is to capture or sink your opponent's pawns. Perhaps I can make the goal of the game to capture the other teams government, city, army, harbor, etc, with the same objective as battleship. One side will be the US, and the other side might play as normal battle ship, trying to sink the US ships or destroy the soldiers or tanks. There are many ways to do it. In the instructions, I could add a little bit of history along with the normal rules of BattleShip. If there are any famous battles which happened, I could base that game on it or a series of games. There board would have to be much bigger than a normal BattleShip board with a much greater amount of pegs so that all of the little pawns can fit onto it. SKILL B1 Genre-Strategy Goal- Capture your opponent's pawns (government, army, towns, etc etc. Obstacles- the opponent's attacks There are no characters. There is some chance in this game, but it is not at all like the chance from spinning a spinner, picking a card, rolling a die, etc. You try to predict where your opponent's pawns are and you guess where they are.

3. A Serious Game -- Free Choice that follows the design brief. I think that, with a free choice, I would make a game similar to Oiligarchy. Instead of being the head of an oil company, you would be the President of the United states, the infamous George W. Bush. (XD) You wouldn't create oil mines; instead you would hire soldiers, make decisions, and instead of convincing the White House, you try to convince the Congress. You play as the bad guy, so to speak. (No offense to Mr. Bush.) You make all the decisions and the war in Iraq is completely in your hands!... until Congress fires you. Also, there might be a time limit of 8 years because President Bush lasted for 2 presidential terms. You might want to win the war, but you also might want to simply take control of the country. I think a game with many options is more fun than a game where there is only one path to choose. (There's just one problem- I don't think I know enough of Computer Science to know how to program a game like that.) SKILL B1 Genre- Strategy Goal- Settle the war in Iraq. CORE MECHANICS The main obstacles of this game are the US Congress, the people of the United States, and the people of Iraq. You are the president, but presidents have limits too. The Congress may impeach you, or get rid of you. The people of the US may take a side and even might overthrow you. The people of Iraq are the people you are trying to defeat or calm. The pawns on the screen will probably the people, Iraqi or US. They represent a number of people because it is impossible for a screen to fit all of the people in it. There might be some cartoonic violence There will probably be some chance programmed into the game. There might be a chance of the country rebelling on this turn, a fight in another turn, etc. (I don't really understand how the computer uses chance, though.) If you are lucky, the game will go smoothly, but if you're not, well, you will probably lose. The game will incorporate money, from donations or loans. The money is used to hire people to be on your side. That adds some more strategy into the game because you have to be wise about when and where you use your money.