NoelS-Game-Hyphen-Game-Design


 * 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. If I was to make a serious game using Gamestar, I would make sure the heroes would be related to my issue. Each hero would have the same amount of health, but at the beginning of each level, the player will be given a new hero with a special talent that will help them complete the issue. That will determine their amount of strength and speed. At the same time, the obstacles that will prevent the player form completing the mission will multiply in number, strength and speed. Even though the speed and strength of the hero does increase, as well, it will still make the player think. There will special blocks to avoid so that the player avoids falling and some enemies had to be avoided until a hero came along that was strong enough to defeat that enemy. It will be challenging because the obstacles will disappear or even telaport at times, so the player will really have to pay attention to the amount of time they disappear. This game is definitely winnable because there will be many directions that are purposely put to follow to make it to each level, but some are tough to find. I might even put a way to go through the level without even getting touched but that will be VERY hard to find. The goal of this Gamestar game is simple: save the earth from being flooded.

Core Mechanics The serious game using Gamestar Mechanics is quite simple, but unrealistic. Global warming is happening and you need to save the earth. The only reason global warming is happening because of mutants (enemies). They multiply and they are rising the temperature. Your job is to get past each level and kill the mutants with the powers that your hero has in that level. The goal is to kill all of the mutants and get the keys to unlock the secrets to new special skills to help you win. There really aren't any rules except win at all costs. There are no territories and the enemies can move and disappear occasionaly. And, if possible, so can the obstacle blocks.

2. If I could modify and existing game to make it relate to my issue, I would choose Monopoly. I would choose that game because it has a lot to do with money and thinking before actions which is exactly what is going on in the real world. But to change it,i would have to change the purpose. I would have the same amount of players and all money would be split equally. They would choose a presdient on a card and they would start of from the beginning, as always. Once each person rolls the dice and move the amount of spaces, they would pick up a card that says something about the economy and they would have to make a choice. One option would cost little money, but make global warming worse. The other option won't, but it's a bit more expensive. What is their choice? By interviewing people, I could mod the game so that those who pick the cheap way will suffer the consequences. It will be quite tough, but the goal of the game is to make the decision of helping the environment. Even though it's a bit more expensive, I will alter the game so that those who make the right choices will but lose money, but earn more by their choice. Just in case, more people will make the environmental choices, the decisions will get harder to choose, but there can be more than one winner in the game. The goal is simply making the right choices to help this world. There is no pace in this game, but there is a lot of strategy involved.

Core Mechanics You are a president and global warming is striking the world. For your country alone, you must decide what is best. This game deals with making fanancial and enviornmental choices. The goal is to save your country from global warming without go broke, or worse, bankrupt. In this game, there is no such thing as "I don't know" or both end of the deal. It's yes or no. There are no moving parts since it's a board game and you are to stick to the territory you are given unless you are negotioating with other places on the issue.

3. For a Free Choice game, I have so many ideas, but I would choose a video game because it so realistic and it influences people a lot and affects their way of thinking. My game would start out with the global warming crisis. The player will be a scientist who is sent to the president for special missions. The world will be completely flooded in a certain number of years and the player will be sent to a place in the world for a month to change the way that they think and how they use their fossil fuels. If you do well enough and persuade enough people, the people will spread it around the continent, but if you do a bad job, you will have to go to every individual place until your persuasion picks back up. As you do better, your strength and your speed will increase, but the levels will get harder because as you go to more places, the amount of pollution will be bigger, so the persuasion will be harder. There will be a calender and if your time runs out, you will automatically be sent to the White House and after 3 tries, your dead from the flood. Now, there will be a mixture of discussion and actions for persuasion. Since the player is a scientist, you are given certain talents. So the player will make demonstrations, but the player will also have to knock down buildings and destroy cars and replace them with alternatives. The more alternatives you plant, the more the temperature will drop. The goal is to simply save the planet.

Core Mechanics You are a scientist at NASA andd you are being set on various missions around the world by the persident to persuade people to stop hurting the enviornment. The goal is to simply save the planet before the earth gets flooded. The rules are simply, persuade people in a managable time because, even in the real world, time is running out and we only have but so much left. You are the only moving part. There are no obstacles and the challenges of moving to people territories is that you must blend in for people to listen and not stick out like a sore thumb