Marcos's+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. A Serious Game Using Gamestar Mechanic that follows the design brief.

In order to create a game using gamestar mchanic dealing with the issue about the drug wars we would have to take into consideration the type of sprites used in the game. I would try to reconstruct a ctiy like struucture and in it would be the bad guys who symbolize the drug dealers. The big enemies symbolize the powerfull drug dealers. The points symbolize the money. What you would have to do is get the money made by the drug dealers back, discover their hideout, and find the leader and incapacitate him. 2. A Serious Game t back all Mod for an Exisiting Boardgame that follows the design brief. The boardgame would be like this:Two players would play as the drug dealers, while two players would be the police. Each player would roll the dice and try to make it to the end of the game with their partners. The objective is to get enough evidence to catch the drug dealers, or if you are playing as the drug dealer, get the right materials to get the cops out of your trail. Each team has a separate space on the board, a different starting spot, and a different pile of effect cards.

3. A Serious Game -- Free Choice that follows the design brief. I would make it a one on one verse game in which you and your opponent would draw cards which would have an effect on your opponent. The cards that you draw can be good or bad. Each player has a separate deck of cards to use against their opponent. You win by making it to the end of your path first.

The core mechancs that I would use would be as listed: Narrative- this is a great mechanic to use. I can use narrative to explain what is going on during the time period, and what you have to do. Symbolism- sybolism works great with a narrative. Sprites would represent drug dealers, guards, and hired henchmen. While avatars would repesent police officers, soldiers, or news reporters. Points would represent money. I would also use different kinds of structures for my game design. Houses could be represented through different structues of blocks. Also the backround would have to fit the story.