Joleyne-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.

I think I can solve the design brief's problem by making a serious game on Gamestar Mechanic. It would be accessible to the members of Gamestar Mechanics only. In order to make it serious I will relate it to my issue, which is Darfur. I will have a game where there is many enemies surrounding the players avatar representing an innocent person in the Darfur region of Sudan and all the enemies will be the janjaweed men. It will represent the struggle that the people in Darfur have to go through everyday just to get by. There will be multiple levels so the player does not get bored.In each level it will get harder, challenging the player to keep trying, feeling the pain and distress people in Darfur go through. The goal of the game is to beat all the enemies, grab the key and get to the goal block. The game will for sure be winnable because even though I want the player to feel the distress, I don't want them to feel to distressed. It will be medium paced because if its too fast paced, it may seem to easy.

​Core Mechanics :

Some core mechanics I'm going to need for this game are a computer, characters/avatars, and a narrative plot. I will need a computer to log into Gamestar Mechanics in order to make the game, I will need characters and avatars so the player can have something to control in the game and I will need a narrative plot because there has to be a theme in the game. To go deeper into detail, I will need a background, enemies, a goal block, and maybe points. All these things go deeper into detail because there part of the narrative plot development.

2. A Serious Game Mod for an Exisiting Boardgame that follows the design brief.

I think I can make a boardgame that relates to a serious game by making a game where there are many obstacles that almost can not be avoided. For example, a space on the board might say " Your house was just blown up, go back 3 spaces" to represent how set back the people in Darfur are from this incident. There would only be a few spaces that are positive since not that many positive events happen in Darfur. This game can be related to the games like Candyland where you may be set back a few spaces, leading you away form the goal spot.

​Core Mechanics: Some core mechanics I am going to need are a big piece of construction paper, markers or colored pencils, pieces( a character ), more paper, and a dice. I will have a rules paper so the player will know what to do. The construction paper will serve as the board and the other paper will serve as the cards. The markers and coloered will be used to decorate the board and the cards.

3. A Serious Game -- Free Choice that follows the design brief.

I think a serious game can be made into a card game. The game can be similar to the card game "I Declare War". But in this game you can cheat just like the janjuweed in Darfur. You can form alliances or work solo. You can peek over at other peoples cards when there not looking or do whatever may please your sneaky needs!!!! :D The game wil be challenging because you have to create snaky ways to cheat off the other players. The game can be winnable because whoever runs out of the most cards will win and the the game will continue.

​Core Mechanics: A core mechanic I am going to need is a deck of cards. Without them, the game can't be played. Also I am going to need some paper to write the rules down ( well actually, in a way they are no rules. But I should write them anyway.) Another core mechanic is the amount of players that can play which is 5 players. If there anymore, the game may not be winnable. ​