Category: Week 1: Game design

250 facts and figures

Continuing from my research into games to promote change I came across a book I had picked up a year ago called 250 facts and figures. Each page contains a different fact or figure about the world in 2017 from facts about climate change to inequality and healthcare. This is a great resource for flicking through to discover something that interests me, and I feel passionate about.

The following are the 5 facts that caught my attention.

1. 80% of epileptics live in low and middle income countries, with 75% of those people not receiving treatment.
2. 47,000,000 people live with dementia
3. Corruption, bribery, theft and tax evasion costs $1.26 trillion for developing countries.
4. Over 60,000,000 people were displaced from their homes worldwide due to conflict in 2016.
5. 6 times as many people die from pollution a year than from malaria and 4 times as many than HIV/AIDs.

Each one of these could be a great starting point for a game, however I am not currently sure which one I should pick. In order to quickly come up with ideas I will spend 5 minutes creating mind maps of game ideas for each one and I will then evaluate the ideas to work out which ones will create the best concepts.

Epilepsy in low-mid income countries

47,000,000 people living with dementia

Corruption, bribery and tax evasion in developing countries

60,000,000 people displaced due to conflict in 2016

Deaths by pollution

Review of ideas

These mindmaps, what I call “no judgment mindmaps” are created rapidly and without critiquing or judgement of the ideas. Now come the part where I re-read and critique the ideas and see which ones I think I can turn into concepts.

Immediately when I start reading through these ideas there are a few that jump out as being both interesting and feasible. I narrowed the ideas down further to these top 5 game ideas:

1. Corruption – Divert money and resources where it needs to go in order to stop corruption and benefit your community.
2. Corruption – Run for government: help your community through legislation that stops corruption.
3. Pollution – Grow your tree/park/forest to reduce pollution and clean the city.
4. Pollution – Show pollution in your environment through AR/VR
5. Epilepsy – deliver medication to those in need in rural developing countries.

These ideas are all really interesting to me and whilst I have no idea where they might go, what platform or form they will be I feel having a strong concept will enable the right path to reveal itself in the coming days. My initial favorite idea is the pollution game where you grow trees/parks/forests etc. to clean your city as I feel this game could be an interesting relaxation style game that is in contrast to the busy nature of our everyday lives.

…more to come on this!

My initial thoughts for this individual project was to channel my interest in sustainability and real-world problems into a game in order to promote change. Choosing a topic that I am passionate about to bring to life in a game will tackle the problem through greater publicity, interaction and a higher level of empathy and understanding.

In order to begin research I needed to look at what was already being developed along these lines. In recent years we have seen an increase in games that tackle social issues including the high acclaimed Papers, Please, a game about ethical decision making in a fictional communist country during the Cold War. Below are a few other examples.

After days – based on the story of the 2016 Nepal earthquake where you are tasked with rescuing survivors.

My Child Lebensborn – a story-driven nurture game about the child of an enemy soldier growing up in post WW2 Norway.

Ayiti: the cost of life – A human rights game in which the player is a young, poverty-stricken child in Haiti.

Darfur is dying – Missions task players with foraging for water while outrunning the militia, as well as experiences daily life in a refugee camp.

The migrant trail – players assume two roles: a migrant and a patrol agent to teach themes of empathy through simple role-play.

Nightmare: malaria – This is a social awareness game about malaria which features facts about malaria and how simple solutions, like nets, can save lives.

Games for change & social themes

An American initiative called Games for Change has been setup as a competition and support network to promote young students to create games around key social issues. By providing support, tuition and inspiration young students are helped to tackle the following social issues.

15 social impact themes:

• Automated communities 2050
• Endangered species
• Disrupt aging: implications of living 100
• Envision gender equity, diversity and inclusion
• Wildlife conservation
• Connected cities
• News literacy
• Kindness and empathy
• Future communities
• Climate change
• Local stories and immigrant voices
• Smart cities
• Animal welfare
• Civic journalism
• Literacy
• Youth justice

These themes are a great place for me to start researching and a place to take inspiration from. These are all key issue in our society and designing and creating a game around one of these will be both challenging but exciting for me to undertake.

The next step in this process is to research and define a few issues that I feel passionate about exploring and coming up with ideas of how to solve them in the form of a game.

This research continues from the introduction to this week’s work where I explore the following questions:

• What sort of game am I interested in making and what games are currently out there?
• Is there anything that currently inspires me? A game, a genre, a method of creating the game? Something outside of the gaming industry? What makes me interested?
• What tools/ software will I need to prototype and create a game?

What games are out there? Which ones interest me?

In order to start research for this individual design and development project I needed to inspire myself by exploring what games are currently out there. In order to do this, I looked through an article on the best iOS games currently available (as of Feb 2019). Below are some of those that caught my attention and intrigued me.

Dark Echo:

What is this game?

Trapped in darkness, you visualise your surroundings by reflecting the sounds you make off surfaces. However, these sounds also attract things you’d rather avoid.

Why did it interest me?

The concept of this game really intrigued me as it is original in the mobile-horror game genre. The simple concept bought to life in a graphical art style really speaks to me as well. I do like indie games especially top-down and side-scrollers which makes this game of interest to me. My game will have to be simple and clear like this in order to be feasible in the 12 weeks.

Florence:

What is this game?

This ‘experience’ game explores a young woman’s first experiences of love, from falling in love to eventually drifting apart.

Why did it interest me?

For me the idea of this interactive story really grabs my attention. The different ways the user interacts and therefore moves the story along and learns more is a great way for the user to play this game. The hand-drawn art style is one that immediately makes me think of a child’s storybook, but with added immersive features. I like the idea of a creating an ‘experience’ game like this and it is something I will research further.

Inside:

What is this game?

It borrows Limbo’s aesthetic, and never holds back on creepy tantalising tension that’ll keep you playing. With incredible ambient storytelling and a gripping ending, Inside is a truly immersive game.

Why did it interest me?

Having previously played this game I thoroughly enjoyed the depth and beauty of the graphics. But what drew me to this game was the ease of storytelling, with nothing but art, sound and gameplay. The simplicity of the idea, but with a rich and complex story sets this apart from many mobile games.

Alto’s Odyssey:

What is this game?

From snowy mountains to majestic desert. Whether its sandboarding past snapping vines, rushing inside the tempest zone, or windy tornadoes, this infinite runner provides you with endless backdrop of stunning visual content.

Why did it interest me?

Many endless runners end up losing my attention within a couple of minutes. However, the attention to detail in Alto’s Odyssey as well as the simple gestures and one-touch controls make this game more appealing. Whilst I do not want to make an endless runner style game, I like the way Alto’s Odyssey takes a popular genre and brings something new to the table.

Old Man’s Journey:

What is this game?

Old man’s journey sets out to tell a very specific story about life choices we make (or don’t make). You follow the titular old man as he travels across the country, aiding him along the way by altering the hills and landscapes in front of him and interacting with the objects and people he meets.

Why did it interest me?

Hand-drawn art and animations means that your attention never diverts from the story. I love the way this game feels like a classic physical animation with the layering of scenery and objects. The sound in this game sets it apart from others once again and adds to the story and art style. Whilst there is no set goal, the experience and journey are what makes this game so special. This complexity of emotions that you feel whilst accompanying the Old man on his journey brings a new dynamic, and speed, to the mobile gaming world.

Prune:

What is this game?

By swiping your finger, you get to grow your own tree under the sunlight and care for it as it grows. You’ll get to trim branches and watch flowers bloom, while also protecting it from poison. As you excel throughout the game, you’ll be exposed to pollution and be able to grow more trees. As the levels become more intense, as do the trees which start to grow to a much larger size as their branches begin to twist and intertwine.

Why did it interest me?

Prune’s pared back graphic visuals and simple gameplay put the player at the centre of the game. The game is otherwise dark with clever usage of colour, and sound & music cues that inform you of what’s going on. There’s no dialog in the game, but the story and point of the experience becomes steadily clear as you play it. This is what makes this game so interesting as it’s the focus on gameplay and the experience over the developer’s ability to create a complex game.

Conclusion:

Each of these games has different aspects that make them intriguing or inspiring for me going forward. Further research games design through looking into student work or indie games groups will also allow me to explore games from another standpoint. I will also need to research a topic or genre that will inform my decision as to what my game should be about.

Individual design and development project

My aims

Having never undertaken any game design projects so far, and only really designed a few concepts during this course so far, I am really looking forward to getting stuck in.

My aim during this module is to employ and improve design skills such as user testing, experience design and iterative development, as well as learn the technical skills necessary to develop an app.

Along the way I will be running self-initiated tasks and projects in order to improve specific skills and expand my knowledge of the industry.

1. Daily UI: I will be attempting the daily UI challenge which sets you a new concept, page or feature to design and mock-up each day for 100 days. I will be running this challenge throughout this semester alongside the module work in order to improve speed and confidence with creating app prototypes.
2. Programming: Depending on my research over the coming days I will be undertaking courses and tutorials on a programming language in order to bring my game concept to life. Last module I started to learn Swift, so that may be a good option to explore.
3. UX: Last module I explore user experience methods that are applicable to app development. This module I will continue this exploration but with a view to implement them throughout my design process.

Initial thoughts

A few initial thoughts included:

• What sort of game am I interested in making and what games are currently out there?
• Is there anything that currently inspires me? A game, a genre, a method of creating the game? Something outside of the gaming industry? What makes me interested?
• What tools/ software will I need to prototype and create a game?

These questions will be the focus of my research this week in order to form a greater understanding of where this project may start, and the tools needed to undertake this.

To conclude, I am going to be focussing on process and design this module. In relation to my career goals which is more focussed on user experience and interface rather than development itself. Whilst I will be exploring the development stages through this process I will be looking to practise and employ my UX research and testing skills as well as creative thinking that are my strongest skills. However, I see this as a chance to explore and push myself beyond what I am strong at and try new things. This may be a good chance to explore new possibilities and ideas in a new medium.