Creating own video game
Summary: For this assignment, you are going to take an important issue or problems and theory-craft a video game that expresses your stance or opinion on that issue or problem.
Specifics:
Part I. Planning
Choose an issue or problem that you want to deal with. This should be something you are familiar with and that you feel at least somewhat qualified to speak on, or that you are comfortable researching.
Part II. Create Your Game!
Define your game. What is the genre of the game?
Define your message. What is the message of your game?
Define your players
Who is the player? (Themselves, or a predefined character your have created?)
How many players (single or multi-player)
Online or not?
Define the purpose of your game.
Why are the players playing?
What do they aim to do?
What is the win condition of the game (i.e., how do your players win or complete the game)? This purpose should be tied in somehow with the issue you want to address. For example:
“In my game, High Rise Robbery, the aim is to become the CEO of Robert’s Industries.”
Define the mechanics of your game. What kinds of things do the players do in order to play the game? Some examples might include:
Climbing
Jumping
Exploring the map
Giving presents to NPCs
Talking with NPCs
Shooting at things
Use your imagination!
Decide which are default skills/actions/abilities and which, if any, are learned or leveled up over time, and what that means. (Remember that these mechanics should be tied into the issue or problem that you are addressing.)
Define the rules of your game.
How does the simulation respond when the player uses the various mechanics in the game? Define these responses for every mechanic.
Create an example scenario that describes a player-simulation interaction that exemplifies and gets across the feel and message of your game. This scenario should explicitly discuss how it aims to get across the message of your game.
Create an introductory essay that tells your audience about the issue you are tackling, the game itself, and what you want you game to convey to your audience/players.
Part III. Create Your Presentation. Gather up all your work into a single document. The document should be constructed as follows:
Page 1 – Introductory Essay
Page 2 – Explanation of players (who they are and how many), how they will play (online, etc),a and why you made those decisions. This should not be terribly long (about 100-150 words?)
An explanation of the purpose of your game, what the players are doing, and how the game is won/completed. This should include an explanation of how this times in with your issue/problem.
Page 3 – A list of all of your mechanics with a brief description of each (what the player does when they use the mechanic.
Page 4 – The rules of your game—a brief statement of what they are and an explanation of each of them.
Page 5 – A description of an exemplary scenario that illustrates how the mechanics and rules work together.
Page 6 – A personal reflection on video games as a medium of expression. (This is very free form, but can include things like what you think the strengths/drawbacks of games are as a form of expression, your thoughts about the ways that games convey meaning, and what (if any) kinds of things games might be best suited to explore (wand why).
Technicalities: Times New Roman or Arial font, default margins, 12 pt font.
