Game Idea 2

Overview:

It would be a collection of 5-10 minute minigames based on real disasters such as, hurricane Katrina, Tohoku earthquake, Eyjafjallajokull eruption which will be designed as an interactive textbook to assist teaching GCSE Geography students (12-16 years old). These mini games will teach, causes, impacts, and responses through gameplay where a perfect success is impossible due to realistic constraints.

Gamifying the theme:

• I was inspired by Sporkware which is a series microgames each with unique mechanics and systems but are tied together by a consistent visual style
• The core gameplay loop would be something like this: Context intro →player response → constraint reveal → impact visualization → reflection on historic event
• This game would follow the pedagogical educational framework where students learn through doing and failing rather than passive reading. By introducing the impossible 100% success rate it helps to develop system thinking and risk management.
• Turning a disaster into a mechanic:
  • Katrina: resource allocation vs time & budget. Highlights the major human impact that occurred during this disaster.
  • Tohoku: Early warning system (countdown) vs densely populated cities.
  • Eyjafjallajokull: Air traffic control re-routing from ash.

Ethical framework:

• Using real disasters requires a degree of sensitivity. By focusing on the systemic lessons and not focusing on individual suffering, and showcasing the community’s resilience against the destruction frames the disaster as a learning opportunity and not just another tragedy.

Critical analysis:

• BBC bitesize planet planner fails to capture the players emotional attention due to the game feeling like a quiz. The lack of agency, options to skip text, lack of depth for GCSE students makes this concept full of gaps to improve upon. In my concept I address these issues by ensuring there is genuine decision making with trade offs, failure as a pedagogy, and deeper GCSE aligned content.

Moodboards:

• Before choosing a visual identity I evaluated 9 different art categories: pixel, hand drawn, cartoon, realism, low poly, cel-shaded, flat, monochrome, desktop/OS simulation.
• Out of these categories I choose cartoon/flat. This was to ensure clarity with visuals, to be age and genre appropriate, emotional balance to ensure the game has a serious tone yet still childish.

Link To Moodboard

Genre:

• The game in nature is educational so the target audience will be educational institutes, and as such it will be labeled an educational game.

Production: 

• For the development of this game we would need a multitude of skills: A designer, content developer (Educated on the subjects), sound designer, and a programmer. The team would need to be larger than game idea 1 due to the institutional quality standards.
• With my background in environmental geoscience I can provide the content knowledge, but for any complex scenarios an educator would be necessary.