Premise: Using the prototyping process prevalent through games industry and applying it to serious games.
Definition of "Engage": to attract and hold fast
Definition of "Metaphor": using game mechanics to express your theme
Presented a game called The Unconcerned, based on Iran post-election riots. Purpose is to convey empathy with Iranian people, informing others about the political/social situation through engaging gameplay.
(He's really talking too fast, but we suspect it's because the presenters are squeezing hour presentations into about 30 minutes.)
Why do prototyping and iteration? To quickly get the information you need for creative decisions.
There are different prototype axes:
- experiment (test) vs. exploratory (generate ideas))
- aesthetic vs. mechanic (rules of game) vs. both (try to avoid]
The thematic statement
- Use it to clarify the core message of the game
- It is not a pitch statement, only for you
- The Unconcerned thematic statement - "Only by looking to everyone as individuals can we move past group/systemic struggles and save ourselves"
Prototype tips
- Fail fast - use short prototype cycles
- Build it to throw away
- Constraints stimulate creativity
- Don't develop story
Pitfalls
- Produces simple mechanics - not thematically deep
- Can prototype gameplay that will never work in functional context
- Making wrong prototype - reject mechanics that would work
Want to avoid aesthetic prototypes but still need to evaluate scale, speed, and timing. The look of the game needs to be representative but lo-fi. Visual feedback must be easy to distinguish in serious games.
Mechanic prototypes/gameplay development must have clear player goals, give feedback on progress, and player feedback on available actions (what actions can they take to achieve goals, how effective will those actions be?).
Serious game mechanics - metaphorical mechanics fail when...
- simplistic mechanics - can trivialize the subject
- over-generalized - applies a stereotype
- mismatched - conveys additional unwanted elements
- poorly skinned - slapped on existing game
- used in repetitive context - also trivializes
The Unconcerned game play prototyping
- interleave engaging with serious elements
- analyze mechanics
Gave a prototype case study of the gameplay mechanic of finding daughter
- goal relatively clear
- effects of asking not clear w/ randomization
- more clear/less random makes it over-generalized
- results not what wanted
Went through various examples of using prototyping in The Unconcerned. Flying through the complexities of the prototyping tradeoffs, but basic idea is using prototyping to develop gameplay mechanics that ensures rules of serious games mechanics do not fail.
Collected wisdom
- understand purpose of prototype
- thematic statement focuses decisions
- refine feedback of player goals, progress, and actions
- avoid oversimplified (list of serious games mechanics)
- learn and fail fast
More information:
Game site: http://plushapocalypse.com/theunconcerned
Blog: http://plushapocalypse.com/borut
