Category: Game Design Studio 2

Was it fun? Yes, it was still fun despite it being very unfair

What were the player interactions? Players would land on each other’s properties and pay rent. In my case some of my opponents were paying me to buy properties for them since I would land on properties that they wanted.

How long did it take to learn? Did not take too long since it was the same as the original game with a few different rules per player.

Would you play it again? Yes, I would play it again

Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. 1 – Players roll the dice to see what character they get and they see what type of rules they have for that character. 2 – Players start to buy properties and collect rent when opponents land on their properties. 3- Players start to run out of money.

What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Players exchange properties and compeate to collect the most properties and end up with the most money.

What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? The game’s metaphor is that life isn’t always fair or equal. The rules for each character I thought were very unique because it made the tradional game a lot more challenging rather than just the simple boring game.

• What advergames have you played? did they influence a purchase?
  • I don’t think I have ever see or played any advergames personally, besides the ones that were showed in class. From what I have seen the games haven’t made me want to buy the products anymore than before.

• Why do the advergames tooth protector and escape work? What makes chase the chuckwagon and shark bait fail?
  • The reason that Tooth Protector and Escape worked is because they had a strong sense of realism and graphics. On the other hand Chuckwagon and Shark Bait both had very poor graphics and left the audience nothing to relate to.

• What does volvo’s drive for life accomplish? 
• Stress the importance of safety to drivers and educate them.

• What company used in-advergame advertising?
  • Walmart, IKEA, Lego, McDonald’s, and M&M’s. 
    
• What was one if the first home-console advergames and what beverage was it for? 
  • Kool-Aid man, for Atari VCS

• What makes the toilet training game sophisticated and do you agree?
  • The game was sophisticated because it was described as “strange attractor that draws and repels the players curser to mimic a lack of control.” In one sense I agree, in another sense I think it is dumb because who would call something like this sophisticated.

• What do advergames and anti-advergames have in common, and what principles do they share?
  • Advergames and anti-advergames both use interactive digital games to engage players, but for different purposes. Advergames promote products or brands, while anti-advergames challenge advertising and consumer culture. Both rely on entertainment to keep the players interested. Advergames target specific audiences aiming at potential consumers. Both types also encourage players to think about the influence of advertising.

I have only played or remember playing one Advergame. It was the minion rush game promoting dispicable me 2 or 3. it was a fun game it was pretty much subway surfer but reskinned. It did not however make me wanna watch the movie. The app is no longer on my phone and i forgot about the movie. so this game did not work on me but I can see it working for the younger kids at the time. Tooth Protector worked so well because they made it to where eating snacks was not a bad thing, it was human nature. Too much snacking however can lead to tooth decay. Escape worked to well because it makes the player aware of the quotidian tribulations that would cause such a need in the first place, and then uses search-engine optimization to get the game into the hands of people likely to be suffering from those tribulations. The game not only musters a procedural rhetoric of burdensome coercion, but it actually turns that rhetoric inside out, encasing the game inside the very experience chat reveals it. Chace the Chuck wagon and Shark bait failed due to a combination of poor marketing, lack of appeal, and technical or gameplay shortcomings. Volvo’s Drive for Life initiative was a safety awareness campaign aimed at educating drivers about road safety and reducing traffic-related fatalities. It aligned with Volvo’s long-standing reputation for prioritizing vehicle safety. Some brands that used in-advergame advertising were Coca-Cola – Featured their products and branding in games like The Sims and FarmVille. McDonalds – Included branding in various mobile and online games, often as part of promotional campaigns targeting younger audiences. Pepsi – Released their own game, Pepsi Invaders, and included in-game ads in racing and sports games. Nike – Integrated ads into sports games like the FIFA and NBA 2K series, featuring virtual gear and branding. Burger King – Created the Sneak King game for Xbox as part of a promotional campaign, incorporating the brand directly into gameplay. Red Bull – Frequently features in extreme sports games and racing games, aligning with their brands energetic image. General Motors – Showcased their vehicles in racing games like Gran Turismo and Forza. One of the first home-console advergames was Pepsi Invaders (1983), which was created for the Atari 2600. It was developed by Coca-Cola as a promotional game to target its competitor, Pepsi. The game was essentially a modified version of Space Invaders, where players shot down the letters spelling PEPSI instead of traditional alien enemies. It was never sold commercially but was distributed in limited quantities to Coca-Cola employees, making it one of the earliest examples of a home-console advergame. The Toilet Training game, developed as an educational tool, is considered sophisticated due to its use of behavioral psychology principles, interactive learning, and gamification to reinforce toilet training in young children. Do I agree? Yes, to an extent. If the game effectively applies these psychological and educational principles, it can be a helpful tool for parents. However, its sophistication depends on the execution. some toilet training games may be too simplistic or gimmicky to truly make a difference. Traditional methods combined with digital tools may offer the best results. Advergames and anti-advergames both use interactive engagement, persuasive messaging, and gamification to shape player perceptions and behaviors. They create emotional connections through immersive experiences, whether by reinforcing positive brand associations or using satire to critique corporate practices. Both rely on persuasion theory, narrative framing, and user experience design to ensure their messages are compelling and memorable. Cultural awareness is key, as anti-advergames often challenge the same consumerist behaviors that advergames promote. While advergames aim to enhance brand perception and drive sales, anti-advergames seek to expose corporate manipulation, yet both showcase the power of interactive media in influencing public opinion.

5 Persuasive Game Ideas:

1. “Polluted” (Awareness to polluted oceans effects on wildlife)

Players start the game by learning about various sea creatures and how they live in their natural world. From whales to sea turtles and even to nudibranchs, this game gives players the full experience of the complexities of survival in the sea. However, after players learn about these animals and grow attached to their stories, the factor of humans comes into play. Now, players start to see how these various species’ environments are tainted with garbage and waste and how it affects the animals.

Mechanics: (Intended to be played as a video game) When players begin the game, they are presented with multiple pictures of varying sea life. When they pick a photo, they are then walked through the natural day-to-day lives of the animals, such as how they eat/hunt, the environment they live in, and what they do to survive – such as if they must defend their territory, court each other for mates and migration patterns. After players “meet” the sea creature, the story will turn into a darker tale, expressing the alarming rate at which the oceans are polluted. It is now the player’s job to save trapped animals – such as if a turtle gets its head stuck in a jar. The player also must adapt to what it truly means to reduce, reuse, and recycle. The game can only then be “won” once there is a significant impact on how the environment in the ocean is supposed to be.

• “Follow the Stars” (Awareness of light pollution)

 Years ago, humans used to use the stars as a form of navigation. Now, we see GPS as our primary tool for finding where we need to go.  “Follow the stars” brings a twist to this modern ability by forcing players to find ways to turn off lights in a big city so that they can begin to see a clear night sky again.

Mechanics: (intended to be a video game/app) Players are given a paper that says (e.g.) “Follow the north star and then the smallest tip on the little dipper, and you will find where we are meant to meet.” However, players will notice that the sky above them makes it impossible to view the stars. As they begin their journey, players will point and click to turn off streetlights, apartment building lights, and signage to get a clearer view of the sky. Only after players turn off 4-5 light sources can they begin to journey forward into the night.

• “Nostalgia” (Awareness of the need to appreciate items and reuse them)

Have you ever had an item, like a radio blanket or even a T-shirt, that worked just fine as it did years ago when you bought it, but now you are older, and it feels like it’s time for a new one? “Nostalgia” is a game where players are given a box of old items from their attic when they move out, and they must find a new purpose for the items without throwing the items away.

Mechanics: (Intended to be a video game) Players receive the box of items from their dad when they finish moving out, as it is the last box, and most of the other boxes have been moved and unpacked in their new place; this box feels useless but super nostalgic. Players will begin by digging all 10 items out of the box and reading about what they are and what they were used for. For example, it may say, “Your old Sony Walkman. It has seen better days; it’s a little dented. Has a cassette tape of the band Tears for Fears inside.” Players then must decide how they will either reuse the item or reflect on the item’s value and worth. An example of how that can be done is through options given to the players. “You decide to keep the Walkman, as it is an iconic piece of technology, though it is outdated for its time, it is worthy of the collection.” But players can also decide to completely reuse the item. “You decided your old Mickey Mouse blanket no longer fit your style. You decided to donate it to an animal shelter, so the cats and dogs had something comfortable to sleep on.”

• “The length of my chain” (Awareness of the lives of dogs kept outside on chains)

Charlie was a good dog, at least he thought he was after he was adopted by a family. But not long after he turned a year old, he began getting restless when his owners would leave him unattended inside for hours on end daily. He would get into chewing the couch up, peeing on the floor by the front door, and drinking out of the toilet, getting water all over the bathroom floor.  Once his owners came home, they punished him by locking him outside, bound to a thick iron stake by a chain. He remained there for years, rain, snow, and the high heat of the summer. The only thing that changed was occasionally, the owners would come out and toss him scraps of steak and hotdogs, and they gave him a little hutch to sleep in. But Charlie didn’t know any better; he was just being a good dog.

Mechanics: (Intended to be a video game/app) Players start the game as a puppy version of Charlie. They can roll around and play with their siblings, and when the level is almost over, players are picked up by two big open arms – presenting them to their family. Then time moves on, happily as Charlie plays with his new family, sleeps in a nice warm bed, and eats delicious meals in a nice metal bowl with his name on it. Players play this level in an open world, with limitations to sleeping, playing, and eating as a puppy does. On the third level, Charlie is now a year old, and players can cause complete chaos, ripping up pillows, drinking from the toilet, and so on. On this level, players are given a bar that must be filled (called the “Mass destruction” bar) After the level is over, there’s a sound at the door, and Charlie’s family is home. The fourth and final level is broken down into ten nights, over multiple seasons and years. This time Charlie is chained up outside and each day/night cycle is about Charlie seeing the world by the limitations of his chain. Only receiving any form of love through a rare, occasional “treat” from the owners. Charlie will not live to be 16 like a dog usually does, as living out in the elements on a chain is no life at all.

• “Kintsugi” – Golden Joinery

(awareness of the little things in life and the imperfections that come along with living)

Kintsugi is the Japanese art of putting broken ceramics back together by using lacquer, bringing meaning to embracing imperfections and bringing visual beauty to imperfections. In this game, players are given various ceramic pieces, each having a special story about what it was used for and where it came from. It is the player’s task to fix the piece back to what it originally looked like. As players slowly piece the ceramic back together, they see flashbacks of the “life” the ceramic has lived.

Mechanics: Players own a self-redeemed “repair shop” in a small town. Every day, a customer comes and drops off a bag with a unique broken ceramic. As the game goes on, players will slowly repair broken ceramics, slowly also learning about each customer and the meaning of the ceramics in their lives.

monopoly

monopoly was a very fun concept. playing with the rules of different demographics like women and minorities really show how the world can be. of course it is not a one to one reconstruction of society but it still shows how different it is to live in todays society. having the white male be playing the game normally was really interesting.

McDonalds game

i loved how hard the game was and how much you need to pay attention really well. it really highlight how the business is run. the game play also forces you to make bad and unethical decisions like bribing politicians and health scientists. having it be almost impossible to do it ethically also helps highlight how corrupt the business is. the simplistic style is also a fun contrast to the game play and the message.

Chex Quest

i played Chex quest and as i played it it had nothing to do with Chex mix besides the characters being the different snacks in the mixes. the monsters rely had nothing to do with it and the weapon was a spoon and who eats Chex mix with a spoon. if it was cereal the spoon would make since. the game itself was kind of fun, it was pretty simplistic but their wasn’t a tutorial to tell me how to use the weapons or change weapons or how to open doors.

game ideas

1. the campaign trail – in this game you are a political running for and office. you pick who you are based on a bunch or random character cards, some have special bonuses and cons to them. you each start out with a certain amount of voters and spaces on the board can give you more voters. you will roll a 3 die and move that many place, some spots have bad outcomes. bad means a scandal came out about you and you will love voters or your opponent made a smear add about you and they take some of your voters. some spots will give you a chance to gain a monetary supporter and this lets you make more adds to give you multipliers to your voter gain each spot. you want the most voters by the end of the game.
2. echo chamber – Players start in a digital world where they are trapped inside an “Echo Chamber”—a metaphorical maze filled with distorted news, bias reinforcements, and cognitive dissonance puzzles. To escape, they must engage in debates with NPCs representing different viewpoints, critically analyze news sources, and identify misinformation.
3. the butterfly effect – Players make choices that impact the climate, economy, and society over multiple generations. The catch? They only see the long-term effects of their actions decades later. By playing through different scenarios—such as investing in green energy or ignoring climate policies—players witness how small decisions lead to massive societal shifts.
4. detox island – Players are stranded on an island with a nearly dead phone. They must decide whether to use its last battery for comfort (entertainment, messages) or survival (flashlight, emergency calls). The more they rely on it, the harder the game gets—losing awareness of their surroundings, getting lost, and missing crucial survival tools.
5. mirror heart – Players take on the role of someone navigating a complex relationship with a charming yet toxic partner. As time progresses, the dialogue choices and internal monologue change depending on how much emotional abuse the player tolerates. If they stay too long, their character begins mirroring the toxic behaviors, making it harder to recognize reality.

reading questions

1. what advergames have you played? did they influence a purchase? I have never really played an advert game myself but the ones i have seen have never made me want to buy the product, if anything it has made me just laugh at the stupidity of the game.
2. why do the advergames tooth protector and escape work? What makes chase the chuckwagon and shark bait fail? tooth protector and escape show a cause and effect, they aren’t just a game, they really show how their products can be used and how they work in real life. they make sense for the product and how people would realistically come in contact with them.
3. what does Volvo’s drive for life accomplish?  this game accomplishes a way to show a real reason that safety features are important and how hey actually work. it also shows a more real life mundane aspect of driving and not the over the top depictions in other games about driving.
4. what company used in-advergame advertising  stow and go challenge
5. what was one if the first home-console advergames and what beverage was it for?  the Kool-Aid man on the Atari for the Kool aid beverage.