- Harvesting Hope – a game bringing awareness to food insecurity. Players would choose a limited amount of occupations at the beginning that would determine income level. Players are given limited hours in the day to work and focus on other tasks such as gardening. Players must choose where to spend their money – food, rent, or medicine.
- Climate Change – An input game where users would choose different options (like cards against calamity or bitlife). The whole world is at their fingertips, they just have to decide how to treat it. The world gradually becomes more inhabited, challenging players with real life challenges
- Cycles- Players would compete to make the post profit. They would need to juggle managing resources, warehouses, distribution, and sales to successfully run their production. How will you react when the supply chain breaks?
- GreenDay – (alternate reality game) The earth is filled with so much waste – live at least one week without any waste. Record how you reuse, recycle, and avoid adding to the landfills. Bonus points if you repurpose!
- Grammy’s – Be the grandma of the family. Your responsibility is to bring the family together and avoid family drama. Guide conversation, bring the humor, and make good food. Will you hold the family together?
Persuasive Game Ideas- Colin Kenny
- A side-scrolling 2D platforming game like Super Mario Bros. where you play as an underprivileged person in an area going through war right now such as Ukraine or Palestine where your goal is to avoid being bombed or shot.
- The Faux News Game: Similar to the McDonald’s Game, tycoon style game where you build up your station and get rewarded for spreading “news” (hate. violence, endorsement of a certain orange political candidate).
- Funny Cards: A card/video game that explores the legitimacy of tarot, fortune telling, palm reading and more. For example, you go see a fortune teller and they pull the 2 of Krakens or something and them all of a sudden water fills the fortune teller shop and you have to try and get out alive before krakens appear and eat you. Or, if you do die it was all a dream or it didn’t happen at all. Or the card did nothing at all in the first place.
- Help Our Guy: You play as a large corporation, and your goal is to help your childhood best friend become president, but the game gets more unhinged as it becomes clear his policies are just purely evil but he promises to keep your business alive, and it’s just this tug-of-war of lobbying where no one really wins in the end.
- A board game where you and your opponents work in competing sweat shops making products like crappy clothing and cheap smart phones and you have to become the most productive without overworking yourself and literally dying.
Mind-changing Game Ideas
- Helper’s Hand – A game to encourage volunteering. Players would gather resources and support to target a cause (hunger, elderly, homelessness). Each cause has puzzle-like requirements to tackle it. Once you have tackled the problem, you get a helpers hand badge. There is no winner based on money, resources, etc.
- An attention span game. It would be a mobile game that would have daily challenges that would successively challenge the users attention span. The goal of the game is to lengthen user’s attention spans and offering an alternative to doom scrolling.
- FOMO: a travel game that sets makes a list of destinations and experiences on your trip that are not as well known. The purpose of this game would be to encourage people experience travel genuinely and show the beauty in locations that aren’t viral or trending.
- Algorithm game: a game where players get to control what is on a npc’s phone. There goal is to gradually shift them from their original feed to goal product. They would do this by choosing what posts or reels the sim sees without losing their attention. If the next post is too much of a jump or has information that insults the sim, the player loses and does their product does not get onto the feed.
- Recycling day: a game to bring attention to the different types of toxins in everyday materials. Users would essentially “collect” toxins on their app by scanning in something they encounter (tupperware, trash can, tin foil) and the app would give them info on it and a toxin to collect.
Endless Game Ideas- Colin Kenny
Group: Gideon, Kelsey, Colin
- A computer game where you play as a drop of water on a table. You move around trying to gain mass and spread out.
- An AI powered game where you type in a scenario of your version of “the best day ever”, and it is the AI’s job to respond every time with a way to ruin it.
- A digital game where you play as an annoyed landlord who must keep fixing the stupid tenants’ problems.
- A phone game similar to Pokemon Go where you use a LiDAR Scanner to “collect” objects in the real world which can range from rocks to chairs to devices to locations and statues. Every item is worth a point value for a competitive league, or you can play on your own and just have a personal collection.
- An idle game similar to Cookie Clicker where you rub an egg with your computer mouse or on your touchscreen to hatch a bird. Alternatively, you spin a coin to gain money and upgrade it to more valuable coins such as a penny, then a nickel, then a dime, then a quarter, then a silver dollar, then a gold coin, etc.
Game Maker Notes & I Voted Sticker
Takenoko Response & Game Ideas – Colin Kenny
Was it fun? It was long but it was fun strategizing.
What were the player interactions? There weren’t really any direct player interactions because everyone was only capable of controlling their own actions. Some effects caused some players strategies to fall through but that’s about it.
How long did it take to learn? It took about 20 or so minutes to learn.
Would you play it again? I think I would consider trying it again if there weren’t many options. but to me it wasn’t that compelling.
Analyze the game using the 3 act structure. Act one I would say would be us starting to build the bamboo garden and trying to understand how to achieve the goal cards. Act 2 we started to achieve the goal cards and set up ways to get and achieve more goal cards. The game still felt close as Amber and I were each at 3 or 4 goals met. Then Act 3 I made a push to meet a couple more goals and although everyone got one more round of actions, it was kinda clear I was going to win.
What are the collaborative and or competitive aspects of the game? Weirdly, although this was a competitive game, we ended up helping each other at times to follow the rules and make the best possible moves. The overall experience was very casual and though we had some disagreements about the rules at times, we still remained respectful and tried to enjoy the experience for what it was.
What is the game’s metaphor and which of the game’s mechanics standout? I think one of the game’s main metaphors was that forces outside of our control and other people can mess with our plans, but we just have to redirect and not get distraught by our downfalls. One mechanic I found really fun was the giant panda running around the garden to eat pieces of bamboo, and when a storm came the panda would run away scared and you could move the panda to any space on the board.
Game Theme: Art
- Art Heist: At a party, players set up paintings around the room like an art gallery. One player must switch the paintings out for “fakes” without getting caught. Play can last as long as the party goes on or until the thief switches out all the paintings.
- Pictionary Art Gallery: Played in rounds, a prompt is given to some players. They must draw or paint this prompt in the allotted time. All other players then vote on who’s “painting” is the best. First place gets 3 points, second 2, third 1. After everyone has had an equal number of turns to draw, the player with the most points wins.
- Abstractism: Players compete to build the best abstract painting by drawing and playing cards and filling their canvas proportionally with shapes and colors.
- Color Bomb: Using some kind of catapult of other small plastic apparatus, players take turn launching small balls covered in paint or filled with paint at a wall or canvas. Whichever player has the most area of the board covered by the end of the game wins.
- Drippy Crayons: Players compete to answer questions to get their crayons to drip further down a canvas. But one player HATES art and is preventing this project from being finished at all costs. They must sway the others in the wrong direction so they answer their trivia questions wrong. If the project gets finished in time, the artists win. If not, the hater, or critic, wins.
Some Game Ideas
One game idea I have is a type of battleship idea, with multiple players, one board, and with chance cards. If when you roll dice you get a certain number that is on top of the card, you have to do what is on the card, for example maybe sabotage another player, or even pull a card that could hurt your progress in the game.
Another game idea I have is a horror game, with a storyline that is based off of a short story I made. I would like it to be a card game where the group of people don’t know who the killer is except for the killer. The group needs to gather evidence (go fishing for clues ((there is a lot of backstory behind that quote))) to find the killer and finsh the game. Which ever “shipmate”gathers the most evidence against the killer before they eliminate everyone, wins!
I love me a good sabotage game, Id like to create a game that encourages a lot of players with random mini games they can play, where comedy and sabatoge gains you more points
Week 1 Questions
- In your opinion what should every game have? Why do you like your favorite game?
In my opinion, I believe every game should have a little sabotage, it adds a lot of fun and quick thinking. My current favorite game has a lot of beautiful graphics and great fighting mechanics
List the games you’ve played and currently play.
I have grown up playing the Sims, Minecraft, Elder Scrolls games, FNAF, Fallout, Dark Souls and currently I play the Elder Scrolls, Wukong, and Elden ring
- Can you apply the three act structure to your favorite game? What is it’s pacing and how long do you find yourself in each act?
Yes, there is a fight that you’re immediately put into that shows an amazing game play and storyline. Then you play through more story conflicts and gameplay to advance your leveling, and I currently haven’t finished it
- When coming up with ideas where do you find you start, with the metaphor or the mechanic?
I always start with a metaphor for my ideas
- Over the course of this semester, who would you like to collaborate with and why?
There are so many people in my class that I’d be so happy to work with, I would like to work with someone who is stronger in art style and design than me. I feel more proficient in creating the concept of projects.
Week 1 Questions, Fluxx Game, Game Ideas
Alana Tush
Week 1 Questions
- In my opinion, every game should have enticing rewards. For example, free gifts to use in the game to further your level. These rewards make the game more intriguing, therefore you want to play more. My favorite game right now is HayDay because it is a level based game and you get rewards once you level up. The game continues to get better each time you reach another level, so why would you not want to play?
- I have played: monopoly, candy land, clue, battleship, connect 4, checkers, jenga, sorry, hayday, tetris, snake, geometry dash, Minecraft, Fortnite, candy crush, subway surfers, solitaire, uno, gin rummy, blackjack. I currently play hayday and a few card games listed.
- I don’t think the three act structure applies to my favorite game because there is no conflict between players. Since there is no “beginning act” there is no struggle for victory or an ultimate ending of the game. Pacing is a critical part to how the story plays out in the game.
- It doesn’t matter if you start with the metaphor or mechanics of the game, you’re creating. For me, it is easier to start with the mechanics before I create a story of the game. Knowing all of the pieces I’ll need for gameplay. It is easier to adapt a story than to change all of the mechanics of the game.
Fluxx Game
- Fluxx was fun while it lasted, I think there are a lot of other card games that are more entertaining. The game requires a lot of reading and remembering.
- This game is very interactive because if you play a goal or new rule card, it changes the course of the game. For example, someone could be very close to winning with their keepers, but if the goal changes, they are no longer close to winnning.
- For me, this game was very confusing the first time I played, but the second time around I understood the goal of the game a lot easier.
- I would replay this game. Since it was easier the second time playing, maybe it will be even better the third time.
Game Ideas (that can take place on campus)
- Wheatley- hide n seek in the dark
- First to find Tucci
- Monopoly (board of the campus)
- Classroom silent library (game show)
- Old maid game but with professors on the cards
Week 4 Game Ideas
Ben – Occupational proper postures: For this game, you would have to correct people’s postures by manually adjusting their bodies before OSHA comes over to inspect. You would start with a lot of time, but as the game progresses, you’d have less and less time to correct someone’s posture before OSHA came over.
Mia – Food deserts: There is a board with fixed food store locations. Each player represents a town. On each turn, you will have to move one space further away from the food store. Then you will have the option of going for food, bribing the government to move your town back closer to the food stores, or fighting the other towns for resources. There will also be either cards to pull or dice to roll that will randomly impact the game as it progresses.
Max – baby formula shortage: You are a struggling young mother several states away from all of your family. You will have to check your stores for baby formula (they don’t have much) but also call upon your family members to check their stores for formula. If your family finds formula, you have to figure out a way to get it from them (rolling dice to move maybe?) before your baby goes hungry.
Clay – Urban Sprawl: There are 2 objectives in this game: spread your city as far as you can and keep people in the city happy. Each turn you must expand your city, but you have to be strategic as to which expansion tiles you lay down. Too many apartment buildings/not enough green space etc. will make people upset. If people get upset, they will leave and your city will shrink again. Maybe also add in things like geographical boundaries (ie rivers, mountains) that force you to expand in one direction. Each player is trying to make the biggest city by the end of x amount of rounds.
Ronan – Retirement homes: You are a nurse at a retirement home who hates old people. You must try to cause as much medical negligence to the occupants of the nursing home without the other nurses catching on. However, if you find evidence of someone else’s medical negligence, you must report it and help to fix the issue. If your negligence is reported three times, you are fired. You must try to cause the most negligence without being discovered or fired before the nursing home shuts down (due to bad press coverage).
Problems that can potentially address with games
- Urban sprawl
- When people press the close door button on elevators
- Campaign financing & lobbying
- The opioid crisis
- Unsustainable animal agriculture
Game Ideas
1.) BobbyMoGuessr – a similar UI and concept to Geogueser, you would be placed into a dorm room or enclosed area on campus and with clues you would have figure to where exactly you are.
2.) LogoPlus – a logo is shown on screen, super zoomed in and/or in a different color scheme, you get three guesses, with each wrong answer it zooms out.