1. Katie Dobruse
March 27, 2013
TC 830: Serious Game Analysis
2. • Budget: $500-$5,000
• Team size: 3
• Sponsoring organization: iFred
(International Foundation for
Research & Education on Depression)
– Not clear whether iFred provided
funding beforehand.
3.
4. Audience/Serious Goals
• People without depression: gain greater
understanding and compassion for those with
depression
• People with depression: see that they’re not alone
5. Gameplay
• Simple point-and-click interface
• Several story tracks
• Mimics depression’s ability to rob you of choice
– Displays options it does not allow you to select
• Deliberately feels increasingly monotonous
• No clear immediate goal
– Like depression, feels aimless
Demo
6. “As soon as you think about the work that awaits you at
home you can feel the panic creeping in from the back of
your brain, unbidden. All you can think about is how
incredibly far behind you are, and the amount of work
seems nothing less than insurmountable.
…You want to sit down and work but the mere thought of
trying to work sends your stress levels flying; more than
anything you feel suddenly and absolutely exhausted, and
feel a strong desire to simply hide in bed.”
7. Choices
(or lack thereof)
“Do you...
1. Order some food, grab a drink, and hunker down for a night of
work.
2. Reluctantly sit down at your desk and try and make
yourself do something
3: Turn on the TV, telling yourself you just need a quick half
hour to unwind from work
4: Crawl into bed. You're so stressed and overwhelmed you
couldn't possibly accomplish anything anyways.”
8. “…your ever-increasing fear that your relationship is becoming one-
sided weighs more and more heavily on you. You feel more than ever
like a burden or a ward to her, and it's virtually impossible for you to
see what value you could possibly offer to her in return…
What do you do?
1: You know despite the bad times, your girlfriend sincerely loves
you. Relationships are a 2-way street, and you resolve to always be
there for her like she has been for you.
2: Tell Alex how important she is to you and enjoy your evening.
3: Ask Alex if she's happy with your relationship.
4: Don't say anything; you're already worried about her being
upset with you.”
10. As much as you like the idea of trying to get work done
tonight, the thought of the amount of catching up you have to
do instantly freezes you up. The longer you stare at your
computer, the higher your stress levels rise, until you're
on the verge of a full blown panic attack. Not even
wandering into the living room to try and watch TV relaxes
you. You soon succumb to the mental and physical exhaustion
and crawl into bed, making a point to close your laptop before
you turn the light out. You lay in bed for some time feeling
disappointed in your own inability to be productive before
finally passing out.
You awake in the morning from a sleep that was far from
restful. In fact, it seems impossible, but it's as though
you're more tired than you were when you fell asleep last
night.
11. Even though you love your family, you really feel like
they don't know you at all sometimes and this makes
them exhausting to be around on nights like this. You
wish you could tell them what you are feeling. That
sometimes it feels like you're lost in the woods, and
that if you were to drop dead in your apartment the
world wouldn't notice. You want to make her understand
that more often than not, you feel like an alien, like
there isn't anywhere in this world that feels like a
place where you belong, and you have no idea how to
fix it or what to do. You wish you could find the words so
they would understand you, but you end up feeling like
an outsider instead.
12. Your entire apartment feels claustrophobic, as though
you're being choked by how isolated you feel, how
trapped you feel just being here with yourself. You can't
stand to be here any longer, so you grab your coat and
just start walking. If you take a walk and get some air,
maybe you can get away from the crushing feeling in
your chest.
You walk for longer than anticipated, headphones on and
blaring a favorite track. Before you know it, you've
walked over a mile. The entire time your thoughts dart
from personal failure to personal failure, and you
feel like you're trying to get away from yourself.
13. As you were leaving work tonight, a group of
coworkers asked if you wanted to join them for
drinks. Feeling antisocial and put on the spot,
you declined. You have a habit of doing this -
you're often so convinced that you are weird
and terrible and that any invitation to hang out
will end in disappointment for those inviting you.
You never feel like you know how to act in group
outings, and you feel like a total creep since it
seems to come so naturally to anyone who isn't
you. You find yourself petrified of breaking
some unknown social rule that you don't often
go out.
14. Ouroboros Magic Circle of Serious Game Design
FORMAL ENVIRONMENTAL
COMPONENTS COMPONENTS
Outcomes
Rules (serious goals) Game World
or Board
Mechanics
(Actions or Resources
Procedures)
System Premise or
Dynamics Story
Player-Player
Interactions Characters
Player
GOALS
Experience GAMING CONTEXT
Designer’s
Relation to
Serious Goals
Real Life
Conflict or
Pre-Game
Challenge
Context
End State
(Game During Game
Outcomes) Context
Player Goals Post-Game
Copyright Carrie Heeter, 2013
Context
15. DISCOVERY LEARNING
increasing your
finding something understanding of or
that wasn't known knowledge about
before the real world
FUN CARD FUN CARD
LOVE PROBLEM IMMERSION
SOLVING
strong affection going into an
toward, love, lust, or environment
finding solutions to
caring for different from one's
problematic
somebody (real or usual
situations that
virtual, human or environment by
require thought
alien or pet) physical means or
by use of one's
imagination
FUN CARD FUN CARD FUN CARD
16. INTRINSIC CREDIBILITY CAPTOLOGY PROCEDURAL
MOTIVATION Factors such as RHETORIC
Playing or learning appearance, dress, To be persuasive,
link to a real Carefully design
because the content personal grooming,
organization, system dynamics to
or game is eye contact and
highlight your convey your
inherently tone of voice can
expertise, avoid learning content or
interesting to the influence the
errors, look message embodied
player/learner credibility of a
professional, be in the game.
source (or NPC).
organized, etc.
THEORY CARD THEORY CARD THEORY CARD THEORY CARD
ROLE TAKING ACCOMODATION PRESENCE INTERACTIVITY
Players need to
Having players When new Factors such as understand what
experience a information media richness, actions are
situation and somehow immersion and possible, and to
perspective in the contradicts or interactivity can experience
game can be conflicts with prior heighten the feeling immediate and
educational and knowledge, revising of presence in a expected
persuasive. world view to fit the game. responsiveness
new data when they take an
action.
THEORY CARD THEORY CARD THEORY CARD THEORY CARD
18. Anti-gems
• Hard to target two such different
audiences
• Music is hit-or-miss
Notas do Editor
People without depression: Create a vivid illustration of depression to reduce stigma and help them understand what it’s like to live with depressionPeople with depression: Show them that they’re not alone, and that their difficulties are in fact symptoms of a real illness“The goal of this game is twofold: firstly, we want to illustrate as clearly as possible what depression is like, so that it may be better understood by people without depression. Hopefully this can be something to spread awareness and fight against the social stigma and misunderstandings that depression sufferers face. Secondly, our hope is that in presenting as real a simulation of depression as possible, other sufferers will come to know that they aren't alone, and hopefully derive some measure of comfort from that. ”
Gameplay (Describe the game core mechanics and player’s goals within the game. Succinctly but clearly convey what the game is like for fellow students.Use categories like those described in the Ouroborous or in Ferrara’s book. )Support with screen grabs, arrows, closeups
