6. Broad Game Description

The new Broad Game Description is vastly improved from the initial draft that I produced (see below for the old version). The new one describes what my game is about more effectively.

The game begins with a scientific laboratory, where the player will be based. There are many high-tech machines and computers which will be useful throughout the game.

This laboratory will act as the main hub, and join all the different sections of the game together. The player will be able to access different options and help menus from this hub, and use it to solve the problems posed as the game progresses.

The game screen will be overlaid with information which will look like a live news feed (see Look and Feel for examples) and it will display current climate news in the media using an RSS feed (RSS Tutorial, 2012). If there is no current media relevant, the game will use information from previous climate events, such as the Japanese Earthquake and the Tsunami in Thailand, until new news becomes available. The game is a live game, so everyone will play the same thing as it is happening, and the game will be kept updated to be relevant to the current media.

Natural disasters which will be covered include; floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, heat waves, landslides and tsunamis.

Illustrations to show natural disasters: Left to right - tsunami, tornado, typhoon, volcanic eruption and earthquake.

The player will receive these reports and choose to act upon them. When they want to help out and do something about it, the game will take them to the area where the disaster is going to happen so that they can take a look. Because the game is a point and click game, they can click on certain things around the area to find out more information, and collect objects that they think might be useful. When they are finished here, they can travel back to the laboratory and use this information and the objects to decide what to do.

The player will have several different options to select from; clicking the correct one first will reward more points towards the game. If they get it right and avert the disaster they will earn an award which they can share with their friends on social networking sites.

Image shows how the player can click on objects to find out more information

News feed overlay, telling the player live and relevant information

The laboratory will also be customisable. The player will earn money for every successfully completed challenge, which they can spend to buy upgraded machinery and decorations for their laboratory. More of this in game money can be bought by the player with real money too, with a suggestion that some of it be donated to charity.

The main aim of this game is to provide a fun way to raise awareness about climate change, and it will do this by telling a story about the consequences of climate change. At the end of each level, the events will be summarised and the player will be told how many lives have been saved or lost, and how much damage was caused or averted. 

Another screenshot of a disaster in progress

This is how the game would look on a social networking site

(old version)

The climate is changing and people are worrying about the future. There are typhoons everywhere and floods are devastating coastal areas. The player is in control of a scientist who is trying to develop new technology in order to stop this climate change and to stabilise the world’s weather patterns before more chaos happens.

This is an interactive story, where the player’s choices will directly influence the outcome. Their decisions could save, or destroy the world. It will operate like a point and click game, and will include interesting and engaging information.

Replay-ability: There are lots of outcomes to consider, and so people can restart the game and have a completely different experience than their last play through.

Live updates: As subjects trend in the media, the game can have updates and expansions to keep people interested, for example; another topic the game could cover are the increase in earthquakes around the world (This year there was Japan, New Zealand and Turkey)