Mini Challenge #4

In Jane McGonigal’s book “Reality is Broken” she highlights how games can be more than virtual achievements, and through games people get more inspired to do more in the real world. What games inarguably do is enable creative freedom and they give people a chance to choose, giving them an ultimatum that affects the rest of their gameplay. The same metaphor can be applied onto real life whether it be a business or any other venture that a person could partake in. Making decisions isn’t as common as you might think on a day to day life of a student for example, they might get called on once during a class while in a video game you’re deciding in every moment. This creates a sense of accountability and eventually even confidence when you’re able to reach an achievement or complete an assignment. In McGonigal’s book she questions “Where, in the real world, is that gamer sense of being fully alive, focused, and engaged in every moment?” this brings me to this challenge of creating a game using the design logic of Jane McGonigal’s Reality is Broken to fix a real world problem and I chose ocean conservation.

Current ocean wildlife has been in danger for years now with 12 million tons of plastic entering the ocean every year and plastic bottles making up a third of plastic pollution. I think a game that would help solve this issue would center around accountability, education as well as teamwork because this is a global issue that needs every parties effort in order to fix this issue.

Players would be on a mission to save ocean wildlife, such as corals, different fish, sharks and so on. They would need to pick out the wildlife with a fishing line in order to relocate them after oil spills for instance. Another level in the game can be about removing pollution from the ocean in a similar way however they would be fishing for waste instead of wildlife. If they harm wildlife in this process, they lose points. Players can play online in teams on a specific area in order to be a part of a bigger team.

There can also be an educational aspect to the game where at the beginning of the level players know where this oil spill is happening and what caused it and it can be based on a real life crisis that occurred.  Another way of raising awareness can be through loading screens having facts about how players are contributing to this in their daily life, whether it be plastic bottles or excessive waste. Additionally, more endangered animals would amount to higher points.

Lastly, I also think the game should have direct links to organizations and ways that players can help, this would make real life impact accessible.

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