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GAMEFUL CHALLENGE #8: Making the Invisible Visible: Part 1: Game Pitches

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THIS CHALLENGE IS CLOSED. YOU HAVE UNTIL MARCH 9TH TO PICK WHICH IDEA YOU’D LIKE TO SEE CREATED THE MOST. VOTE HERE This is part one of a two-part challenge related [...]

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THIS CHALLENGE IS CLOSED. YOU HAVE UNTIL MARCH 9TH TO PICK WHICH IDEA YOU’D LIKE TO SEE CREATED THE MOST. VOTE HERE

This is part one of a two-part challenge related to Making Good (http://makinggood.org/) a book and a project that has the goal of helping hundreds of thousands of people find jobs that make money and change the world.

In every community in every workplace there is a power structure in place–that structure determines how things are done. There is the one that we hear about that we are taught but simultaneously, quietly, there is another parallel structure. It is this secret parallel structure that really makes things happen. But how do you figure out what it is and how do we make the invisible visible? Is it really the president or the celeb you see on TV that has the power? Or is it their VP, assistant or possibly even their mother?

We all are taught the visible power structures. But what of the invisible ones, the one that will actually help you get a job, the person that actually has the power to change your company’s buying policy or to give you the five thousand dollars you need to launch your project? Who are they and what kind of game could both uncover their identities and share them with the world? Who are the unexpected powerbrokers in the world that don’t show up on the Forbes and Fast Company lists?

How can we out them all? How can we enable more people to gain access, to learn and uncover the invisible structures that are governing their own world? Whether we are uncovering the art world in New York, the world of international development or the fast paced world of cantaloupe growers — who is the boss? And who is the real boss?

The challenge: is to create a game that both uncovers the invisible power structure of an office place, a community or an entire world and then makes it visible for all.

How can we teach people the skills to do this?

Prize:
- The winner, as selected by our judges, gets an expense-paid trip to Toronto for the MakingGood Launch or a plane ticket of equivalent value;
- 2 community favorites get to become judges for the 2nd part of the challenge
- The top three contestants as picked by judges will get to present their pitch to a well known famous designer for feedback
- The top 5 community picked games will get a signed copy of Making Good (http://makinggood.org/)

Rules:
• For this half of the challenge the submissions must be fully detailed game design documents
• ALL genres are eligible whether or not they use technology
• Original games only, please. (Please don’t submit a game you made last year. Make a new one!)
* All team members must be Gameful members!

Extra points if:
-The game is easily transferable and applicable between different workplace or community environments
-The players can gain more information from replaying the game more than once
-The knowledge/skills learned are reinforced through gameplay

To Play:
1. Join the Making the Invisible Visible Group.
2. Discuss what you’re up to.
3. When you’re ready, but BEFORE February 20th, start a new forum topic for YOUR entry. (The forum topic is the easiest way for judges and contestants to see all entries in one place.) Describe what you’ve created. Include a link to your game, or a way to download it, so we can play it.
4. When you’re ready to officially submit your game, fill out this form.
5. Await game-tastic feedback from your fellow Gameful monsters.
6. Winners will be announced by the end of February.

Tags: challenge
excerpt
Group Admin
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  • Avatar Image Emily Byrtus, a level 7 monster with 15 posts — 3 months ago:

    MENTOR ME! is an energetic, tech-free, large group activity that simulates looking past the visibly successful to find their invisible benefactor while simultaneously putting networking skills into practice.

    During the game, players form a circle and pair up by making eye contact. After holding eye contact for ten seconds (a harder feat than it would seem), they meet their partner to “network.” If the player networks with the secret Mentor, they become Successful. The Successful will spend the rest of the game attempting to draw as much attention to themselves as possible. Players that break eye contact to look at the Successful do not get to network with their partners. The game ends when every player has networked with the Mentor.

    Game Design Document (with full list of rules) at the link:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T-R5wLyjPrj9v7BBPKdJhd5TkRWyLLK5eT4qdJZUVg0/edit
    Anybody with the link can (and is encouraged to) comment, but editing is locked.
    ————————————
    My intent with this design was to create a highly accessible game that can not only demonstrate the power of invisible benefactors but also help those playing practice some seemingly minor skills in networking, namely maintaining eye contact, making contact, and being enthusiastic. The ideal setting for the game would be at job fairs, conferences, conventions, and workshops – locations with large groups of people who hope to make at least a semi-professional social connection, especially those who might be nervous about doing so. Although the default design calls for trading business cards, that item could easily be substituted for adapting to different communities.

    Post created 02.14.12

  • Avatar Image Emily Byrtus, a level 7 monster with 15 posts — 3 months ago:

    Oh! Feedback is welcome :)

  • Avatar Image Emily Byrtus, a level 7 monster with 15 posts — 2 months, 3 weeks ago:

    I made a postmortem for the game as it stands in this point in time, for anybody who’s interested in reading it:

    http://gameful.org/blog/2012/02/23/mentor-me-post-mortem/

  • Avatar Image Nathan Maton, a level 7 monster with 148 posts — 2 months, 1 week ago:

    Nice post mortem and post. Isn’t it hard to play test games that take place in physical space? I’ve struggled with that too! If only there was an easy solution.