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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.

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Portents & Potentials (3 posts)

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  • Avatar Image steve graham, a level 7 monster with 27 posts — 2 months, 3 weeks ago:

    Portents & Potentials

    Tragedy stalks the people of Ferrisport, a little town on the edge of nowhere, the last, best refuge for the truly eccentric.

    The town motto hangs on city hall, “Expect the Unexpected”, while underneath the graffiti reads “or something much, much worse”. Though surrounding towns have been hit hard by the economic downturn, the mayor claims “Ferrisport can’t really bust when it’s never had a boom.”

    Maybe not. Maybe it’s just the luck of the draw. But it’s all been bad luck. Non-stop rain. Mud. Flooded buildings. Flooded roads. Homeless refugees with nowhere else to go and angry protestors with nothing better to do. Crazy old ladies seeing omens and portents in roadkill, poisoned rats and queer graffiti.

    You and all the Ferrisport Auxiliary Volunteers will just have to dig deep, draft help, and work together. By the way, you know where route 14 (the one decent road out of town) passes Cemetery Hill? There’s been a mudslide.

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    Mundane problems small and large plague the town of Ferrisport at every turn. Catastrophes both natural and man-made lead to destruction, protests, panic, refugees, madness and death. There’s an occult cataclysm brewing. But it’s Wednesday, and someone’s got to pick up the recycling.

    You and the other characters living in Ferrisport have to discover each others’ abilities and collaborate for all you are worth. Each turn you and your fellows of the Ferrisport Auxiliary face a mixture of personal, local, and city-wide challenges, both mundane and occult.

    For things keep getting worse. The rain keeps falling. The river keeps rising. The sea keeps raging. And Winter keeps coming. Refugees and homeless keep dying.

    Only by banding together, collecting resources, and finding hidden potentials can you keep the people of Ferrisport healthy, well-fed, sheltered and sane. And while you are at it, you’ve also got to follow obscure clues, and stave off impending occult disaster.

    Imagine a strange brew of SimCity, Clue, and Arkham Horror. Game play is about meeting increasingly difficult challenges by gathering resources, identifying and improving each others’ hidden abilities and building teams (of other players and NPCs) to solve the myriad, worsening problems. But you’ve also got to keep the town functioning. On top of everything, the dead are piling up and the city’s collective mood and sanity are worsening. Only by following obscure clues can you thwart the grave, occult conspiracy.

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  • Avatar Image steve graham, a level 7 monster with 27 posts — 2 months, 3 weeks ago:

    Inspiration for Portents & Potentials in terms of the theme, making the invisible visible, revolves around three things:
    first, sometimes you get to know someone better and discover real and amazing talents, skills, and knowledge; second, working with others on a common cause with complementary skills can be unusually energizing and effective; and third, sometimes friends can “discover” talents you weren’t aware of and give you the confidence to pursue things you otherwise would not.

    The game is an attempt to get at such experiences.

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  • Avatar Image Kay, a level 0 monster with 1 posts — 2 months, 2 weeks ago:

    I like it!
    But why are you making the game of my world? Maybe if we play this game then my world will go ‘boom’ instead of ‘bust’ … second thoughts, no – that sounds bad, like something will explode.
    Anyway, I do like it :)

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