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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
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  • Avatar Image Suzanne Grubb, a level 7 monster with 12 posts — 2 months, 3 weeks ago:

    I just realized the instructions said “Before” 2/20 — I hope that I’m slipping in just under the wire!?

    The game I am pitching is called “Power Hunt.”

    Here’s the quick overview:
    We all have great ideas — but before we can turn great ideas into action, we need to find help and support. How do you find the right people to “buy in” to your idea? How can you find the people with real power to make decisions and take action — and how do you tell them apart from people who can only offer a pat on the back (and little else)?

    Power Hunt is a technology-facilitated role playing game that helps players uncover the difference between explicit and implicit power structures in their organizations, communities… and beyond.

    In Playing this game, Players should achieve the following goals:
    - Hone/refine their skills in pitching/discussing an idea.
    - Learn to track actual power, independent of titles and roles.
    - Learn that personality and proximity are huge components in success.
    - Learn to balance quality and quantity in gaining support for a project or idea.

    The full game design document is available here:
    https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nbzoc64z0Q0qsB0eta45Tp56LpK_Q56RLHi6IAm3Nog

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  • Avatar Image Suzanne Grubb, a level 7 monster with 12 posts — 2 months, 3 weeks ago:

    CORRECTION! Apparently Google Docs does not like my upload. The game design document should be downloaded here instead:

    http://suzannegrubb.com/games/powerhunt.pdf

    I apologize for the above link issue.

    UPDATED to add: I just discovered what the issue was with Google Docs. Here is a new link to the Google Docs version: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nbzoc64z0Q0qsB0eta45Tp56LpK_Q56RLHi6IAm3Nog/edit

    Please feel free to edit/comment directly on the document, if you like!

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  • Avatar Image Drew Crow, a level 7 monster with 46 posts — 2 months, 3 weeks ago:

    I really love your idea! :) Hadn’t heard of Wiffiti before, but it looks really cool. Does it generate SMS messages back to users itself, or would you need to implement that using a separate service?

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      Suzanne Grubb · 2 months, 3 weeks ago

      Thanks! I’ve used Wiffiti at a Conference I was running… but never as part of a game. It doesn’t generate SMS messages back to users, but it gives you a ”screen” capturing all updates that you access from any webdevice (or project onto a public wall).

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

    *I meant to get to do a post like this (a con with suggestion and a pro) on each entry earlier, but my schedule caught up with me a tad…. Sorry! On with the post.*

    This game seems like it would be really fun to do at the start of a Global Game Jam (or similar) event – get your idea out there and see if you can find a collaborator!

    CON: In regards to your numbers, I think there needs to be a chance for every position to have negative point input. We’ve all had that coworker that just wants to sabotage everybody else’s chances of success, not just middle management. It also might be interesting if the power points were relative in each interaction – a CEO would give closer to their minimum power points to a lower role, but an interaction between lower roles would be closer to their maximum. This might also prevent the unfortunate dynamic of a player getting totally knocked out of play when people begin to realize that they don’t give as many power points.

    PRO: What a great way to get people engaging with one another and exchanging ideas! The use of QR codes allows for a greater complexity in an otherwise “unplugged” atmosphere, which is really cool.

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      Suzanne Grubb · 2 months, 2 weeks ago

      Thanks! That’s an interesting idea about scaling the points structure according to the roles of the two players involved …

      I was thinking more about the interaction of personality + power (i.e., people could overcome giving out low points with charisma) — But that’s a really important concept that you’ve hit on that a lot of the time you can get more leverage out of a peer than out of someone at the top of the chain (who might just be blowing you off politely).

      Thanks for the feedback!

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