Game Design

An Interaction Design 1 project by Chris Vovra

The assignment received was to complete a game design concept and develop a game flow for the interactions between four primary systems. Those systems as requested are:

  • Corn Farming
  • Ethanol Production
  • Cattle Ranching
  • Water Distribution

These four systems are to be balanced within the game to create a sustainable way to maintain a population of 9 billion by the year 2050. What I felt was missing from this complex system of interactions was the effect of charisma and social exchanges. I found that among farmers, an exchange of goods and services between neighboring farmers was sometimes crucial to survival and profit. Thus the focus of my game became this social skill, overall sustainability rating, and labor skill on the farm/ranch/ethanol plant.

Agpocalypse

The planet is fast approaching a population of 9 billion, and by 2050 we could be in the midst of an “Agpocolypse”. But YOU can make a difference!  Start by choosing your role as a farmer, rancher, or ethanol plant manager. Discover the secrets to sustainability and develop the most advanced farming system ever!  Join hands with other farmers, business people, scientists, even politicians, and build a powerful agri-empire.  But, be careful, because as your influence and opportunities increase, so do the consequences. This is your chance to navigate social norms to shape the planet and your career! However, the question remains:  Will YOU create a picture perfect life or a radically insane world?  The Agpocolypse is coming and the future is in your hands!

Agpocalypse is a farm strategy game revolving around 3 core traits: Labor Skill, Farm Sustainability, and Social Skill. The game is primarily like African Farmer in strategy, though played out with exciting mini games and an easier, well explained start, where African Farmer uses click commands for all gameplay, and throws the player in with little help. African Farmer was far too confusing, boring, and provided little explanation as to what you needed to do. To improve upon African Farmer Agpocalypse incorporates helpful tips on screen, a 1 year tutorial for learning the processes of every season, clear explanations of objectives, and will have diverse difficulty settings.

The goal of Agpocalypse is to create a massive, sustainable farm to feed the world, while maintaining relationships and your personal finances. The social aspect of the game is far more crucial than that of African Farmer though, as a relationship with your neighbors can help or hinder your progress in serious ways. Perhaps you become such close friends with someone, and you have such great farming practices, that they are willing to sell you all their land at a cheap flat rate. Or Perhaps you have a terrible enemy whom vandalises your farm weekly.

The storyline of the game will be its most critical element. An example of the more important social interactions would be the election of 2020, where the player decides to vote for Kanye West or Sarah Palin. In a multiplayer game, the players votes would be tallied up and significant changes would be applied to gameplay based on the election. This, among other events, would teach the players the value of voting and how it affects businesses such as farms and ranches. Below you can find screens to show what visiting a neighbor would be like if you recieved a minor social scenario at random.

Example of a Social Interaction in game

Note the colors used on icons in the social screen. The icons and their colors correspond to what would be affected by your decision and in what way; the leaf represents sustainability, the rake and shovel represent labor skill, and the smiley face represents social charisma. The color green indicates a positive affect and a negative affect is shown by orange. For the dollar sign icon, green indicates the player will receive money, and orange indicates the player will spend money. A character can always leave a social interaction even if the option is not shown in the list. This is possible thanks to the red X icon in the upper corner of the text box explaining the scenario.

On the skills palette we see green, yellow, and orange, a color for each of the three skills when not being affected. The color of the progress bars of all three will eventually turn green if a player choses to level all three skills during their gameplay, however the icon color will remain the same.

The Year and  Week of the current year are constantly displayed on the transparent bar at the top of the screen to the left. The opposite end of the bar displays the weeks weather and the current season, both of which will expand when clicked on. The bar is split in the middle by a time lapse button container, where players of single-player games will be able to progress quickly through time if desired via the double arrow, pause the game during an activity via the twin bars, and resume gameplay or return to normal time with the single arrow.

Game Flow

Agpocalypse will be a simple yet educational game like Journey 2050, with explanations for each new element introduced over time. The first year of gameplay will be mostly scripted events with preset character meetings so that every player will get a similar start and set of opportunities to build upon. Agpocalypse will have more diverse difficulty settings, complex characters, and not use a rushed timer, but rather a single unit of gameplay time will cover a week in game. There will be complex written dialogue trees for players to follow and learn more from the AI. Agpocalypse will be more memorable due to its longer playtime and in depth characters.

Opening Screen

Players click to open the main menu from the title screen. Here they may launch a new game, load an old game, and delete saved games if they wish. They are identified by names and the background will reflect their sustainability ratings for their profile.

Game Selection Screen

The character Creation scene will allow players to click what they wish to change on their characters, including the color of the item equipped. Some items are purchased with money, while other special items can be unlocked with social points. The Skills, sex, Name, and base character will only be editable the first time character creation is opened at the launch of a new game. The rest of the time, only clothing options are editable, as shown here.

Character Creation screen relatively far into gameplay

Google maps will be incorporated with the map selection and forming. The locations will be based on real google maps shots. Players can access the map (home screen) from the home button next to the player name (when available). The neighbors house can be visited, you may request to borrow equipment, and you may ask for help, with results varying based on your relationship with the character so far.

The main navigation for the game occurs from an overhead map view based on google maps scanning

Clicking on your home will open Field management will give all stats and options for the field. Players can launch a harvest when crops are ready, or perform an early harvest if they wish. By clicking the weather icon next to the season name, players will see a similar menu with critical information about the next weeks weather. The home screen will be the navigation tool for everything, including going to town and making purchases. By clicking the game logo whenever present, the In-Game Menu will host information and stats about your lifetime career and skills.

The Next Steps

  • Solidify mini game concepts
  • Improve Google Maps implementation
  • Form marketing strategy for schools
  • Write Rancher and Plant Manager backstories
  • Implement Experience System
  • Create Character profiles and Screens
  • Incorporate multiplayer functionality after Year 2020
  • Develop dialogue trees
  • Make Stores for Equipment/Seed