The Project

The corn-water-ethanol-beef (CWEB) system requires large amounts of freshwater resources and energy and has a large environmental footprint in terms of wastewater and greenhouse gas emissions. The overall goal of this work is to develop an educational immersive simulation game to enhance understanding of the complex interactions of the CWEB system nexus through outreach activities including 4-H programs, partnerships with high school teachers, and engagement of undergraduate students and the public. Specific objectives and tasks for reaching that goal include: (1) Develop a simplified integrative CWEB model from existing individual sub-models and datasets that describes the complex dynamic interactions of the CWEB system.

This will require evaluating and compiling existing data and sub-models of the CWEB system thoroughly, linking sub-models and utilize game theory to understand coupling of these models with social, economic, and environmental effects utilizing game theory to understand the coupling of these models with social, economic, and environmental effects; and validating the models for coupling based on historical data and events to analyze different scenarios to better understand their interconnectivity. (2)Build an educational immersive simulation game to enhance understanding of the dynamics of the CWEB system. This will require designing a simulation game framework; and developing an educational immersive simulation game. (3) PrepareFEW educational materials and conduct out reach activities to 4-H programs, high school teachers, undergraduate students,and the public. This will require conducting outreach activities to educate K-12 students through 4-H programs; providing curriculum materials, training, and support to high school teachers for incorporation into their agriculture vocational educational programs;and integrating experiential learning activities into the “Food, Energy, and Water(FEW) in Society” minor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Justin Smith Morrill Scholars program. Expected outcomes include an immersive simulation game, a simplified integrated model, and educational materials for 4-H, high school,and undergraduate students.

In short…

Develop a video game concept that would teach the player the importance of sustainability within agriculture and how it can and will affect the whole world.

The Process

It all starts at the drawing board, sorting out what I wanted and didn’t want to incorporate into my concept. I knew right off the back that I wanted my game to be different from some generic farming game. I wanted to have a farming game that from the core: emphasized sustainability, kept the player engaged, and had a heavy dose of imagination. The way I looked at it, what kind of farming game would keep a 14 year old engaged and keep playing? I found the answer was to have a game that made you feel like you were doing so much more than just farming, and to have a game with both good and bad results so you can’t just play and succeed.

Being a gamer myself, I had the advantage of knowing of multiple video games to take inspiration from. I also was able to think every here and there: what would make me play this game? I trusted my gut and eventually took different ideas and perspectives from some of my favorite video games like the Civilization series and Halo Wars, and combine them with some more related games such as Farming Simulator.

The Result

ag2050

In the year 2020, mankind is running out of time. Scientists have concluded that in the year 2050, there will not be enough food and clean water to sustain the human race. As this madness unfolds, you and Sustainable Earth Initiative steps forth to lead us to sustainability.

In Agpocolypse 2050, take command of your farm and lead mankind to salvation. Play with up to 3 other people online to work together and manage a farm that will grow overtime and impact Earth. The world’s state can constantly change via your decisions. Resource management is key in this race against the clock game, and every decision you make can be the difference between world peace and total war over resources. You will determine if we all survive or starve to death, our future is in your hands.

Overall Purpose

To educate the player(s) on the importance of sustainability within agriculture and to engage the player(s) into a Final Countdown scenario that makes them care about their progress and keeps them coming back for more.

Characters

At the beginning of the game, the player(s) will choose 1 of 6 different characters to command their farm. Each character is unique and has their own backstory and traits that will affect the player(s) farm through aspects of productivity, economics, resource management, ingenuity, charisma, and social outreach.

Difficulty

The game will have the 3 traditional difficulties; easy, medium, or hard. The difficulty is set by having the beginning of the game change; as the difficulty increases, your starting funding decreases, the cost of upgrades increases, raised survival quotas, and the chance of both farm problems and global instances increases. In online play, all aspects may be affected in accordance to how many people are in a game; specifically survival quotas as they could easily double.

New Game

When you get into a new game, the player would be greeted by several welcome screens. One of which is the picture below that describes the Sustainable Earth Initiative. Their plan is to build a system of farms starting in the midwest United States that specialize in sustainability and will be able to produce more food for less resources. The game would then proceed to take the player through any necessary tutorials about how to play the game. After such tutorials, the gameplay would start.

HUD

The Heads Up Display is always one of the most important designs within a video game. It sets the game’s personality, the player’s perspective, and rules out what is more important. I knew I wanted this game to be played from an aerial viewpoint and I wanted a tactical feel to it. It incorporates a display of the player’s funds, current weather, an event log, a mini-map, a notification bar, a stats and info display, and most importantly: the count down clock.

The Clock

Agpocolypse 2050 is a race against a clock that counts down in real time. We have 30 years to get our butts in gear and turn our world around. Now, clearly no one is going to play this game for 30 years. Which is why the clock will only be counting down in real time while the player is assigning tasks and making decisions. At the core of it’s gameplay, Agpocolypse is a turn-based game.

Each task and assignment in the game will take a certain amount of time to complete wether it be building, planting, harvesting, or researching. Some tasks will take a day or so, some can take weeks or even years (depending on what it is of course). Once the player has decided and assigned all of the tasks they are able to dish out, the player will press the PROCEED button in the right hand corner. That will trigger a transition sequence displayed in the stills where the clock will be enlarged and begin ticking down. The amount of time the clock will tick down is determined by when a task will be completed, when something will have to be taken care of, or if a randomized event will happen.

The Interface

Inspired by the game Halo Wars, I wanted a user-friendly interface that had you sifting through as few menus as possible, one that had all of the answers right in front of you and didn’t require you to go searching for stuff. The simple 8 choice menu keeps the classifications simple and allows for fast and fluent navigation.

  • STATS- identified by the graph on the upper right, allows the player to view live stats and see just how sustainable their farm is
  • UPGRADE GARAGE- identified by the wrench and garage door on the right, the place where players can repair and upgrade their farm equipment, and research new technologies to improve their farm
  • TERMINATION INTERFACE- identified by the trash-can on the lower right, the interface used by the player to dispose of and demolish unwanted farm equipment, buildings, fields and more
  • MARKET- identified by the bag of seed on the bottom, this is where the player would be able to buy and sell off crops and cattle and make and or lose money
  • BUILDING INTERFACE- identified by the shovel on the lower left, this is the interface the player would use to construct new buildings, plow new fields, and pave new roads across their farm
  • SEI REQUISITIONS- identified by the SEI logo on the left, this is where the player can request new and improved vehicles, request more man-power, and get more resources such as fuel and water
  • ENDORSEMENTS- identified by the star with the money sign, this menu would display and offer all different types of endorsements and sponsorships the player can earn throughout the game. Different endorsements will have different perks and will help you succeed.
  • WORLD STATE- identified by the globe on the top, this is where the player will be able to view and manage current events happening in the world.

A Global Effort

One of the big ideas in my concept is that the sustainability crisis is not just something the USA will face, it is something that can and will affect the entire world. As sad as it is to think, if it really came down to the wire there would be people working together to solve the problem while other people begin to rip each other’s faces off. I wanted to display the real world chaos that could potentially unfold if the human race entered a sustainability crisis. All of the events that can and will happen in the game is based off of the player’s performance, if things are going well most of the time not a whole lot of bad will happen. While if you are struggling to maintain a sustainable farm, resources around the world  are starting to grow scarce and countries are starting to look at each other and how many resources they have. This idea could have so many different outputs that it will keep the player entertained and constantly learning how important sustainability is to the world. Countries could potentially go to war with each other and destroy the whole world if sustainability rates are low enough.

My proposal is in the end a tale of caution, but one that needs to be told if we want to make it beyond the year 2050. It is a game that puts sustainability right in the player’s face and makes you deal with it. It is a unique spin on farming that I feel will keep a lot of people enthralled and playing when given the chance to play. I put all of my personality into this project and I feel it turned out great. There is a lot of polishing that could be done, but I think its safe to that that I killed it this time.