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Project Brief
Project Brief
Making an Ethical Game Pitch
Making an Ethical Game Pitch
At the start of this small project, we got put into teams (me Dylan and Bryn) and were told to create a basic game GDD (Game Design Document) for an ethical game. In our group, we first began thinking of a good ethic to use and we eventually went with corruption for our game idea. It has other aspects of ethics such as inequality, but corruption is the main one since the player is tasked with escaping a corrupt country which turns out to be very difficult.
We then created a Trello board which we used as a baseplate to put all of our ideas on. As you can see, we thought that having Papers Please as a base game idea but changing the way you play is a good way to get started. We then put down some more ideas that we could implement into the GDD as we write it.
Bryn created the final map idea that we would use as an example for the game. It shows the different areas that you will progress through, starting in the middle and working your way through the more developed but heavier guarded areas.
We eventually went with the name "Let Me Go Home" since you are playing as a character that has travelled out to this country that now has you trapped. Longing to get home, you now go through borders with progressively increasing difficulty until you finally get out and you can return home. It is an open-world game in which you can explore and discover many things within the generated society. First-person perspective is used to immerse the user within the experience more and make them feel like they are the captured human that wants out. Due to the nature of the game, there is bound to be some levels of violence so it is classed as a survival game that you need to think about greatly in order to progress and succeed.
The game is based in the fictional country of Borexium which has gone into a lockdown and you are now stuck there, wanting to get home to your family. Due to the corrupt nature of the country, the borders that entrap you are heavily guarded, and so you must carefully think about your actions to be able to get out with your life. Going sooner whilst the guards aren't as prepared is always a great option, however, you will also be underprepared which could lead to you getting caught quicker than would be ideal. The areas get progressively more built up, along with the level of defence which makes it harder to get past, so you may require more time to plan your escape.
Going with a gender-neutral name such as Jesse Parker makes the game a little better for the player since they can then choose the character that they wish to play as. At the beginning, the player will be asked whether they want to play as male or female. The player will then be able to further edit their character with some basic changes such as skin colour and picking a specific voice. The name can go with anything which makes the rest of the voice lines for other characters very easy to do.
Let Me Go Home is a very thrilling game to play with lots of different mechanics that you can use to escape. As you can see written here, you can run around and climb things and many more mechanics that make the game so much more enjoyable. Furthermore, the game requires some deep strategic thinking for you to progress, which can be done using the mechanics as best you can.
After doing our original pitch to the class, we were given some feedback by Annie to go and improve the next presentation with the improved pitch for our game. We were told that the setting and art style for our fictional country are good, however, we could try to improve on this by including more things from the era that we're basing the game in. The actual speech for all of us went quite well and the ethical consideration is good. We could also say how it's not just to educate people on the corruption of countries, but also as an example as the Covid pandemic that we had.
Things to improve on would be to start explaining what some of the levels would be and how they would be helpful for your escape. For the main character (Jesse Parker), we should go into more detail about their story and background and why they are trying to escape - we know as a group, but it should've been explained more in the pitch. It's going to be quite a minimalistic pixel art for the aesthetic, and the colours are going to be quite dull, dark colours of blues, greys and browns, contrasted with bright golden lighting from inside buildings and lights on the sides of the streets. We will then build upon the story as you progress, however there won't be a whole lot since you are just someone visiting this country wanting to go home.
Part 2 of Making an Ethical Game
Part 2 of Making an Ethical Game
First, we assigned the jobs we had to do to everyone in the group. In the end, it was changed a bit from the original decision, but this gave us all the things that we knew we had to do.
We were also now doing it in PowerPoint, so we could make the slides look a little better. I've said I could move everything from the Google Slide onto the PowerPoint when I get a chance.
The first thing I wanted to complete was the controls. I was going to be doing this in Photoshop, using all of the tools to help me make a good-looking few keys that I could use to make the control screen. I used a simple square shape and made the corners slightly rounded off. I then used some effects to make it look better, added a text box on top of it, and applied some effects to that. I have my key. For the mouse, I just imported a simple 2D mouse image that I found online to use as my baseplate. I then got to designing it by adding a little title at the top of the screen and adding some words to show what each button would do. I later went on to change these lines from grey to yellow since it was what the colours were on the controller controls image I found, but it also just made them stand out better and be more pleasing to the eye. Finally, I darkened the mouse to fit in a bit more with the rest of the image and it was basically complete.
Moving swiftly onto the controller controls, I used the same background and Controls title at the top of the screen as the keyboard and mouse controls. I then found this image of a PlayStation controller which already had the majority of the graphics included. I then just copied and pasted the same text from the K&M layout next to the best-fitted controls. After some adjusting of the controls to find the most appropriate layout, I have this. I did do a bit of editing to the original picture by cutting out the D-Pad diagrams and only using the 2 I needed. I then had to make the line which is for the bottom button, but it looks very similar to the other lines.
Next up, I wanted to redesign the Software and Specs page from the original presentation. I'd have to do this to all of them anyway, but this was a good start. I used the built-in designer tool in PowerPoint to make the text look nice with some headings, and then I started designing the page to make the logos fit in nicely. I did this by adding a simple rectangle shape and using the scribble tool to create a more rigid shape that I then cut out of the other shape. I then apply some effects to this shape and it looks like the page has been cut out, and the logos have been revealed.
The Completed Ethical Game Presentation
The Completed Ethical Game Presentation
Here is the final design of our presentation on the ethical game we've come up with: "Let Me Go Home." It has taken us the full amount of time to complete it, but it's full of information to pack out the GDD. I think as a group we worked well together, getting all of our ideas discussed and choosing the best ideas for the outcome of our game.
This is the first, opening slide. It simply shows the title of the game, as well as a short description of our game, followed by our names. Most of this was simple to do, just adding some text edits to make good-looking text. This is also first where you see my hole design where I make it look like it has been cut out from the main image.
Next is the walkthrough. This was a bit of text that would drop the reader into some sort of action at the beginning of the game and give them a decent idea of what has happened in the past. It also shows you some of the key features that the game has to offer.
Here is the plot slide that I did. It gives a quick overview of the game's plot, from start to finish. This gives you a better idea of what is going on and what your objective is within this game.
The setting slide tells you more about the way you got into this situation, going into a bit more detail compared to other parts. It also briefly touches over the game's level design and what you can expect the gameplay to sort of be like.
The gameplay slide goes into some detail about the main feature being movement. From that, you can tell that it is something that will help you a lot to escape. It also states how the game's aim is to shine a light over government corruption, which is our prime ethic.
This slide shows the list of characters that can be found within the game. The first one being you, and the rest are ones that can be helpful along your journey. They have different morals and objectives, which can make them more or less useful depending on the plan you take.
This slide describes some gameplay mechanisms in detail. It informs you more about the movement and different types that make you think about the situations they could be useful in. It also explains the grappling hook mechanic, which is an item that we planned to have a lot of complex mechanics for lots of freedom — but you'd have to be careful of being too suspicious.
The levels slide describes each stage of the game that you will take part in. It starts off by briefly describing the tutorial level that gets you used to the game's mechanics. You then go into a more built-up area, and once you get into the next part, it's even more built up. Then you get to the final section and there isn't as many buildings and more of a forested area that has a lot of guards patrolling. This shows how the game gets harder and forces you to use the skills you learn to escape.
This slide informs you of the various objectives that you have while playing the game. The main objective being to escape Borexium and get home. You then also have the secondary objectives that are joined into the story and required. Tertiary objectives are separate missions that you can accept on your journey to give you better odds of escaping and offering you minor, but possibly crucial, rewards.
The art style slide gives you a decent depiction of what we intended the game to look like. If you mash all of these ideas together, you'd get the low-poly, dark, dystopian game style we were going for.
Another made by me, and probably my favourite because I really like how everything looks. The screen layout is obviously very minimalistic, but that is perfect since it contrasts the low-poly art style. Everything is clear as to what it is, especially since there isn't too much thrown in your face. The settings menu and title screen would be similar, very simple, and clean. One small change that isn't easy to see is that the inventory darkens the game slightly.
(Not Actual Gameplay)
The target audience is meant for a mature audience due to some violence and gore, as well as the dark story. However, this could be educational since it teaches the players about government corruption, which isn't shown in much detail in the world. The overall gameplay can be enjoyable for any ages.
Getting onto the last few, we have comparative games. The most comparable game is Papers, Please since in a way we just reversed the role. Mirror's Edge for the parkour/movement aspect of the game. Fallout games for the story and survival, as well as Cyberpunk since that was about a corrupt city too.
Selling points is one of the most boring slides in my opinion, but most important for an actual game. Since the game has plenty of different mechanics and elements from previously successful games, it should be a greatly received game. Having a relatively low price in comparison to games nowadays, we also send 20% of profit to war torn countries, giving people two reasons to buy the game: play an amazing game and donate to an incredibly helpful charity!
Here, you can see the relatively low requirements for PC, and the widely compatible support for many consoles of this generation. This gives most people the option to play the game, experience the greatness, and assist people in these real-life situations. I also stated what software and tools we used to help put the game together.
Keyboard and mouse controls are something that you wouldn't think to be that important within a game, but they really are. If you assign good key binds that most people would use for games. It is easier for players to jump in and get used to your different movement, but allows them to spend more time in the game and less messing with key binds. PC players have also probably played some of the similar games that were listed earlier.
Finally, we have the controller controls. The same goes for this, it has to be similar to other games, so the players have a smooth transition. Since I made these, but I don't play controller games, I asked a few different people their opinions and changed a couple buttons.
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