GAMEPLAY

Challenges

Challenges in the game should be relevant methods of combating the effects of climate change and taking care of our planet but should also test the players ability to be wary and conscious of their environment. This can be achieved by incorporating small obstacles. These obstacles could be physical objects in the game environment such as fallen trees, blocked paths or hazards such as toxic waste or a dangerous animal/NPC. The player would have to find a way to move around the obstacles or interact with them.

NPC dialogue can also be used as an obstacle that would challenge the player and possibly prevent them from collecting an objective item or they could possibly pose as a threat to the player. Successfully de-escalating a situation with an aggressive NPC will avoid conflict and failure.

NPC's could have possession of an item and the player would only be able to retrieve it by choosing the correct dialogue options. The purpose of this challenge would be to test the players ability to sympathise with others. By speaking to the other character with kindness and care, they would be rewarded with the valuable artefact that the NPC possesses. This supports the message we can only be successful in fighting climate change by being considerate of those we share this planet with and taking collective action.

The player will primarily be challenged to make decisions that are ethical and considerate of the environment and those inhabiting it. The game will place the player into scenarios which will test their ability to make difficult decisions with serious consequences. They must do what is right for everyone and not strictly beneficial for themselves or the player-character. Only by doing this, will they succeed in their mission of bringing home the supplies for Morgans family and therefore being rewarded with the positive game outcome.

Challenge examples

Choosing to either save a trapped animal or kill it to take as a food resource. The first option would be choosing to protect green spaces and its wildlife, and choosing not to eat meat which also contributes to sustainability. This is the moral and environmentally beneficial option. Killing the animal would be completely unnecessary and the way the game would show this is by providing educational narrative explaining the benefits of the moral option as well allowing the player to take an item that will come in useful later on. This way they are rewarded through gameplay as well as information.

Another scenario to challenge moral decision making in relation to environmentalism is the giving the player the opportunity to steal resources. NPC's that are living a greater standard of life than Morgan will be finding ways to combat the changing planet through sustainable life choices such as growing their own food. The player will have the option to either steal from these NPC's to benefit the main character and complete the objective. The other option would be to start dialogue with the NPC and be rewarded with the opportunity to receive items or ability to trade items.

Measuring Success

The player will succeed in this game by making the correct game decisions, both interaction and dialogue, that are morally good and beneficial for the environment. This will be measured by how many of the objective items they will be able to acquire as these are only obtainable by making those right choices. The player should acquire a majority of the items for them to be granted the win.

As explained under "Inventory and point system", in the Mechanics tab, there will be 7 items to collect while playing the game. If a player makes a wrong decision and fails to obtain an item in a particular scene, that should not guarantee a loss as extreme player punishment would not be favoured and would take away from the experience. Therefore the player must only retrieve five of the seven items to win. Some of the items will be broad enough, "food" for example, so that there will be multiple opportunities to succeed in finding them.

Game Outcomes

How the player chooses to play the game will determine the conclusion of the narrative. This will be shown through visual changes in the game environment showing how one person's seemingly small actions contribute to monumental change.

Win

The player will win the game by succeeding in making ethical decisions while interacting with NPC's and events. By doing so they will be able to collect the items that are required to help Morgan's family while also cleaning up the environment. The visual outcomes of this are that Morgan will make it back home with the items and meet their family on the porch, they will be happy with the knowledge that Morgans sister will recover using the medication and resources that have been acquired. The skies will begin to clear, and life will start thriving, enveloping the game world in sunlight and hope for a brighter future.

Lose

The player will lose the game by failing to choose to do the right thing. By making selfish or negligent decisions, they will fail to acquire the resources they have been tasked to find or further cause destruction to the environment. These actions will prevent Morgan from making it home and help save the world. It will further descend into darkness until any hope of redemption is lost completely. The atmosphere will become unbreathable and the world will be scorched as the ozone layer deteriorates. The story will end with the environment visually transforming and Morgan falling to the ground, the game fading to black.