Assignment part 1:
The first game i chose was spent which we played last class, during the start of the run i felt like it would be easy to manage my money but just minutes into the run i began to feel anxious as i watched the initial amount of money i had slowly become a much smaller amount, during my second run i was much more cautious with my money since i knew what i needed to spend money on and what not to in order to avoid being taxed due to a wrong choice. what i liked is how the game made poverty out to be a result of just constantly making the wrong choice which leads to another issue which then triggers yet another problem and depending on that choice it can keep spiraling. What i disliked was how some choices felt sudden, one second im asked to pay the electric and water bill while barely having cash the very next i was asked if i wanted to go party. what i learned from this game is empathy since each wrong choice i made and consequence i faced made me reflect on what i made that choice and how many people fall for the same trap i did. One improvement i would like is if at the very end it would go through every scenario and show the options most people chose and explaining to the side why the choice i made could have been better or if it was the right one that way it would be more informative and educational.
Game link:https://playspent.org/
The next game i played was also the one we did during the last session, and thats the Syrian journey, during my first run i took many risks and i was able to successfully escape by being recused while taking a boat, however during my second run i decided to play with a much more passive playstyle and that ended up with me not failing, it taught me that sometimes you need to take risk and playing it slow isn’t always the best option. What i liked about this game in particular was the story telling part of it, you would receive bits of information along with risk assessments and then you would need to follow your gut feeling in order to make a proper decision, it made it feel rewarding when the decision you made leads to your desired outcome. What i disliked is i was more focused on winning then the reflecting part, the moment i made a correct decision the first thing that came to mind is that im that much closer to winning. this game taught me that in life you can’t just always take the safe route, you need to take risks or else you wont be able to get anywhere.
Game link: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32057601
depression quest, this game was much heavier then i expected going into it, any option i was looking for were not available most of the time which although felt unfair i realized it was intentional. what i liked about this game in particular is how it demonstrates depression through the interface showing the what if options but having them clearly crossed out so we can see what we could have chosen. I didn’t particularly dislike any aspect of it i just agree with what the DR said that this game might be a bit to heavy for some individuals to play, but hearing her say that made me actually want to give it a try. What i learned is that not to take things for granted to be more grateful for what i have whether it be the choices im presented with in life or the materialistic things. An improvement i would say is adding an option that makes the game a bit less dark so that those feinted hearted can also experience it.
Game link: http://www.depressionquest.com/
my 4th game was September 7th, at first i chose this because i thought it would be interesting to see the point of view of others during this time and see how relatable it was to my experience. while playing it i realized how every decision i made no matter how simple it seemed always carried a risk and sometimes doing what felt right had social and emotional downsides. What i liked is how the consequence wasn’t instantaneous, the tension was constant and you weren’t certain what would happen from some choices you made which originally seemed simple and not harmful. i had no real dislike for the game it good the only comment i feel like i can make is that i wish it added some external factors such as the risk of contaminating family, or limitations that some country’s had placed to try and make it slightly more realistic. I learned that depending on what people value more can chance how they perceive things, some might value their social life over health so they would obviously choose to go party and ignore the virus, while others would be the complete opposite. i would like if they added like a daily update which would give a status report of like friends and family, such as if one of your friends is constantly out partying you would receive news that they actually contracted the virus.
Game link: https://caitkirby.com/downloads/Fall%202020.html
The 5th game i tried was Newsroom sensation, when i first opened up the slides i didn’t really know what to expect but i could tell a lot of effort was put into this, i went into it thinking that my choices weren’t really going to be that important but then as i played i began to realize how each small decision i made would shape a much bigger outcome. Every headline i chose felt insiginificant but as i played more i could see how my popularity was shifting depending on what i prioritized. what i liked about this game was the way it made you have to balance between what is morally right and grabbing attention, it showed me a different perspective of how media can slowly change from honest reporting. But this was also what i disliked at some point all i really cared about was keeping them balanced rather than reflecting on my choices, i was chasing a perfect balanced playstyle instead of actually focusing on the bigger picture of the game. what i learned from this is that intentions shape our behavior more then we think, even if the intention is pure the pressure can slowly push you into sacrificing your values. One improvement i would suggest is to take this game digitally since i feel like it has good potential and it would be much better with an actual interface instead of just slides.
My 6th game ”A mother’s dilemma” was by far the most unique one since it put me through a perspective that i would never experience. i was playing as a parent trying to make a decision for my child. while playing i felt like i was under the obligation to make the correct choices since it could either end up being good or hurting the child. what i liked was how realistic the situations felt which added to the sense of responsbility, bullying is something that exists everywhere and the choices chosen weren’t always the best ones. some of them created tension while others protected the child but didnt address the main issue. what i disliked was that at times i would have rathered if there was more branching paths since i felt like my choices were quite limited although the situations were sometimes extreme. what i learned is how difficult decision making is, we aren’t always presented with the best options and we need to determine what approach would be the most viable. One improvement i would like is to add perspectives from what the child see’s so we can see how our choices directly affects them.
Game link: https://carolnarchi.wordpress.com/2019/04/14/final-draft-of-the-game/
Last game i played was the offline game we played in class which involved using wooden pieces while blindfolded. At first i just thought it was a simple teamwork exercise but once we created the design and had our other team members use their sense’s to describe what was in their hand so that the other person could re-create it. Made it extremely interesting to watch how they each interpreted the instructions they gave each other. What i liked about this activity was how it shows the important of communication since if the instructions were unclear the entire thing could fall apart and would create stress. what i disliked is that i didn’t really get the purpose until we sat in a circle and began to discuss it, since while playing it i didn’t even consider what the underlying message behind it might be. What i learned is truly just the important of communication and patience, you need to be able to carefully communication to the person infront of you as you both aren’t seeing the same thing and that will involve a lot of patience as the message might not be clear from just the first time. One improvement i would have really liked to see is adding more pieces since i felt like i was limited in constructing the structure.
Looking back at all the games i played the most common thing i found was that they all forced us as players to make decisions after giving us a background and these decisions because of the background we were given formed pressure in each decision we made. Sometimes that pressure was financial, life threatening, mental, social, ethical, parental or even physical, each one limited your control in some sort of way. I also realized that in most of these games i was more focused on winning than understanding the underlying message the game was trying to send me, especially in the games in which it was clear that the only outcomes they gave you were success or failure. That taught me that in real life not only do you have to make decisions but you need to consider many factors such as how this will decision might affect you, or the being surrounding you. What stood out especially was the way empathy was shown, since they did not explain it in words but rather in an experience.
If i were to create my own game i think i’d like to create something related to ethical pressure of a young employee who had just graduated college and is still learning how to navigate his workplace expectations. The player would have to balance his own values along with job security something similar to newsroom sensation but for professional life. Small decision like speaking up in meetings, reporting unethical behavior or staying silent to avoid backlash would shape the many different outcomes scripted. I would probably also implement small reflection prompts after each major decision so that players dont forget to reflect on their actions and not just play to reach the best ending.
Assignment part 2:
These are my VIA results:
Your Top Strengths
Treating all people the same according to notions of fairness and justice; not letting feelings bias decisions about others; giving everyone a fair chance.
Doing favors and good deeds for others; helping them; taking care of them.
Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks.
Forgiving those who have done wrong; accepting others’ shortcomings; giving people a second chance; not being vengeful.
Speaking the truth but more broadly presenting oneself in a genuine way and acting in a sincere way; being without pretense; taking responsibility for one’s feelings and actions.
My Ikigai:
What i love:
I love travelling and experiencing new cultures and seeing nature.
What i am good at:
I believe im good at understanding people and being fair to those around me.
What the world needs:
People need to be more understanding of each other, we are easy to pick on others which needs to change
What can you be paid for? Or What can you get credit for in your course?
my ability to actually listen to individuals and take in their input instead of following whats purely on my mind.
ChatGPT chat log: https://chatgpt.com/share/69a2d92c-f800-8011-ba05-72a7e08f3248
The 2 ideas i enjoyed the most that the AI gave me, although very different i felt like they would be the most interesting. ”Borders of understanding” stood out because it focuses on fairness and listening before judging, i liked how every decision matters and rushing a decision might lead to consequences down the line. i think this reflects real life quite well and connects to my strengths of fairness and honesty.
The other game was ”The listener” it focuses on how you respond to people’s struggles instead of actually trying to solve them, i think this connects with my values the most, and i believe learning to actually listen is a very powerful thing that many of us need to learn how to do, i also enjoy the burnout mechanism. i’ve noticed that many times conflict occurs because the other person reacted to quickly without trying to understand the full situation. I’ve also seen how pressure can cause people to act unfairly even if unintentional, thats why i believe its important to spread awareness about this topic and that this game would actually be very good
for the games i’d like to make i actually really like the ideas that chatgpt came up with and i think it would be very good if i could explore them further and maybe add some twists myself to expand on it further.
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