Part 1: Fullerton Group Activity

Group members: Brad Forsyth, Chris Lam, Pascaline Natchedy, & Selina Choi

Exercise 6.1: Below the Surface

Take the subject of the last book or news article you read and think of its systematic aspects.
Are there objectives? Rules? Procedures? Resources? Conflict? Skills to be learned? Make a
list of the systematic elements of the subject or activity. Do this several times per week with
different types of activities or hobbies.

ARTICLE 1: “It’s pretty metal” - Florida man turned uncles skeleton into a guitar

Objective
● Inform readers of the process of turning a skeleton into a musical instrument.

Rules
● You have a certain budget
● Try not to get caught doing something illegal.
● Contact the funeral home for the body to be released/shipped
● You need to get an authorization from the State Department.

Procedures
● Legalities
○ Contact funeral home
○ Contact state department
○ Transfer the remains properly
● Build the electric guitar:
○ Solidifying the spine by welding a metal bar onto it
○ Attaching the skeleton to the bridge and neck of an old Fender Telecaster guitar
○ Using red and blue wires to represent the veins and arteries in medical books

Resources
● The guitar, Medically prepared skeleton, a welding machine, a metal bar, an old Fender
Telecaster guitar and wires

Conflict
● Can a skeleton be made into a guitar?
The presence of the rib cage creates certain limitations on the guitar player. It limits the
length of the strokes. As a result, the guitar tends to produce only a heavier kind of tone
when strumming

Skills to be learned
● How to make a guitar
● Dealing with bureaucracy
● Transfer of ownership for dead remains
● Shipping medically prepared remains

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ARTICLE 2: Can I get a cold weather payment and how much are they?

Objectives
● To inform readers about cold weather payments, shed light on readers’ eligibility and
educate them how payments are made.
Rules
● In order to claim the cold weather payment, readers ought to be already eligible for one
of the following benefits:
○ Pension Credit
○ Income Support
○ Income-based Job Seekers' Allowance
○ Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
○ Universal Credit - although there are certain exceptions

● Cold weather payments of £25 are made on a weekly basis.

● This program runs annually starting from 1 November to 31 March.
● The average temperature should be zero or below for 7 consecutive days.
● This temperature record should come from the nearest weather station in the readers’
area.

Procedures
● Each period of very cold weather in readers’ area triggers a payment into their bank
accounts.

Resources
● The resource is the weather station nearest to the readers’ postcode and the cold weather.

Conflict
● For seven consecutive days, the temperature should be zero degrees Celsius or less.

Skills to be learned
● Readers learn how to differentiate between cold weather payments and winter fuel
payments. To claim the cold weather payments, readers should apply for the different
benefits stipulated above. In order to do so, they must learn to sign up for benefits and
fill in government forms.

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Exercise 6.2: Game Deconstruction
Take one of the games you have analyzed in your game journal and create a “game
deconstruction” presentation. Analyze the formal, dramatic, and dynamic elements of the game.

Formal Elements

Players: Settlers of Catan features a multilateral competition player interaction pattern as 3-5
players compete against each other. Elements of optional cooperation are also present as
players can choose to trade resources.

Objectives: The objective of Settlers of Catan fits within Fullerton’s (2019) “construction”
classification. The objective of the game is to manage resources, strategically build structures,
and be the first player to reach ten victory points, which are earned by establishing settlements,
upgrading settlements to cities, building the longest road, raising the largest army, and drawing
a lucky victory point development card.

Procedures: The game board must first be set up before commencing play. First, terrain hexes
are randomly placed on the game board. Next, numbered tokens are placed in alphabetical
order on each terrain hex, except the desert hex. The robber piece is then placed in the desert
hex until moved by a player when a 7 is rolled or a knight card is used. Finally, the resource and
development cards are placed next to the game board.

To commence the game, all players roll two dice to determine turn order. The player with the
highest roll acts first and places their first settlement on the board at a hex intersection, followed
by their first road piece next to that settlement. Players then take turns similarly placing their first
settlement and road in a clockwise fashion. The player to act last then acts again and the turn
order is reversed until all players have placed two settlements and two roads. Each player then
draws resource cards based on which hex tiles their second settlements are bordering.

Each player then takes a turn in which several actions may be taken. Players begin their turn by
rolling the dice. The number rolled corresponds to the numbered tokens on the game board and
determines which players receive resources that turn depending on their settlement locations.
Players may then choose to build structures if they have the appropriate resource cards, trade
resources for a development card, play a development card, trade resources with the bank, or
attempt to trade resources with another player.

Rules: Players have to roll the dice at the beginning of their turn before doing anything else.
They can then receive or trade for resources and build. There are a set number of resources
required to trade with the bank, however this can change depending on if the player has a
settlement next to a trading port. If a seven is rolled, any player with more than 7 resource cards
has to discard half of their cards back to the resource bank.

Resources: Resource management plays a central role in Settlers of Catan. Resource cards
include lumber, brick, grain, wool, and ore. Specific combinations of resources are required to
build roads, settlements, cities, or acquire development cards. Players earn resource cards
whenever a number is rolled that corresponds to a hex tile that is bordered by one of their
settlements or cities. Players may also steal resources using the robber piece (when they roll a
7 or use a knight card), or trade resources with other players or the bank.

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Conflict: Conflict is created in the game through the rules, procedures, and strategy required to
be successful. Conflict can also arise between players as they seek to trade and form alliances,
block other players’ developments, or steal resources. Obstacles include the restrictions on the
game board in which settlements and roads may be placed, as well as the settlements and
roads placed by other players. Opponents include the other players who are simultaneously
trying to build structures and earn more resources and victory points. Various dilemmas may
arise, as players must decide where to place their structures, how to manage their resources,
and how to target or assist other players.

Boundaries: The physical boundaries of the game are situated within the game board and are
dictated by the rules described above. For example, settlements can only be placed on hex
corners and roads can only be placed on hex sides. Settlements and roads cannot occupy the
same space as other settlements or roads and settlements cannot be placed next to each other.
Additionally, ports are located around the edge of the game board. Players must also agree to
the social and emotional boundaries of the game to ensure the rules are followed and any
negative feelings that arise during gameplay do not carry over into real life.

Outcome: The outcome of the game is definitive and ends when one player reaches ten victory
points, relating to the multilateral competition design of the game. Settlers of Catan is a
non-zero sum game as it features “gradations of reward and loss” (Fullerton, p. 92). Players
can be ranked depending on how many victory points they obtained when the game is
concluded. The objective of the game can also be adjusted to be less than or greater than ten
victory points if players wish to shorten or extend the duration of the game.

Dramatic Elements

Challenge: Settlers of Catan (Settlers) is a turn-based strategy game where players take on the
role of settlers, building roads and settlements while competing against other settlers by
gathering, managing, and trading resources. In Settlers, the goal of the game is clear: be the
first settler to reach a set number of victory points. By having a clearly defined goal, Settlers
engages players to work creatively towards this goal. Players receive victory points for various
achievements throughout the game; the first player to collect a set number of victory points wins
the game.

Play: The gameplay is engaging by combining competitive and chance-based play. Players take
turns completing various actions and engaging various components of the game. The various
components of the game as well as player interactions challenge players to play strategically
and creatively. While the initial placements of the starting settlements, expanding roads, and
building cities require strategic planning, the island layout and collection of resources are
chance-based. Although players may be limited by the resources they can accumulate through
dice rolling, players also have the opportunity to trade with other players as well as buy
resources from the “bank”. Resource gathering and management promote fierce competition,
while negotiations and trading promote collaboration/compromise.

There is also an element of secrecy, where players can buy Development Cards using specific
resources, which grants special advantages. Here are some examples:
● Collecting and playing three Knight Cards awards the player with the achievement of
“Largest Army”, worth two victory points
● Victory Point Cards grant victory points in secret, and may be revealed during the
player’s turn.

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 ● Some Development Cards grant the building of x-number of free roads.

Majority of the actions in this game are high risk and high reward. Players may benefit from
collecting a large number of resource cards in order to use various combinations to buy desired
resources; however, by chance, another player could roll a “7”, triggering the appearance of the
robber and forcing all players with more than seven resource cards to discard half of their cards.

The game play, with the various components and various paths to victory, engages a variety of
player types. The intense competitiveness of this game engages Competitors. The trading and
buying system in the game engages Collectors, who may work towards victory by monopolizing
various resources and forcing players to trade. Achievers love this game because of the variety
of achievements that grant victory points, such as building a settlement (1 victory point), building
a city (2 VP), Longest Road (2 VPs), and Largest Army (2VPs), etc. Jokers may find this game
exhilarating by annoying other players through commentaries or malicious placement of the
robber to annoy other players. Gamblers love this game because the chance-based dice rolling
balances the game and gives players the feeling that they still have a chance even if they are
losing.

Premise/Story: In Settlers of Catan, players take on the role of settlers, building roads and
settlements while competing against other settlers by gathering, managing, and trading
resources. The premise is fairly basic and there is no elaborate story. Players generally do not
become emotionally invested due to the premise/story of this game.

Character: There is no depth of character or backstory for this game.

Dynamic Elements:
Objects
● Terrain hexes
● Resource cards
● Bank
● Trading port pieces
● Circular number tokens
● The robber pawn
● Settlements
● Cities
● Roads
● Development cards
● Two dice
● Award cards
● Four building costs cards, one for each player

Properties
● The resource cards represent various types of resources: sheep, wheat,lumber, brick
and ore.
● The terrain hexes are composed of colour- coded resources: sheep (light green), wheat
(yellow), lumber (dark green), brick (maroon), ore (grey), and desert (light yellow).
● The circular number tokens represent numbers between 1 and 12.
● Settlements, roads and cities come in four different colours: red, orange, blue and green
(for each player)
● The development cards are divided into knight cards, progress cards, and victory points.
● There are two categories for award cards: "Longest Road" and "Largest Army".

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Behaviors
● A resource card is awarded when the number adjacent to a players settlement is rolled
● A city (settlement upgrade) receives 2 resources when a number adjacent to it is rolled.
● The robber pawn is moved on the board whenever a player rolls a 7.
● When a player places the robber pawn on a hex, the other players are not allowed to
receive any resources from that specific hex when its number is rolled. The player who
moved the robber can also choose to steal a card from one of the affected players.

Relationships
● To establish a settlement, you need a minimum of 2 roads starting from your other
settlements. Upgrading a settlement into a city can be achieved by spending a
designated amount of resources.

Information structure
● Information on how to build settlements and cities in exchange of resources is provided
on the building cards.
● Each resource piece on the board is assigned a random number that appoints the dice
roll required for allocating resources.
● The development cards provide players information about the different strategies and
how players can use them.
● This strategy game has an open information structure that allows the players access to
real-time information about the game state. A leaderboard displays how many resources
and development cards are available in the bank. Although players can see the total
number of resources and development cards each player has in their possession, they
don't know the exact number for each type of resources and development cards other
players have.

Feedback
● When a 7 is rolled and a player has more than 7 resources, they must discard half of
their resources.
● The higher the number of settlements a player owns, the more resources they are likely
to receive per turn.

Economies
● Economies in Settlers of Catan are based on the amount of resource cards and
development cards a player obtains.
● Players can have a monopoly on certain resources depending on where they placed
their settlements on the board. If a player has a monopoly on a resource, they have the
upper hand when bartering with other players with that particular resource.
● Bartering can only be done by a player on their turn. They can state what resource they
need and what they can offer. Other players can then offer to trade or change the
requirements of the trade to benefit them.
● Players do not have to trade with other [Link] can also be done with the
resource bank by trading in four of the same resource card for any 1 resource card from
the bank (4:1).
● If players have a settlement on a trading port, then their 4:1 ratio trade with the bank can
change to a smaller ratio of 3:1 or 2:1 of a specific resource.
Development Cards
● Other than resource cards, the game also has Development Cards. Players can get this
card by trading in a specified amount of different resources. These cards are random

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 and can be highly beneficial to the player who received them.
● Some development cards allow players to take 1 type of resource from all the players.
For example: when this card is used the player can state which resource they would like
and all players who have that resource must give all of it to that player. Thus they would
now have a monopoly on that one resource.
● The most common Development card is the Knight card. Knight cards allow the player to
use it on their next turn and place the robber pawn anywhere they want and steal a
resource card from the player that is affected by the robber. If one player has 3+ knight
cards, they can get the “Largest Army” reward card which gives them 2 victory points.
However, if another player gets more knight cards, then the “Largest Army” card is theirs
(along with the 2 VPs).

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Exercise 6.4: Blue-Sky Brainstorm
In this exercise, use the techniques previously described to do a brainstorm for a “blue-sky”
project. By blue sky, I mean that this project could not technically be made today, but we are
going to pretend it could. The challenge is to come up with ideas for a “remote control” for a
stereotypical character. Choose a character from this list: • Door-to-door salesman • Busy
mother • God • Superhero • Politician First, brainstorm about the character: What does the
character do? What makes the character interesting? What aspect of the character would it be
engaging to control? How does the character react? Does the character have free will? Next,
brainstorm features for your imaginary controller. What will it look like? What could each button
do? Remember, this is “blue sky,” so the buttons can do crazy things. Have fun with this! Come
up with as many ideas as you can.

Brainstorm:
● Superhero name is RUFFUS
● What does the character do?
○ Is a dog that lives in a dog world but wants to be a cat
○ This character rescues only cats
○ Controls cats + can ride cats
○ Turns into any kind of cat (big or small)
○ Get distracted easily by birds
○ Weakness to laser pointers
○ Day job:
■ dog trainer at a pet store
● What makes the character interesting?
○ Has a catnip addiction - power from the catnip is intoxicating
● What aspect of the character would it be engaging to control?
○ Can only control their right hand
○ Can only control + fight while they are high on catnip (they are more calm)
● How does the character react?
○ While high on catnip they are more fluid + agile
○ More mellow on catnip - can think more quickly
● Does the character have free will?
○ Only when not high on catnip.
○ Has a collar that has the different kinds of catnip (limited amount).
■ But if RUFFUS is TOO high on catnip - completely unable to be
controlled. If too little catnip - RUFFUS cannot be controlled by the player.
● Imaginary controller
○ What will it look like?
■ It will look like the Nintendo Power Glove:
[Link]
■ A laser pointer that looks a bit like a wii controller
● Different coloured laser pointers
○ What could each button do?
■ Strobe light button - makes RUFFUS dance
■ Catnip button - to control for fights
● Different types that cause different effects/special powers
● Limited number of each

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Exercise 6.5: Exquisite Corpse
This version of the game is played with words. Everyone writes an article and an adjective on a
piece of paper, then folds it to conceal the words and passes it to their neighbor. Now everyone
writes a noun on the paper they are holding, folds it again to conceal their word, and passes it to
their neighbor. Repeat with a verb; repeat with another article and adjective; finally, repeat with a
noun. Everyone unfolds their papers and reads the poems they are holding aloud. One of the
first poems written this way was: “The exquisite corpse shall drink the new wine,” which is how
the game gets its name.

Process document:
[Link]
w/edit?usp=sharing

Results:
A heavy shark skipped the amazing cactus.
A funny Dentist swallows the dry baby.
The smelly pumpkin floats the tall Ruffus.
An excruciating cow disappeared a majestic coffee.

Exercise 6.6: Do It
Now it is time to brainstorm your own idea. Get a potential team together—either in class or a
group of friends who are interested in working on a game with you. If you cannot get a group
together, do it on your own. As you did in Exercise 6.4, in the blue-sky brainstorm, state an
interesting challenge for your game, set up a whiteboard or a sheet of butcher paper, and use
the techniques previously discussed to generate 100 ideas related to your challenge in 60
minutes. This might sound like a lot, but if you can keep the energy level up, you can do it!

Challenges - 100 Ideas

1. Puzzles
○ Sudoku
○ Maze
○ Riddle
○ Crosswords
○ Sliding tile puzzle
○ Traditional puzzle
○ Exit room puzzle/Escape room
○ Matching puzzles
○ Scrabble
2. Racing
○ Obstacles
○ Driving
○ Swimming

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 ○ Horse racing
○ Kart racing
3. Quests
○ Fetch quests / Delivery quests
○ Collecting items
○ Crafting
○ Hunting
○ Fishing
○ Climbing
○ Jumping
○ Swimming
○ Farming
○ Paying off debts
○ Chopping things
○ Scavenger hunt
○ Search and Rescue
4. Contests
○ Dance
○ Singing
○ Drawing
○ Pageants
○ Shooting
○ Archery
5. Timed challenges
○ Demolition
○ Farming
○ Mining
○ Collecting items
○ Trivia
6. Combat
○ Turn based
○ Beat em’ up
○ Dance battles
7. Resources
○ Potion
○ MP (mana points)
○ HP (health points)
○ Stamina
○ Dexterity
8. Jobs/Classes
○ Mage
○ Archer
○ Warrior
9. Simulation

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 ○ Theme park management
○ Manage hotel
○ Manage restaurant
○ Manage a farm
○ Manage a zoo
○ Manage a research facility
○ Manage a hospital
○ Simulate being a oil mogul - become a heartless jerk
○ Space exploration
○ Cleaning up environments / cleaning space debris
○ Space colonization simulation
○ Space pirate
○ Mining minerals - to sell and create cool stuff with
○ Simulate being a specific animal
10. Card Games
○ Battles
○ Combining cards
11. Speed
○ How many times you can mash a button in a given time
○ Speed dating
12. Memory Challenges
○ Matching cards
○ Simon says
○ Map memory
○ Navigation memory
13. Stealth
○ Try to escape from classroom without being noticed
○ Try to eat in class without being noticed
○ Try to steal stuff without being noticed
○ Try to cheat without being caught
○ Try to follow someone without being caught
○ Hacking
○ Stealing large items
○ Pick pocketing
○ Lock picking
○ Stealing people
○ Stealing animals from the zoo
○ Person who takes the largest item without being caught wins
○ Hide from authorities as someone with a bounty on their head
14. Last one to do a task is winner
○ Hammer nail challenge
○ Burning challenge
15. Quick time events
○ Rhythm games

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 ○ Beat matching challenges
○ Match dance movements
16. Survival
○ PVP on a space station
○ Hunting for food
17. Tag game
○ Man hunt
○ Infection
○ Freeze tag
○ 1 vs ALL → team thing
○ Capture the flag
○ Defend your area
○ Take over a base
18. Real time strategy games
19. Party Quests
20. Merge games
○ Putting shapes together

Exercise 6.7: Describe Your Game

In one or two paragraphs, describe the essence of your game idea. Try to capture what makes it
interesting to you and how the basic gameplay will work. State your “X”—both razor and
slogan—as a part of your game description.

LitGame (Terrible working title) is a single player, story-driven role-playing game set in a series
of fantasy worlds based on classic literary works which may include The Great Gatsby,
Frankenstein, The Jungle Book, 1984, Alice in Wonderland, Arabian Nights, Fahrenheit 451,
and Journey to the West. Players assume the role of the main character (MC), a seemingly
regular Canadian middle school student who has been transported to a strange new world with
no memory of how they got there. The MC soon realizes that this new world and the people that
inhabit it are drawn straight from many of the books that she has loved to read growing up. After
initially feeling lost and powerless, the MC discovers that she is the only one capable of reading
a series of ancient texts that grant the reader extraordinary abilities. Players embark on a
world-hopping journey to explore new settings and assist classic literary characters against a
mysterious villain that is plaguing each of the literary worlds. The MC will need to draw on her
knowledge of literary works, gain confidence, learn new abilities, and make new friends that will
join her on her journey to reclaim her lost memories and return home. LitGame will include
gameplay features such as exploration, puzzle solving, turn-based combat and memorable
quests and characters. It will also explore themes such as bullying, loneliness, and friendship as
the MC begins to realize that many of the challenges she faces parallel her struggles in the real
world.

Razor: Kingdom Hearts set in literary worlds.

Slogan: This game is lit!

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Exercise 6.8: Write a Treatment
Take the description you wrote in Exercise 6.7 and expand it into a three- to five-page treatment
for your game idea. A treatment does not go into great detail about every aspect or level of the
game; however, it will address these top-level questions about the idea.

Remember that this is just a draft. When you go on to the prototyping stage, you will address
these questions again in more detail.

Who is the game for?

● LitGame game is for people ages 13+. This game is aimed for anyone but it would be of
particular interest for people studying English or English literature. Many of the classic
literary worlds in the game would be books most people are familiar with or movies they
have seen on the big screen. However, this does not mean that people who have not
read the books or have not seen the movies are unable to play this game. It may just
appeal more to those who are familiar with the books/films involved in the game.

What will make it appealing to that market?

● This RPG game has many different characters that players can interact with. You get to
play as a middle school student and interact with different non-playable characters
(NPCs). Developing relationships in the game can make you more invested in the story
and character development. It can be quite immersive and make you feel like you’re
actually a young student.
● The LitGame game offers players the chance to simulate literary worlds they would
otherwise never get to experience. The fact that players get to experience a different
world, rub shoulders and embark on a quest with their favourite characters in those
books, is of extreme appeal for some.
● This game capitalises on the fact that those classic literary books are firmly ingrained in
Pop Culture. It is highly unlikely that players have not been exposed to these books
either as reading material at school or seen them as a movie. It is commonly known that
video games have a major influence on Pop Culture. Here, it is the reverse and we are
drawing on Pop culture references to immediately re-create a sense of familiarity with
the various characters, help players situate themselves in the game and use their
knowledge of these literary masterpieces to solve challenges. Pulling references from
Pop Culture offers a great background narrative for this game; thus making it easy to
keep players immersed for hours on end if they want to see what happens next in the
story.
● People who have already read these books and are familiar with the literary worlds in the
game would find comfort in seeing the worlds and characters they know from reading
come to life in game form. It would be similar to how many books get movie or TV show
adaptations. There aren’t that many that get video game adaptations.
● On the other hand, people who aren’t initially interested in classic literary books can be
exposed to and introduced to these books in a fun and interactive way through LitGame.

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 ● LitGame is an explorative game with combat and problem solving elements sprinkled
throughout. There is appeal here for players who like exploring new worlds and solving
puzzles.
● In LitGame, we strive to provide various kinds of challenges to appeal to different
players. Some players will be happy to solve puzzles while others will find enjoyment
when engaging in combat. This variety of challenges contribute to making this video
game fun and consistently increase players’ motivation to complete the quest.
● There is an interesting overarching plot that links each of the literary worlds together.
● The combat isn’t skill based and thus there isn’t a big learning curve in order to play the
game and have fun.
● The NPC from each literary world are the main characters from each book. They portray
characteristic quirks - making them more three-dimensional. Once you beat each quest,
the NPCs join your group and fight alongside the MC.
● This game enables players to take on a new identity, act through that new identity -- be it
an explorer or hero and make them feel better about themselves and less negative. With
every challenge solved and every quest accomplished, players acquire new powers,
hone their skills, make allies and build their confidence. A strong sense of character
progression can make the player feel as though they are in the shoes of the MC.
Moreover, this progressive acquisition of skills and powers mimics how humans learn
and improve over time. The player constantly feels gratified by their numerous
accomplishments, are eager to take on the next challenge and are motivated to see the
game through.
● Many have associated the term”escapism” with games alluding to players escaping from
their stressful problems in ordinary life. The LitGame does the opposite. Players are not
escaping to nowhere; instead they are trying to find their way back to reality. However, while
doing so, they unconsciously embark on a journey of self-discovery where they learn to
overcome multiple challenges that parallel their struggles in the real world. The game is
set up in a way that encourages players not to run away from themselves but run towards
their ideals. On their quest, players will be continually tested and asked to emulate desirable
traits such as bravery, strength and intellect. By overcoming each challenge, players are one
step closer to actualising their ideal self. Ultimately, one of the aims of this game is to help
players use their newly found inner strength to tackle real-life issues and problems.

What is the formal structure?

Players: LitGame is a single player game following a player vs. game interaction pattern.
Players will control the main character and a small party of supporting characters as they battle
against characters controlled by the game system and interact with non-playable characters.

Objectives: LitGame is primarily an exploration-based game with elements of turn-based

combat and puzzle solving included throughout. The objective of the game is to complete
various quests granted by non-playable characters in order to proceed through the story, unlock
your missing memories, defeat the main villain, and return home.

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Procedures: Players will take control of the main character and supporting party members and
move throughout the game world depending on how far they have advanced through the story.
Players may not advance through the story and to subsequent game worlds until all necessary
quests have been completed. Players will interact with non-playable characters who will grant a
variety of quests, such as fetch, deliver, gather, battle, and escort type quests. Once a player
has completed the objectives of a particular quest and returned to the quest giver, the loop is
closed, and the quest completed. Quests may serve to drive the main story forward, or act as
side activities to enable players to further explore the game world, gain new items, and level up
their characters. Combat in the game will include turn-based procedures in which the player and
game-controlled enemy will take turns taking actions until the enemy or player is defeated.
Actions may include attacking, defending, using items, and casting magic.

Rules: It is a turn based combat game, in which you need to wait your turn to take action. The
story is linear and the MC has to complete all the main quests within a literary world in order to
travel to the next world. The difficulty of each world increases as the MC progresses through the
story.

Resources: Resources will likely include various items and weapons stored in an inventory to
assist with combat and exploration, currency to purchase items, health points to determine
when the characters faint in combat, stamina to determine how often characters may act in
combat, mana to determine how often characters can cast spells in combat, and experience
points to level up controllable characters.

Conflict: Conflict will be driven through the game’s narrative structure and combat system.
Obstacles will include physical obstacles requiring puzzle solving skills and a variety of
story-driven conflicts that must be resolved before proceeding. Opponents will be encountered
throughout the game through the turn-based combat system. Characters will have to employ
strategy to be successful and ensure that they are at the appropriate level and have the
appropriate gear, skills, and spells to be successful.

Boundaries: The boundaries of the game exist within a virtual environment. Within the game
world, boundaries exist to prevent players from proceeding within the environment until certain
quests are completed, items found, or puzzles solved. Boundaries exist between each literature
inspired world until the necessary objectives are achieved.

Outcome: As a single player game, the outcome of LitGame will be determined when the player
successfully proceeds through the storyline and defeats the final enemy. Unsuccessful attempts,
such as being defeated in combat, will result in the player having to revert to the last point their
game was saved. To maintain the uncertainty of the outcome of the game, the difficulty must be
sufficiently balanced to elicit a sense of accomplishment without being too difficult. Additionally,
the narrative of the game must provide sufficient mystery and suspense to ensure it is uncertain
how the player will resolve the conflict. The plot point of attempting to retrieve the main
character’s memories will contribute to this sense of uncertainty within the narrative.

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What is the dramatic structure?

Challenge: The player will experience a variety of challenges with clearly defined goals (gaining
access to new areas, defeating mini-bosses and main bosses, etc.) as well as include
immediate feedback (praise or congratulations from friendly NPCs, gaining EXP points, new
gear, etc.). These challenges will scaffold on previously learned skills throughout this turn-based
game. Challenges will include, but not limited to, combat, navigating obstacles, solving puzzles,
as well as other story-driven challenges involving interactions with NPCs. These challenges will
be scattered throughout the various worlds; as the player completes challenges within one world
and moves onto the next, challenges will increase in difficulty.

Play: This game will engage various types of players. The various literary worlds will engage
Explorers. The stats and combat system that are augmented by various gear and skills will
engage both Collectors and Achievers. The wonders of the literary worlds as well as the skills
from in-game “ancient texts” will engage Storytellers who enjoy living in fantasy and imaginative
worlds. As the game develops with additional downloadable content, various elements may
further engage other player types.

Premise/Story: This is the story of a middle school student who has been transported to a
strange new world with no memories of how they got there. As they explore this new world, they
will meet strange characters, forge strong friendships, solve puzzles and challenges, and learn
new skills. As the MC develops new skills, they will be better equipped to combat rivals and
defeat villains, in their effort to save various literary worlds.

Each literary world will have their distinct “mini” story arcs, each with different conflicts requiring
creative (and often challenging) resolutions. As the MC journeys through each of the mini arcs,
their memory will gradually be restored, and the player will learn about the tragedy that led to
the MC being transported to this strange world. As the overall story unfolds, the player will
discover that the MC is a victim of bullying, having been transported to this world after a
physical altercation in the school bathroom that led to their loss of consciousness. Throughout
the MC’s journey through the literary worlds, they will discover their inner strength, the power of
friendships, regain their voice and the confidence to eventually face the bully in real life.

These dramatic elements are intended to stimulate the player into connecting with the MC on a
deep, emotional level as they reflect on their own experiences with bullying. The familiar literary
elements and characters are meant to engage the player while the story is intended to evoke an
emotional response. The strong friendships forged throughout the gameplay is intended to
communicate the idea that the MC is not alone, that they can overcome all sorts of challenges
with support from friends. The idea is that it is good to seek help and work together to overcome
bullying.

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References

Fullerton, T. (2014). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating

Innovative Games, NY: Taylor & Francis (CRS Press).

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