CorporateAn interactive simulation of corporate

lifestyle

Sruthi Padala

Real World System

• What is complicated? Factors and combination of factors that help attain success at a highly-demanding job without compromising family relationships

• Causal Patterns - more work means more money but less time for family

- more time for family means less time for work and so

less money

- black and white?

Real World System

• Why does it call for replay? Learn to balance the various duties and responsibilities in order to achieve success at work and at home

• How does the simulation interpret real world

system? Corporate lifestyle is a daily struggle to perform well at work, be a caring spouse and a responsible parent

Similar Artifact: Courier Similarities

• Text based decision making game

• Simulation about trade-offs in balancing responsibilities

Differences

• Choices outcomes are less transparent

• More possible outcomes

Similar Artifact: Ayiti Similarities

• Social values reinforced

• Managing activities of characters

• Complicated strategy

Differences

• No negative feedback loop

• Fewer characters

Abstract Model Key Elements• Boss’s mood – employee duties

• Wife’s mood – husband duties

• Child’s mood – parent duties

• Money - success at work

• Time - progress in the game

Values• No single factor can account for

success• Importance of family• Money does not equate to

happiness

Interaction Pattern

• What can be done? The interactor decides what action to be done in each scenario

• How is this indicated? At the beginning of each time step a prompt is displayed, describing the task that needs to be accomplished a set of choices of actions

Interaction Pattern Visibility• Meters change with every

decision step

State• Time indicates progress in the

game• Money indicates resources

available

Feedback• Textual : prompts• Visual : background images• Result screens

Get firedGet

Divorced

Shopping

Task 1

Task 2

Task 3

Shopping

Everyone happy

Accused of being bad

father by child

Hire Nanny

Blackberry

Buy Gifts

Money>5000

Money>10000

Money>15000

Abstract Flowchart:

Start

Broke

Task 1: Negotiate settlement

Wife calls

Paid a bonus of $10000

Pick up son from school

Lost little time, paid only $5000

Ask a friend to pick up your son

Late for meeting , lose $5000

Pick up son

Wife happyChild happyBoss upsetChild upset

Boss happy wife upsetChild upset

Shopping

AnswerIgnore

Ignore

AnswerCalls again

Task 2: Dinner with in-laws

See Boss

Lose $5000

Stay longer to score a client

Neutral choice

Joined family late

Paid a bonus of $5000

Win a client

Wife upset,Boss happy

Wife happyBoss upset

Boss upset wife happy

Shopping

Carry on with dinner

Go over

Boss calls

Ignore

Stay

Leave

Go over

Task 3: Organize Son’s Birthday party

Which task first?

Took more time because of traffic

Finished documents and attended party

Documents unfinished. Lose

$5000

Paid a bonus of $5000

child upset,Boss happy

Boss upsetchild happy

End

Pick up cake

Got caught up in work.

Time for party

Finish documents

Prepare documents for merger deal

nanny availabl

e

Send nanny to pick up cake

Leaveimmediately

no

Stay

Stay at party

Skip

Motivating Replay

• Learn and discover by exploring

- Hire a nanny to delegate responsibilities

- Buying blackberry upsets wife

• Multiple ways to win or lose the game , make

players want to explore all the ways.

• Emotional affinity to see characters happy

Future Improvements

• Satirical tone

• More user choices:

- wife working or not working

- the kind of job they have

• More characters that influence decisions

- colleagues

- friends

Walkthrough: failure

Choose Ignore

Choose Answer

Choose ‘Ask a friend to pick up your son’

Buy ‘Gifts for Family’ and click on ‘Enough’

Click on ‘Go’

Choose ‘Decline politely’

Choose ‘Next Task’

Choose ‘Enough’

Choose ‘Pick up cake’

Choose ‘A kid turns 10 only once’

Walkthrough: success

Choose ‘Answer’

Choose ‘pick up son’

Choose ‘Next Task’

Choose ‘Enough’

Choose ‘Go over and say hello’

Choose ‘Stay for some more time’

Choose ‘Next Task’

Choose ‘Enough’

Choose ‘Prepare documents’

Choose ‘Leave immediately’

Success !