Game Design

Document

Elements of a Game Design Process/ Document

• Overview of Concept• Desired Outcomes• Instructional Objectives• Tying Assessment to Gameplay• Game Play Strategy• Description of Characters (if any)• Game Environment• Description of How Game is Played• Reward Structure• Look and Feel of Game• Technical Specifications• Timeline

Overview of Concept

Short description of your game. Give as much information as possible.

Example:The concept is to create a web-based single player online game for sales

representatives that provide engaging, relevant, and personalized learning

on the topic of opening and closing a conversation with a customer. Topics

covered in the game are tied to our sales engagement model. The game is

based on a realistic setting of a store. The game will happen from a third-

person perspective and the learner will be evaluated on credibility, affability

and the ability to make the sale.

Desired OutcomeWhat do you want the learner to be doing as a result of playing the game?

Example:

Sales representatives will

properly use the Sales model

to spend time with customer

and ultimately make a sale.

Instructional Objectives

What learning objectives will facilitate the learning?

Example:

At the end of the game, the learners

will be able to:

-Appropriately approach and engage a

customer-Apply the three steps of an opening.

-Apply the two steps of the closing.

Tying Assessment to GameplayConcept to be

taughtIn-Game Activity Assessment of Learning

Example:Closing the sale. Select Right Closing Track # of Attempts the first time

Game Play Strategy

Exploration/Simulation /Free Play Area

Branching story, On-Line Board Games

Matching, Trivia Games, Drag and Drop Games

Gameplay Strategy

Example:

Matching game. The learner

must match the right closing

technique with the right phrase

from the customer.

Type of Game Play(Customer

Development)

Level of InteractivityType of

Knowledge Taught

Low Medium High

Exploration/Simulation Engine/Free Play Area

Problem-Solving

Branching story, On-Line Board Games

Conceptual Knowledge/

Rules

Matching, Trivia Games, Drag and Drop Games

Declarative Knowledge/Fact/Jargon

Designing Performance-Based Instruction

Facts Concepts Rules

- Elaborating- Organizing- Association

- Examples- Non-Examples- Attribute Classification

- If-Then- Cause/Effect- Concept Application

Procedures Principles Problem-Solving

- Whole to Part Review- Learn Parts- Assemble Procedure

- Teach Model- Behavior Checklist- Examples

- Multiple Scenarios- Professional Experiences- Realistic Application

Type of Knowledge

Instructional Strategy Gameplay Developed

Description of CharactersName Role/ Position Gender Attitude Attire Represents

John Potential Customer

Male Friendly Shirt tie, Suit-no jacket

Elusive potential customer.

Mary Sales Representative

Female Helpful Business Casual Proper procedure for initiating potential customer contact.

Lou Ann Co-Worker Female Unfriendly Business Casual Provides critical information regarding pre-qualification of potential customer.

USER New Sales Representative

N/A N/A N/A Person who needs to pre-qualify John during the case study.

Example:

The learners will be able to customize an avatar

in terms of eyes, skin, hair and be able to select

different styles of cloths. The learners will

interact with six NPCs, three female and three

male. The customers in the store will each have

different amounts of time they are able to spend

with the sales representative.

Game Environment

Example:

Store with microwaves and refrigerators.

Daytime and nighttime scenes.

Describe the environment in whichthe learner finds themselves whenplaying the game.

Description of How Game is Played

Example:

Upon entering into the Learning Management

System and launching the game, the learner is

placed into a store where customization can

occur. After the learner customizes their avatar,

they see a customer enter the store. They must

approach that customer. At that time, they are

given choices of questions to ask the customer.

Next…

Detailed “walk through” of how to playthe game.

Reward Structure

How do you plan to reward players?

Example:

The points in this game will be based on three

variables. These variables are credibility, affability and

making the sale. Each will be scored separately and

then an overall score will be provided called the

“Engagement Score.” Within the game, a focus will be

on a mastery orientation toward the goal. This means

each learner works to master the content in the game

and overall score is not related to any other learner’s

scores. Feedback will be provided immediately with an

unobtrusive popup accompanied by a longer

explanation available after play.

Look and Feel of the GameHow does the game “look”?

Example:

The goal is to provide a realist looking avatar in three

dimensions. The player will be able to see both the

front and back of the avatar through a spinning

function. The environment will contain 3D objects that

are realist colors of televisions, washing machines. The

heads up display will contain six elements. The first is…

Technical SpecificationsWhat software? On what server? Is there a download?

Example:

This game will be developed using Caspian’s

ThinkingWorlds software to provide the 3D

environment that is required. The game will be

accessed via the corporate intranet and will not require

any client downloads. The results need to flow into our

learning management system when the player

completes the game in a compatible format.

Additionally, …

Timeline

Example:

This can be a Gantt Chart or other method of showing

the estimated time to complete the project.

Create a Game• Sales or Customer Service

– Develop idea and create one page game-design document of idea.

– Present idea to all teams

Paper Prototyping