TIM BENITEZ

This Assignment was given with the challenge of coming up with a concept to get an emotional response from the player.  This was a difficult assignment for me as I don't really respond emotionally to the games that I play.  I know that there are plenty of gamers that do, but sadly I'm not one of them.

 

 

 

I have never attempted to think of creating a serious game before, but when I was trying to figure out an emotional theme I could not focus on anything else but serious themes. So after coming up with a violent kidnapping open world game, which could still be cool, I came up with a parent simulator to elicit emotions that come with raising children. I wanted to create something that was different from the normal violent action game that elicit sadness and anger. I wanted something that would bring a lot of happiness. While this game may bring some sadness and anger that's not my only focus. So here's

 

A Parent's Life

 

1. Concept

A parent simulator where the player takes on the role of one parent, whether it be the father or the mother. The player is charged with raising children through discipline, love, and encouragement. All this raising will take place in the home and sometimes in other locations such as a school meeting room, sports field, or a ballet hall. There will be no real enemies except the child's attitude. This will be a nonlinear experience and the choices you make will affect the future. Raising a child in this game will not guarantee exact real world application, but we will attempt to make this game as realistic and perfect as possible. The primary goal is to allow the player to experience a simulated parenting experience.

 

2. Mechanic

To start off, the player will create their own avatar of a father of a mother to play and will choose to be a working parent or a stay at home parent. The other parent may choose to work or not and this will be chosen by the game. Paying the bills and money management will be part of the experience so the player can make sure the family is being take care of. Time will move in real time, just a lot faster than real life time. Time will not take forever, but will not be super fast. This will be a PC game where the player will have a user interface similar to an MMO with many commands and actions to choose from for the primary game mode. This also means the player will be able to move their avatar. The player can choose to have anywhere from one child to up to three children. Each child will be raised from birth to 18 years old. To raise the child there will be many activities to do. There will be conversation where the player will have a few options to converse with the children and spouse. Some activities will have mini-games such as playing basketball with your son or daughter. Other mini-games will include having a tea party, playing catch, playing video games (simple ones), playing dolls, and many more. These will be simple versions of the sport if the mini-game is a sport. If a child chooses to do a sport then you can choose to attend competitions and encourage him. The player will also able to help their children do their homework. Besides paying the bills, shopping for you children is an activity you can do because children love toys. There will be no scoring in this game. This game will have an end which will be when all children grow up and that will happen with the passage of time alone. Time will only pass by when logged into the game and not when away. Players will need to keep track of their children's progression on there own. An in game journal feature will be available to log everything noteworthy the player thinks is noteworthy.

 

A lot of research will be put into creating the artificial intelligence for these children. They will whine and cry if they do not get there way, but may learn a valuable lesson which will help them make good decisions further in the game such as not always going to McDonald's. Raising children is an emotional experience and there is never just one emotion that surfaces from doing so. I hope to help players feel happy if they see their child happy and/or accomplish great feats. They may able to help them achieve the goal through the mini-games or by giving helpful advise. I hope to elicit feelings of sorrow, and maybe anger, if the player chooses to do things like not let a child have a sleep over which may result in a child getting upset.

 

3. Audio

There will be some emotional music to heighten the mood for certain situations and upbeat music for mini-games. There will not always be background music for every situation. There will need to be some very professional and well recorded voice work so that the children feel believable. We need the voices for all family members to bring out some emotion through tone.

 

4. Visuals

Graphics will not be supremely realistic as the player needs to be able to relate to his avatar and that's easier if the character does not look too realistic. The main focus for visuals will be in the animation for facial expression and body language. These animations may be slightly exaggerated for a grand effect. The proper use of light will also add effect for the emotional mood .

 

 

5. Audience

Real live parents may be affected emotionally by this game the most, because they have experienced some, if not all, of the events that will occur in this game. I hope this does not steer them away from continuing to play this game. I do not expect this to be a perfect training tool for parenting, but it could be a good start. I will make this game age appropriate for all ages by not adding intensely serious issues like teen pregnancy so that the real parents can explain those topics to their children themselves. My vision is that this game will be played by children with their parents or vice versa so they can engage in real life conversations about raising children. This way parents have a tool in training their children to raise their own families after they grow older. So in a nut shell this game is going to be targeted for families.