Project Overview and Milestones

Purpose

I'm hoping to create knowledge on the positive impact of video game use on cognition. My motivation comes from wanting to help kids with ADHD to learn life skills, and ADHD kids show high engagement when playing games. The positive effects of games on cognition have been studied, but this is a developing area of research. Specific elements of game design that cultivate different aspects of cognition should be identified. With that in mind, I want to identify elements of game design that help with Time Management Skills. For my project, I would like to create a simple game that shows at least one design element that I believe will help with time management skills. To determine which design element(s) to include, I am reviewing games for time management elements. So far I have reviewed The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask and Overcooked 2. Next I will be looking at Minit.

Milestones and The Project

The project consists of three phases which I outlined in this post:

https://esb690.wixsite.com/newmediaproject/post/the-project

Phase 1: Time Management Game Review/Analysis

As stated above, I have reviewed 2 games and will continue to review as I’m developing the rest of the project. Keep an eye on my blog for future reviews!

Phase 2: Assessing Design Platforms

I have selected Unity and its visual programming plugin Bolt as my design platform. I was going to assess Unreal Engine as well, but due to time constraints I will not be spending time learning the platform. I learned that these two platforms are quite similar in terms of the tools they offer, so I will be using Unity since I have already started to learn it.

Phase 3: Designing a Game

I will be designing a simple game. Given my lack of experience in programming, my primary goal is to create a game that is functional, this will be more than enough of a challenge. I will aim to incorporate a time management element to the game based on my prior game reviews. This week, I will be looking for prefab assets to make a game and working with more Bolt tutorials. Here are some of my thoughts on time management elements I have observed in games, and elements I have come up with myself:

On-screen timers: These can be stressful to players (Sullivan-Carr, 2016). Players I have talked to about Majora’s Mask said they quit the game because the time limit or the timer itself stressed them out. I have thought of two ways to incorporate a time limit to be less of a stressor.

One way would be to have a timer the player could stop to check, but they would have to stop moving to look at it. The real-life equivalent would be checking your watch or phone for the time. We often have time constraints but don’t always have the current time in our view.

A second way would be to incorporate a day/night cycle to show the passage of time. In either case, an idea I had would be to give the player chances to pick up an item that would turn back the clock. This could be novel with a day/night cycle, to see the sun return to a previous position.

Time Notebook: In Majora’s Mask, you have an in-game notebook that tracks time-sensitive challenges. I believe this is a great design element. Not only does it help you track your goals, it provides you a stamp when you complete each one, giving the player a sense of accomplishment. Acquiring all stamps is a long-term goal with a great reward (though this reward is not clearly established).

I think it will be too ambitious for me to create a functional time notebook in my game, but I will look to see if I can find something pre-made. I would structure it differently; players would enter in time goals themselves and allocate specific time periods. A long-term goal would be established in the notebook to encourage the player to continue accomplishing their goals.

Helper: Majora’s Mask has a fairy helper, Tatl, who guides the player on goals and provides information on the world. A helper NPC could follow them and offer guidance and reinforcement of goals.

Practice Mode: In Overcooked 2, the player can practice each level without time constraints. This is a good way to test boundaries and understand mechanics before trying to complete tasks under pressure.

UI Elements: The UI can be used to keep the player aware of goals, but runs the risk of stressing out the player if each goal has a visible time limit, like Overcooked 2’s order queue. In a larger project, I would perhaps allow the player to take goals set in their time notebook and pin them to the UI for reference. For this project, I want to keep the UI very simple to keep stress lower.

Breaktime: I would like the player to be allotted break-time, where the level timer stops. In this time the player would be able to observe the level and its challenges, assess their progress, and collect/record their thoughts. I would set up the break environment to look relaxing, maybe a campfire and a cup of tea. This could be a valuable design element because it is important to manage stress, even under time pressure, and this is a valuable skill to have in real life.

Breaktime could be an element where it is engaged at will, say the player has 1 or 2 breaks per level, and they can use one whenever they feel too pressured. Alternatively, they could find a break area hidden in a level to engage breaktime.

Filling meters: A challenge is how to incorporate short vs. long-term time management goals, especially in a small, simple game. I am still thinking about this. Perhaps acquiring some items or completing some goals help you reach the long-term goal, beyond the short-term time limit of the current level.

Keeping things abstract, players could have a short-term goal meter and a long-term goal meter. They need to collect items which fill either meter. The short-term meter would need to be filled within the time limit to finish a stage, while the long-term meter persists across the whole game, and must be completed by the end. While players could rush to pick up all the short-term goal items, the optional, long-term items may be out of the way and require the player to think more methodically.

Additionally, as players complete levels or hit long term milestones, they would receive upgrades that help them utilize their time more effectively, such as running shoes that make them move faster, or a tool that detects the location of goal-meter filling items.

The above ideas aren’t set in stone, and I want to familiarize myself with more design concepts before I decide on what to include.

References

Sullivan-Carr, M. (2016). Game-Based Learning and Children with ADHD (p. xi, 113 pages) [Drexel University]. https://doi.org/10.17918/etd-6890