My game is based on the radical culture of the Sarah Lawrence College campus community. It is a whimsical critique on how many students pressure each other to over commit themselves and pursue social justice even at the expense of the individual’s own self-care. The core of the game focuses on the player’s decision to either fit into someone else’s box, or to make their own metaphorical box. To fit in, they must commit to other’s ideals even if it’s to an unhealthy extent. To create themselves, they must pick and choose (or choose not to choose) what they agree to commit to. The actual groups or goals that can be committed are concrete and feasible goals rather than abstract ideas. For example, the player could talk to a pink NPC who pressures them to build a ramp instead of stairs because stairs are ‘problematic.’ This game takes that tension and that cycle of hurt and adapts it into a lighthearted view.
My game is ‘radical’ because it is a Conform or Not Conform type of game. The game mechanics are not complex because I am fresh-faced beginner to coding. Thus, there are no branching dialogues, combat system, or a complicated web of interactions based on what you click or do not click. Instead, the mechanics are either you touch a NPC and initiate dialogue and thus conform, or you do not touch at all and ignore the NPCs. This is representative of the message of the game because you can either spend all your time listening to others by ‘touching’ them, or you can ‘keep your hands to yourself’ and explore the world by walking around them. You don’t have to listen to others and just listen to yourself. It’s up to you.
Overall, I am proud of how far I developed my game. True, it’s not as accomplished or as sophisticated as my classmates but I am glad I took the class and got the chance to see a snapshot of game development process and culture. For example, I had no idea that game developers made paper prototypes of their games! It makes sense but it never occurred to me before. Otherwise, the game isn’t far along but I am glad I got as far as I did. I successfully implemented at least one conversation, freeze-player, and finally the map points. I also managed to implement the artwork and slice the sprites.
