Initial Mechanic
The initial mechanic we came up with this idea from was the Energy mechanic.
In that mechanic, you are a type of energy (e.g. kinetic), and starting from something basic (e.g. clapping your hands), you have an objective to achieve (e.g. turn TV on). To do that, you must go through a series of objects that will change your type of energy (e.g. from kinetic to electric).
In the game, we want to portray this feeling of loss and gain that you have when you migrate. Along the way from object A to x, you will lose and gain types and amount of energy. This will be an abstract association to what people might lose and gain along the way of their migration process: lose family, gain friends, etc.
GAME IDEA NO. 2
[Version 1.0] Monday, November 11th
This game mechanic is pretty much the whole game idea, there's not much else you can say about it. We have talked about it and decided on several places the action could take place in: a classroom, a playroom, a computer room. There are many opportunities for various objects with different types of energies within these spaces.
One issue we know we will run into is repetitiveness. Going from an object to another, even with a strategy might become somewhat boring after a few levels.
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To develop further, we must look into some research about the types of energy existent, because me, for one, I know I don't have enough knowledge to be able to advance the idea. The research will also help in solving the repetitiveness issue. I feel we are stuck a bit, but that's only because there is research to be done, which is fine, because this is the phase in which we do this.
[Version 1.1] Friday, November 15th
Today, after we were able to do some more research in the Types of Energy topic, we had a team meeting to see where and how we can develop the Energy game idea.
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We have come up with nice concept and environment idea.
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This is a 3D game, with two modes: single player or multiplayer. The player is a type of energy and in each level it has a certain objective to achieve, by transforming and translating from one type of energy to another, by going through different types of materials/objects.
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The mechanic is the one we started from. You select what type of energy you want to be in the beginning, for example, if you clap your hands, you will have both kinetic and sound energy. From there, you must choose which object you go to next, so that you can achieve you objective: powering the projector screen. Each environment/level will have their own objectives and so you will need your own strategy.
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Visually, the player will be represented by some particles, and each type of energy will have its own colour, so you can see when you lose or gain energy, instead of having some stats written on the screen.
This would be an interesting and engaging game if we manage to make it as free as possible: if the player can interact with anything that is in the scene. Given the space that we want the player to be in, I think this is achievable, but we will also have to think about how many levels we will have, if we are to take this game idea forward.
