Thursday, January 30, 2014

Game Idea: Collective Social Gaming



Introduction

 2012 is a social game based around the idea that people believe the world is either good or bad and they have a chance to voice their opinion through the UI mechanics of choosing a side and the associated gameplay that comes with that decision.

The game itself can be considered sort of a glorified, realtime, online poll that runs continuously. There only real depth to the game beyond voting, would be some light social sharing aspects and the strategy involved in diplomacy. The mechanic of the game to inspire users to play is one of the core social components of the game play (e.g. wanting to be on the winning team) not necessarily the mechanics of the game itself.

Another metaphor for the game would be a tug of war. Users choose a side when the first sign up and ‘cast their votes’ to determine whether or not the world is bad or good.  At 12:00am on January 1, 2012 the game will cease to function and play an animated Unity scene to reveal which side has won. The scene will play continuously looping for a week until the application is removed or blocked from being accessed.


The game can also be thought of in terms of seeing a movie and the emotional arc that is commonly associated with many Hollywood plots. A key aspect of the overall design will be to entertain the user base for a year using such tried and true methods. As such, events and the availability of certain graphics and 'trophies' will be carefully considered and revealed to the user base at specific times according to an 'event schedule'.

A segment of users are expected to be heavily engaged, while another segment is expected to be passive. Some users may leave the application open in a window to watch it or ‘check in’ from time to time. (As they would with a pet rock or a Chia pet) Some segment of passive users will be come more engaged and increasingly active as the ShutDown date approaches. We expect the cinematic nature of the meta game will keep the passive user engaged and interested.

2012 can also be considered a social experiment in an entertainment wrapper.

Where 2012 stands alone is that is a truly social game in that the end result of this gaming experience is a communal effort- and the fact that there is a definitive end. It is not a game where users build their own kingdoms and then engage each other on the social level of the application. The application is the social level of this game.




“2012  is upon us.

Many have predicted that this will be the end for our planet. But still others believe we hold our fate in our hands. Will our world be redeemed or will it be destroyed.

You Decide…

Welcome.

2012 is the most profound social experiment in the history of Mankind.

Do you believe the world is filled with more evil than good or more good than evil? Cast your vote below by choosing which side you will join in this epic struggle of darkness versus light. Or just pick a side to have fun!

At 12:00 a.m. GMT on January 1, 2012 this application will cease to function. At this time the ‘final votes’ will be in place and we, as a people, will decide if the planet will either be saved or damned. Cast your vote today, stay strong and battle vigilantly for those convictions in which you believe. For when this game and our ultimate battle concludes we will have the finally have the answers we have searched for so long...what do we think of ourselves?

Choose your side with conviction, fight for what you believe in and stay strong.

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