Team meetup | Concept Development

At the start of this term, we wrote up a quick timeline/checklist for the next few weeks, just so we could map out exactly how much we needed to do. With every team meeting we not only check off more and more, but we also add more and more to the list. Already our project has developed quite a bit more from our concept we had at the end of the last term for this semester.

Initially we just had a game that targeted all four areas of the garden, but we thought we were going to have to alter it to all ages, come up with a bucket load of options, and figure out the exact logistics of the game. Through communication with the client, we have come up with more and more ways to approach the design of our concept.

• We are now designing for 8-12 year olds, specifically school groups. So now we are designing on the assumption that we will have roughly 30 kids at a time to work with. 
• The mission journal (which was initially a side feature as some sort of reward for the child) is now a key focus element that will help facilitate the journey throughout our game
• To enable for efficiency and refined detail, we are now coming up with only 3 of the levels, leaving flexibility and with the assumption that there will be many more levels to come afterwards
• The mission journal will help us facilitate sustainability by encouraging children to interact with the mini-games in their journal (at home) so that they're continuing to discover the wonders of plant life even outside the botanical gardens. 

Mission Journal

Over this last week, we've really started mapping out the logistics of our mission journal. We first came up with all the levels and the scenarios for each (description in previous post). Then we started brainstorming a range of mini-games that could be included in the journal. We then started to layout the journal, what will go in the front? what will go in the back? Important content to help with the levels? Remembering it needs to be easy enough (accessible) for schools to download and print out themselves. We wanted these missions to be a little more interactive with the journal... Similar to the idea of the "wreck my journal" where the kids don't feel like they need to be precious with the journal. We want them to feel like they can really personalise it and make it their own. We want it to encourage them to interact with and learn about the power of nature. We have also begun prototyping the jour

Basic layout

Important journal elements include:

• Adventurer Identification page. This page allows the adventurer to come up with their own profile. including drawing their own character, coming up with a code name, rank and adding personal details such as age and school (possibly teacher?)
• A map of both the children's garden and the botanical garden itself
• Success sprout stamp page. Every time they level up, they're stamped on this page. (stamps per page for mini-games will also be used)
• Levels 1, 2 and 3 sections.. With a few mini-games per level section. At the start of every level, the children will draw their new team mates according to the instructions. This could be a blind drawing, drawing their team mates like a plant or drawing them as superheroes.
• Glossary of plants. Images and titles of plants all categorised based on their "plant power" (fibre, medicine, food, construction). Once children learn of the plant's power, they write it in themselves
• Stain log

We created a paper prototype roughly just so we could see where we are at, and have begun fleshing out each section. We started delegating illustration tasks already. I drew up the level intro page illustrations, Celia drew up the maps, and Sam drew up some of the mini-game illustrations. Once we've got a complete prototype, we're all going to fill it out... and I CAN'T WAIT OMG