Age as Force
THEME: Play and Forces
CONTEXT:
Inspired by some of the early age verification systems in games as well as the work of Mildred Oarten Newhall who observed who the style of play and type of play children engaged in changed as they age. This discussion of evolving styles of play made me start thinking about how could age affect gameplay styles as a force.
METHOD:
Within unity I created to linked scenes – the first a quiz similar to old age verification quiz to set the players initial age. Once this a simple environment was created with multiple pathways through which all favoured one age group over another. With this in place I worked out how to have the aging process have a continually effect on the user
RESPONSE:
The end response is a interactive piece where you answer question to get your initial age set, at each age the character has certain skills, a child can crawl but not climb up slopes or jump, a person in there teens to middle age can jump and run, but not walk up ramps and an older person walks very slowly, can only jump slightly and is able to walk up ramps.
These unique skills let the player take different paths around the environment and each age offers something to the player. The age of the character continues to grow as the game goes on and when they will reach a certain age they will die and be reborn as a child
REFLETCTION:
It was interesting to see how the different ages affected the play in such a simple environment and although there were no obstacles it is easy to see this continuous aging force being part of larger game. I would also have liked to see the aging force been applied to obstacles in a game world – i.e. a world where as things age and get older doors rust and cannot be opened, electronic alarms no longer work after a while
References
Parten MB Social Participation among Preschool Children. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology. 1932; 27 (3): 243–269