Start It Up!
Game Design, UX, Content Writing
Start It Up is a web-based financial literacy game intended for high school students, college students, and adults who have started or are considering starting a business. The game was constructed to emulate real-life scenarios that startups face, including everything from choosing a location to managing external threats. As the Founder, the player forges their own path, often faced with challenging decisions in order to make their startup a success. The experience is infused with both serious and humorous scenarios to keep the player engaged and entertained.
Game Play
The Player begins with customizing their very own startup. The game guides them to create a Business Plan by choosing a business sector, name, long-term goals, location, and options to apply for financing. Once established, the player is then launched into the world and must make decisions and deal with unexpected events. This interactive simulation approach places the focus on a variety of curriculum-based decisions that have an immediate impact on the overall “system” with the player testing out/revising different business strategies.
Documentation
Following extensive scoping sessions, I gathered requirements and created wireframes and functional prototypes to share with the client and test with users. On approval, I wrote the functional GDD (Game Design Document, e.g. functional and technical spec).
Background Logic
Once the client was pleased with the user flow and wireframes we presented, it was time to focus on the design and how the game would function on the backend. Each choice a player makes has an effect on long-term goals and Revenue. I created a data sheet of all events and actions, including calculations for scoring to trigger text prompts and feedback.
Most enjoyably, with approval from the client, I had creative freedom in much of the content writing to come up with funny, whimsical scenarios to keep the player engaged, and induce a chuckle or two wherever possible.
