Day 4 at the Berkshire School's Pro Vita! Deep into Design

Good morning eveyone!

Today the Berkshire School Pro Vita Game Design class dives deeply into the redesign of ENTER THE CAVE!  I am so curious about how this is going to manifest.

My first question is who will be in what ROLES?
DESIGNERS?
PROGRAMMERS?
ARTISTS?
SOMETHING ELSE?

What will be the NAME of this TEAM?  Names are important not only for teams but for products, too.

It is time to begin!  More later....

I have been told that when ad libbing you must always say yes and go with it.  That is often my approach with this design process.  If a participant doesn't know the answer to a question or wants to think about the question, I won't accept that.  They have SOMETHING to contribute, even if it is not the perfect answer.  So, that is how some of this work got done today.

3 Designers
2 Programmers
2 Artists

Name of the team:  I Have No Clue

Why have a team?  Members working together is stronger than individuals working alone.

ENTER THE CAVE

Pros

• The game helps making decisions in real life

Cons

• Scenarios are not all realistic
• It is difficult to understand what is going on because art is not as visually detailed as it could be
• Chats and additions to the Scenario can be easy to miss
• Name

I suggested that instead of trying to redesign the overall game, which is a complicated and overwhelming task, identify three things that do not work to redesign.  To identify these things it is a good idea to identify aspects that do work first.   This sets thinking comparatively.

In the midst of pros and cons, and identifying, new ideas were flowing fast and furiously.

I have just finishing laying out what tomorrow's activity will look like, on the board.

It occurs to me how many words and ideas I am throwing at this group of young people.  I find my own level of enthusiasm and passion rising as I remember do this sort of project in graduate school, and the many hours I have spent at my table designing what I am sharing now.  I am sharing but this is not theirs.

What we have done this week so far has impressed me so much.  This "team" is ready for a break yet they are sharing something of themselves with me during this Pro Vita week.  I feel grateful to them.  I hope that even one will find enthusiasm for using games to educate, inspire or even solve the world's many problems.

It is time to pack up for the day.  More; the last, tomorrow!