The single greatest asset in this design experience has been our process. We developed a fast-paced, highly iterative process full of user reviews and prototyping.

Our process included rounds of research, prototyping, and reviews. We conductconducted reviews with users, professors, professional game designers and even the serious games experts. We also engaged in intense 24-Hour Design Jams in which we would focus on our design for two days. During the meetings we would discuss a topic, prototype it quickly and review it. The meetings were highly productive in shaping the design as it appears today.

Design Pillars
We defined design pillars that are central to our design philosophy:

1. Stay core – understand the core mechanic of the game and stick to it. Our core mechanic was these fun, tinkerable simulations. We found through informal observation that simply providing people simulators like NetLogo or FallingSand was very engaging.
2. Make it sticky – make sure players are taking the content out of the game and into real life by implementing strategies like personalization and viral marketing
3. Make it a toy first – the game should be fun to play; In the words of Scott Kim, imminent puzzle and toy designer, a good toy looks like its fun to play before you even know what it does
4. Stealth education – the game maintains a balance between entertainment and learning. At no point in the game should it feel like we are “teaching” in a traditional sense.
5. Rapid – prototyping – the design was iterated through constant reviews with audience representatives and experts;
6. Human-centered design—the learner is at the center of why we are making this game. The games should be easy to learn and user-friendly.
7. Don’t set the player up to fail – the game is balanced to make the player feel like their decisions are meaningful and not arbitrary. The game is about a pandemic which will happen. The game is setup to make the player feel they are winning by saving lives.
8. Balance emotion using subtle comedy – the game introduces humor and light comedy strategically in the design. It is used in three occasions: to teach moral lessons without being preacher, to teach some preventative information, to relieve stress after intense play. Humor is a tool for enjoyment and promotes positive learning (Fitzsimmons, et al)Tastefully integrated comedy will make for lasting play and learning.

Backwards Design
Backwards design is the process of thinking with the end in mind. It is born out of the educational tradition of curriculum development. Game design is a form of curriculum design. Games have all the key elements needed to define curriculum -- has content, purpose and organization. Our goal was to start with our highest vision for the learner - the enduring understanding- before designing specific activities. One of the challenges in serious game design is avoiding "empty fun" - that is play for the sake of play. We found “thinking with the end in mind” was a great anchor.

To learn more about our process, please see the PowerPoint walkthrough video.