Game Concept and Prototyping
Our team was connected with CITF through a university connection program called Riipen. They were looking for a team to develop a first-person, first aid training simulator, with the goal of improving retention for younger audiences looking to get their first aid certification.
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The proposed project would involve simulated injuries and other hazardous scenarios for the player to navigate, forcing them to use their first aid knowledge to respond to a scene appropriately and quickly. The client's proposed scope was ambitious, particularly for a team of 4 students, and with a time frame of only 4 months, but after some conversation, we settled on producing a prototype experience that could be further developed by a more robust team later down the line.
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The core loop of the game was already decided for us. In a document of traditional first aid training scenarios, the steps to be taken were very clearly laid out. First, assess the scene for hazards before approaching. Secondly, assess the patient's vitals and call 911 if necessary. Third, converse with the patient or bystanders to discern problems. Fourth, perform preliminary treatment.
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The question was how to best translate this into a game. Unfortunately, with a team of 4 developers, with me being the only fluent programmer among them and no 3d artists, the ideal scope and scenario quickly became unrealistic.
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Eventually we settled on using a dialogue system design, using text to describe scenarios, treatments, and outcomes. Implementation was challenging, as this was the first system of its type that I'd designed, but once implemented, we were able to very quickly design and produce the scenes required.​
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Eventually we settled on using a dialogue system design, using text to describe scenarios, treatments, and outcomes. Implementation was challenging, as this was the first system of its type that I'd designed, but once implemented, we were able to very quickly design and produce the scenes required.​
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At the end of the four months, we presented our final product to the client. It was received well, and was passed off, possibly to continue development under a longer term and more comprehensive development team.