GameDesignDocumentINTE5830Bedford2014

Design Document for:

Incident Blaster

Support Technician on a mission; Incidents have no chance.

All work Copyright ©2014 by Margo Y Bedford

Written by Margo Y Bedford

Version # 2.00

Friday, May 11, 2014

Copyright (C) 2014 Margo Y Bedford

Confidential Page 2 of 15 05/09/2014

Table of Contents INCIDENT BLASTER _________________________________________________________________1

DESIGN HISTORY ____________________________________________________________________3 VERSION 1.00 ________________________________________________________________________3 VERSION 2.00 ________________________________________________________________________3

GAME OVERVIEW ___________________________________________________________________4 VISION STATEMENT ___________________________________________________________________4

MARKET ANALYSIS _________________________________________________________________6 AUDIENCE PROFILE ____________________________________________________________________6 DISTRIBUTION _______________________________________________________________________6

DETAILED GAME DESCRIPTION _____________________________________________________7 THE CORE IDEA ______________________________________________________________________7 BACKGROUND STORY _________________________________________________________________7 GAME OBJECTIVE _____________________________________________________________________7 GAME WORLD ________________________________________________________________________7 GAME PLAY _________________________________________________________________________7 SET UP _____________________________________________________________________________8 RULE/MECHANICS ____________________________________________________________________8 WINNING ___________________________________________________________________________8 ASSESSING OUTCOMES _________________________________________________________________9 OTHER ASPECTS ______________________________________________________________________9

PROTOTYPE/PLAYTEST _____________________________________________________________9



Design History The original concept was to create a learning game to take the software user from knowing nothing about the software to knowing how to customize it. The problem with the original concept was that it was not a game- it was an eLearning module that unlocked more advanced topics as the learner progressed through the course. It did not involve “play.” In version 1.00, the focus of the game is to “play” and get lost in the game. This version was titled CSM CZAR and the goal was to get to the top level, the “CZAR” level in product knowledge and skill. The problem with this version is it did not represent game play, but rather it was another eLearning module with playful review interaction. This version, 2.0, is a different game. The title, genre, and mechanics of the game have changed. The game genre is both a simulation and a shooting game. The new title gives context to the game mechanics and game play. “Incident Blaster” may need a little explanation for those who are not familiar with the Information Technology Service Management (ITSM) industry. An Incident is a record or ticket that is processed by a support desk when a customer calls or e-mails the support desk for assistance. For example, an Incident is created when you call your IT department for help changing a password. This 2.00 version is mostly game play with a little learning sprinkled in. Version 1.00 Version 1.00 included some tuning and tweaking that I did after making my initial pass at the design. Here is what I changed.

1. I rewrote the whole game design. 2. I added the player profile for a support technician. 3. I added the game mechanics that include instructions, questions, and comments. I also added

Levels I, II, and II, and the last play to achieve CSM CZAR.

Version 2.00 Version 2.00 changed the focus to be mostly playing by shooting what appear to be pieces of paper with notes on them.

1. Prototyped the game plays and realized I needed to rewrite the design. 2. Removed the original design concept and game mechanics. 3. Removed the UI of a conceptual room with a 360 monitor to be a simple computer screen for

a more intuitive game play interface. 4. For the shooting portion of the game, rather than trying to come up with a shooting concept

from scratch, I used an existing NERF-shooting game that closely matches the design I needed. Link to the game: http://www.hasbro.com/nerf/en_US/play/details.cfm?R=B14365B8-5056-900B-106B-145941ABE4D6:en_US

5. In the prototyped game, the player shoots NERF balls. In the production version of the game, I would envision the player shooting at pieces of paper that have indistinguishable writing on them.

6. Another subtle change is the role of the player changes between being the technician answering questions, completing “try-me” exercises, completing puzzles, etc. to a technician in a blasting zone blasting Incidents. The tagline, “Support Technician on a mission; Incidents have no chance” supports this game play and role change.



Game Overview Vision Statement Support Technician on a mission; Incidents have no chance. In the Information Technology (IT) Service Management (ITSM) industry, support desk technician’s work tirelessly to resolve Incidents and Problems. They troubleshoot computer problems, they install and maintain computer software, and they keep the information on company computers safe from those who would use it against the company. This game gives technicians the ability to get some closure. Once an Incident is resolved, they get to rid the planet of it once and for all by blasting it to smithereens. But, in order to blast Incidents, they first need to earn fuel points, which is where the learning comes in.

• Although anyone who likes shooting-type video games will enjoy this game, it is unique to the ITSM space and the support technicians who work in that space. The players can relate and connect their situations to this game. In addition to gaining some well-deserved closure and satisfaction from blasting Incidents to smithereens, technicians will also learn a little more about Cherwell Service Management (CSM) software and troubleshooting CSM software issues.

• The game includes five levels of play. All players start at the support technician Level 1, and as they earn fuel points by resolving Incidents, they can move to Level II and eventually to Levels III and IV, and ultimately to CSM CZAR.

• As the game begins, the technician is prompted to read a question and make a selection. The right answer awards jet fuel points to the jet fuel needed to shoot incidents.

• The learning objectives for this game include: o Building skills to troubleshoot issues with CSM software. o Creating experience with various features in the software. o Building CSM software vocabulary. o Building use cases for using certain features. o Creating CSM super-users.

• The game meets the learning objectives by using a simulated CSM environment where players encounter situations that help develop good reverse engineering skill and deductive reasoning skills by allowing them to try fixes and different configurations and make changes. The game allows the player to make mistakes in a simulated environment (without harming a live system) and guides the player through the correct solution in order to move forward and gain fuel points.

• Allowing the player to make mistakes in a safe environment helps create learning opportunities for exposure to features and creative ways to use the features – including some use case examples that are real. The player’s vocabulary expands, as they have to make selections of features they have never heard about. The game may offer a “tech tip” to help them along.

• A player cannot move up to Level II without completing Level I. The learning objectives for Level I must be met before a player can advance. When a player moves up to Level II, we Learning Services will be notified (via e-mail from the LMS). When a player achieves Level III, we’ll know we have someone who is on their way to becoming a super-user.

• The reason this game is a good approach to achieving the learning objectives is because it takes a technician who lives and works in the real world, with real pressures to solve tough issues, and blends that reality with fiction. Jasper Juul notes in his book “Half-Real,” that “To play a video game is therefore to interact with real rules while imagining a fictional world, and a video game is a set of rules as well as a fictional world.” This game removes the rigidity and pressure that students in a corporate training environment may experience. It is fun conceptually to blast incidents, although we know technicians would not have an opportunity to do that in the real world.



• One of the main benefits for Cherwell to invest in this game is to extend the learning beyond the classroom and introduce a fun online video game experience. This game can be considered on-demand, at-your-leisure training; a technician can play for 15 minutes or an hour and learn something. Because this is a game, it will not feel like learning, and yet I could see many supervisors approving this game for use during break time and when a technician needs some downtime to process and recover. Finally, this game extends the learning after the class. The technician continues to learn, but rather than learning by trial and error in the live system, this game allows for continued learning in a safe learning environment where mistakes are permitted.

• What makes this game special is that: 1. It offers a simulated CSM software environment where the technician can be in the

software and yet cannot break anything. 2. It is learning on demand, at the technician’s leisure. 3. It gives a technician the opportunity to experience video game play while learning

something at the same time (supervisors may approve this game during breaks). 4. The technician gets to learn a new skill that goes on the resume. 5. This could also be an additional product offering to our company learning services

portfolio. This game could become our gamification offering. To clarify, this game would be an offering through our learning services. It would add learning our product through a game where the player can achieve “CSM CZAR” and possibly be able to post a badge of “CSM CZAR” on their LinkedIn page.



Market Analysis Although CSM CZAR could be played by anyone who wants to acquire a new skill (using CSM software) to put on their resume, initially it will be marketed through our LMS and website to existing students. Our customers continue to ask for advanced training, and they also ask for gamification in our product. Unfortunately, there is not a common definition of “advanced training” upon which most of our customers agree. This game provides a great opportunity to have some fun, and meets the needs for basic and advanced training. This game would be owned and copyrighted by the company for which I work. Audience Profile Although anyone could play this game, it will be launched and marketed to our customers. Our customers are comprised of IT professionals, including support desk technicians – they are the primary users of our products. This demographic is typically someone between the age of 20 and 70. They are considered “techies” in the IT industry and learn software easily; they are usually the early adopters of the latest technical gadget such as the newest Android or iOS. They usually own more than one computer or device, and they like a mix of devices with different operating systems. In order to play this game, the player will need to be familiar with how a support desk works. They need to know what an Incident is and what the difference between an Incident and a problem is. They will need to know what a Knowledge Article is and how it is published. The player will also need to be familiar with a normal lifecycle for these processes. A teacher would need to be able to think like a support technician in order to be able to design use cases for the software that would make a connection with them. Experience as a support technician or someone who works for and with them would be extremely helpful. Another skill that would benefit a teacher working with technicians is experience with the Help Desk Institute (HDI) in order to understand the workflows and language commonly used. ITIL® experience would also be a great benefit. Distribution This game will attract an audience because support technicians have to learn our product to do their jobs. But it offers product knowledge from basic skills to advanced skills through a role-play, simulation game! We would advertise this game through our classes, our website, and our LMS.



Detailed Game Description The Core Idea The core idea is to deliver a shooting game in a simulated software environment, which presents some real with some fiction. A support technician thrives on solving the problem at hand and lowering their “queue” of Incidents and problems to solve. The goal of this game is to give the support technician the ability to earn fuel points for their jet pack in order to travel and blast as many Incidents as possible with the jet fuel they have; they then return to the software simulation to earn more fuel points by answering questions, matching correct information, solving a puzzle, etc. Once their jet pack fuel is refilled, they are presented with a screen to start blasting Incidents. Some questions they may be presented with, for example, are scenarios where Incidents have been replicated – creating unnecessary duplicates. They will be presented with options for resolving the duplications. Another scenario could be in the form of the question, “Why didn’t a system backup happen at midnight last night?” The game takes the support technician through the steps to troubleshoot why the backup did not happen, and as the technician uncovers clues he/she may select the wrong solution and lose jet fuel points. In order to move to the next level, the technician needs all the jet fuel points possible in order to shoot Incidents. Once the appropriate amount of fuel points have been earned, the technician is presented with a start screen to blast Incidents in the form of a ticket with indiscernible writing on it (the example in the prototype uses a foam ball and NERF gun) to smithereens, but violence is not part of the game; the plastic-looking NERF gun could suffice as the shooting device. Background Story You are a software product support technician for CSM. You are a hero; you use your expertise behind the scenes to troubleshoot and solve Incidents and problems for people every day. Without your help, the CSM database will become overloaded with Incidents; you can share your expertise to solve Incidents and earn jet fuel points. So, get off the phone, hide your e-mail, and start blasting away!

Game Objective Rid the planet of closed Incidents! Once they are closed, they can be disintegrated, rather than hanging around and filling up landfills. While resolving Incidents and problems in the CSM simulation, you will be awarded with fuel for your jet pack, giving you the power you need to blast Incidents. Move up ultimately to achieve CSM CZAR. Achieving CSM CZAR may earn a “badge” for the technician to post on LinkedIn. Experience the joy of blasting Incidents! Along the way, you will learn some of the features of CSM, and you’ll gain some tips and techniques for troubleshooting issues in CSM along the way. For example, you’ll discover tips for adding fields to forms, troubleshoot why a drop-down list isn’t appearing on a form, figure out why Incidents are being replicated, and much, much more. Game World This game is played on a computer or a tablet using a mouse and keyboard. The user interface for the game is a computer monitor. Game Play All players start at the support technician Level I, and can move to Level II and eventually to Levels III and IV, which leads to the final play – CSM CZAR. The player logs into the LMS, which tracks the player’s progress through the game. Game play begins with Level I, resolving tickets (also known as Incidents). The technician will be prompted to read scenarios, answer questions, or complete a puzzle or matching exercise. The user interface is a computer monitor. When questions are presented that require the technician to complete a “try-me” exercise, the game uses branching behind the scenes..



The technician will interact with the software interface within the computer monitor making selections and answering questions. The technician will also continue to gain or lose jet fuel points based on selections and answers to questions. The goal is to gain the jet fuel points necessary to move to get to the blast Incidents screen. Then, move to Level II and then Levels III and IV and ultimately CSM CZAR. As the technician moves up in levels, more advanced features in the software are presented, and blasting Incidents becomes harder and harder. The Incidents to be blasted are more varied in size and faster moving, and there are many more of them at once. Setup This game requires a computer and an Internet connection. The game will either need to be streamed or will be downloaded to the technician’s local computer. The player will need to log into our LMS. An existing account that has authorization (a key that unlocks the game) to the game will be needed. If the player does not have an existing account authorized for the game, an option or link to submit a request for the game activation key will be provided. Rule/Mechanics This is a computer video game in both the shooting and simulation genres. There is one role/avatar initially set up for this game, and that is a support technician. The support technician will log into our LMS and log into the game with an activation key (password). The LMS will keep track of the player’s progress. Once logged into the game, the support technician will complete Level I, which includes solving situations involving Incidents. Level II would progress to the topics of Problem and Knowledge Articles. Level III would focus on Change, and Level IV would focus on Service Level Agreements (SLAs). The CZAR Level would be a “synthesis” of all topics, bringing it all together. If a technician answers a question incorrectly, or makes incorrect selections while working through a “try-me” exercise, he/she loses jet fuel points. If jet fuel points are lost, they must be regained by solving more Incidents. A progress bar at the top of the screen will display how many jet fuel points are still needed in order to move forward into the blasting zone. There is a threshold that must be met for jet fuel points before moving into the blasting zone. However, there is a variance based on level within this threshold. Also, the LMS will track all players and their achievements at different levels. For example, you must earn between 100 and 150 jet fuel points in order to move into the blasting zone from Level I. Although a player can achieve 100 jet fuel points to move into the blasting zone from Level I, another player may have achieved 150 points before moving into the blasting zone after Level I. There may be an opportunity to distinguish player achievements and award them. The LMS will keep track of the points and we can create a dashboard showing which player has the most Level I points at any given time. This dashboard could be displayed on our LMS Site for other players to see. This could require some LMS programming. Winning There are many ways to be successful in the game.

• By moving from the simulation environment into the blasting zone. • By successfully blasting Incidents in the blasting zone and also by achieving CSM CZAR. • By having the highest jet fuel points. • By learning to troubleshoot the product and use new features and functionality. • By being able to apply new skills on the job, right away!



Assessing Outcomes As the support technician moves up a level from Level I to Level II, for example, the new skills they have will include knowing all of the pieces and parts of an Incident. They cannot move forward to Level II until they have that down. Because this is a game created in Adobe Captivate, with SCORM tracking, we will know the progress for every player. Some players will achieve more jet fuel points or higher scores on the “try-me” simulations and questions. We can keep track of those who score high and low. We could send encouraging e-mails and/or rewards to the players as they progress through the game. We could even recognize them in Webinars, classes, and conferences!! When a player achieves CSM CZAR, we should make a big deal out of it, because if they reach that achievement, they will likely be a super-user. Other Aspects I envision this game using sound effects and music, but the technician should be able to turn the sounds off. Initially, there is only one role and one avatar in this game, the support technician. The role options could be expanded to include IT Manager and IT Project/Program Manager, with avatars to match. It would be good to include avatars from different cultures. The look and feel of the computer monitor could change based on the play level. The game should include a tutorial on how to use the blaster (a NERF gun that blasts pieces of paper) and how to move the avatar.

Prototype/Playtest

1. Begin the game at a login screen (not shown). The start screen then displays. Notice it does not look like an eLearning module, but rather like a shooing game. The player selects start to begin.



2. Upon login, the game displays the play start screen, reminding the player where they left off from the last time they logged in. They could be in the middle of various levels, or in the middle of CSM CZAR. The LMS will remember/bookmark where they left off.

3. Notice the technician with the jet fuel pack on his back, using a nerf gun. The nerf gun helps soften the shooting play, a subtle message that violence is not part of this game.

4. The player clicks next.

Your%player%level:%!  Level%I:%Resolve%Tickets%!  Level%II:%Resolve%Problem%

Tickets%(harder%<ckets,%more%fuel%points%

!  Level%III:%Resolve%Incidents%AND%create%useful%Knowledge%Ar<cles%(even%more%points)%

!  Level%IV:%Achieve%service%level%agreements%(many%more%points)%

!  CSM%CZAR%



4. The play begins with a question, or a “try-me” exercise or some other situation. The player is required to answer something correctly or click a certain part of the CSM screen. This could be an image of a CSM screen displayed, or it could be a simulated software environment. The questions are presented randomly, and this will require a lot of content that must be developed up front. In the example below, the player must make a correct selection within 30 seconds.

5. A progress bar would appear at the top of the screen displaying how many jet fuel points are needed to move forward into the blasting zone.



6. Once the technician responds, a message appears with the reward given, or the number of jet fuel points taken away, and how many jet points are needed to progress.

30#Sec.#Select#the#likely##Solu0on:#1.  Send#her#a#link#to#training#video?#2.  Remote#into#t#the#computer#and#try#to#Duplicate#the##Problem.#

Correct!##You#have#earned#jet#pack#

fuel.#



7. The image below gives an example of what the blasting zone might look like, along with what may be blasted. Level I could be pieces of paper (representing paper tickets/Incidents). Level II could be something else being blasted, such as diapers or coins, both of which could represent Change. (Change in the ITSM industry means creating a system to manage, track, and document an enterprise-wide change that the IT organization will need to mangage. For example, a company-wide implementation of Office 365. These are major project initiatiatives that could require an investment of significant resources, budget, and time.)

8. Notice the technician holding a NERF gun, wearing a jet fuel pack. See the insect-like creature on the left that needs to be blasted, and the black/white shape on the right that rewards the technician with bonus points if the technician doesn’t miss. At the top of the screen are the progress bars. (In the current version of the game, the black/white image doesn’t exist yet, and there is only one progress bar for jet fuel points.)

You$have$earned$jet$pack$fuel.$$



9. As the technician progresses to the different Levels, the items to be blasted change, as do their speed and the number of items that come at the technician at once.

You$have$earned$jet$pack$fuel.$$



10. Once the player has achieved a level in the blast zone, the game displays the player’s status. This is tracked by the LMS. Automated e-mails could be created to encourage and reward players who achieve a certain number of jet fuel pack points or move up a level.

11. Additionally, this status update gives an opportunity to let the player know how many closed Incidents, Changes, etc., that were cluttering the world that have now been removed – making the world a better place. Additionally, the status update could let the player know how many closed Incidents, Changes, etc., have been removed by all players of the game to date.

This is definitely a game I would play. I enjoyed blasting in the NERF game. In the context of Incident blasting, I know I would thoroughly enjoy ridding the planet of the clutter of old Incidents and Changes. This blasting concept is very fictional, and somewhat whimsical, but it is a concept I can relate to as someone who sat on a help desk years ago, answering phones, solving problems, dealing with the pressure and stress of who may be calling for what is real. Being able to solve the situation in a simulated environment, and then close the deal by blasting the Incidents to smithereens, is a fun thought. From a learning professional perspective, this is a learning module. It creates situations that challenge and reward the player. This game presents new information, as well as information of which the technician is already aware. It gives the technician an opportunity to make a mistake without consequences in a simulated software environment. It relieves the pressure to perform that can be created in a classroom full of peers. As someone responsible for helping a technician to quickly get up to speed on our product, I would buy this game for my students.

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GameDesignDocumentINTE5830Bedford2014