R347 VC Presentation

Appelman ‘10

R347 ‐ Virtual Congress Objectives

There are many objectives surrounding the NAEP Assessment Civics Framework, and the

following are key general objectives that pertain to aspects of all of them. Specifically the

following objectives pertain to concepts, principles, and tasks that citizens in any self‐governing

community should understand and be able to act upon.

1. Each citizen is a member of this community

2. Each citizen is a full and equal member

3. Each citizen is endowed with fundamental rights

4. Each citizen has responsibilities:

a. To see that their rights are upheld

b. To see that the rights of others are respected

c. To become active in the community through political participation

5. Each citizen has the opportunity :

a. To improve the quality of life ‐‐‐

i. For themselves

ii. In their neighborhoods

iii. In larger communities

iv. In the nation that bounds their self‐governing communities

6. Each citizen can (and is encouraged to) participate in this political process by:

a. Listening, gathering information, and generating ideas

b. Promoting ideas and policies

c. Managing conflicts through ‐‐‐

i. Negotiation

ii. Compromise

iii. Consensus building

iv. Adjudication procedures

d. Assessing other’s arguments and positions

e. Following public issues via ‐‐‐

i. Media

ii. Interviewing experts

iii. Communication tools (e.g. mobile technologies, tweets, etc.)

f. Influencing others ‐‐‐

i. Advancing your own ideas via media

ii. Writing letters to influential people

iii. Writing position papers and editorials for the media

iv. Creating gatherings and town meetings to discuss issues

Background Story

There are children on the playground, playing in groups, cliques, each group controlling

different parts of the playground. Within one group, the Elementals, an argument arises and the

members split off to form two groups. The larger of the Elemental children take over the

monkey bars and no longer allow the dissenting, smaller Elementals to use them. This smaller

group is now one of nomads, without playground equipment, without a home. These little

Elementals decide to try and find a new piece of equipment on which to play so they head off

towards the slide. The slide is ruled by the Lizard children though, and they do not take kindly

to outsiders. The leader of the Elemental nomads, Fire, approaches the Lizard leader, Hiss, and

asks if his people may use the slide, to which the answer is, of course, no.

Fire, followed by his small companions, immediately runs to the playground Overlord.

This Overlord is grouchy, not great with children, quick to judge, and slow to sway. The little

Elementals complain to the Overlord whose immediate response thereto is vomiting. The

Overlord then tells that that, if they want his help, they must provide him with enough evidence

to garner it. The little Elementals immediately set off in search of the Individuals, creature

children of various sizes who belong to no clique, have no playground family. Without

equipment of their own, the Individuals had plenty of experience with rejection and some had

become experts in bargaining.

After collecting personal accounts and complaints of the Lizards' abuse of other children,

the little Elementals run back to the Overlord and present their evidence. The Overlord demands

that they take their evidence and condense it, make it an easily understood and powerful

argument. The Elementals write out their evidence in a short argument and re-present it to the

Overlord who then takes flight to chastise the Lizards and force their cooperation with the

Elementals. The Elementals are now free to slide as they please.

This is not enough though. The little Elementals yearn for their original home, the

monkey bars. They itch for its usage and begin to beg Fire to return there. After trekking across

the playground to approach the big Elementals, they are quickly denied passage by the Bugs, a

group of children who rule the tunnels. The tunnels are a large, cool maze that traverse under the

playground and are a blessing to the youngest members of the Elementals who are miserable

under the hot afternoon sun. The Bugs only pose one question though, the answer to which is the

key to passage. The Bugs only ask, "Why should we let you through." The little Elementals

think for a minute and decide to find out exactly what their rights are. First, the little Elementals

go to the Overlord and ask what their rights are. The Overlord tells them of a few but directs

them to The Book, a large tome when details the rights of the children on the playground. One

of these rights is about traversing the playground and another describes the health of those on the

playground. The Bugs still do not allow them to use the tunnels though, even when presented

with this information. The little Elementals take shelter under a small shady tree (for the sake of

the youngest of them) and discover there an Individual. The Individual gives them a few hints

on how to combine one right with another to create a stronger argument. The little Elementals

present their new argument to the Bugs who are sort of confused. The little Elementals then

condense their argument into a concise writing and present this to the Bugs who are then

convinced.

Upon reaching the far side of the playground, the little Elementals find the monkey bars

in disrepair. The Big Elementals cry that they cannot reach the small bolts of the monkey bars in

order to repair them and yet will still not allow the little Elementals near. A large Individual

shambles past and the little Elementals consult with it. The Individual instructs them to bargain:

they are small and can reach the bolts but must be able to regularly use the monkey bars in order

to reach all of them. The litttle Elementals present this to the Big Elementals who agree. The

little Elementals then have their use of the monkey bars again.

Fire contemplates his actions of late and visits a Bank, a place that is used by children to

get drinks, snacks, and converse electronically forum-wise. On the forum, many ccildren have

complained of wanting to use all of the equipment. Fire collects evidence of this want, uses the

complaints to write a concise argument, and calls for a playground-wide meeting of all of the

children and cliques. At this meeting he presents his evidence and argument and then calls for a

vote, a vote that results in the writing of a new right stating that all of the children on the

playground may use every piece of equipment and the insertion of this right into The Book.

1 Ext. Monkey Bar - DAY 1

Lightning

Hey, METAL, Let's climb the Monkey Bars!

Player (Metal) and Lightning (NPC) head towards the Monkey Bars where they are blocked on both sides by either FIRE or WATER (NPC's). Both Fire and Water say only one line.

Fire/Water

No! You smaller Elementals can't climb on the Monkey Bars anymore. We big Elementals have decided so.

As player leaves the immediate area, he stopped by the other small Elementals.

Lightning

This is just unfair! Those Monkey Bars belonged to all of us.

ICE

Yeah! What are we going to do now?

Lightning

Hey! There's an Individual over there. Let's go ask him if he has any ideas.

2 Ext. Tree near Monkey Bars - DAY 2

The player, flanked by the 2 other small Elementals, heads off toward the Individual "LONGCAT" who is meandering near a tree. The player interacts with Long Cat by approaching and speaking

LongCat

You've been banished, eh? Well, it seems to me like there would be a rule against this kind of thing. As though it is a right of

yours as a citizen of this playground. (pauses) Yes, yes, I believe there is a right which covers this but the exact wording escapes me. If you go there, (points) to the OVERLORD's Perch, there is a book which details all of the rights of the citizens of the playground. Go there to learn your rights.

(walks away)

Ice

Maybe we should do it.

Lightning

Yeah! I didn't know we had rights. I want to know what they are!

The player and other small Elementals head off together towards the Overlord's Perch. Should the player try to deviate from the path, the two smaller ones repeat the line...

Ice/Lightning

We should go to the Overlord's Perch. I want to know my rights!

...and so the player must stay on the path, continuing forward

3 Ext. Overlord's Perch - DAY 3

The player and two Elementals pass the Overlord who, if spoken to, only repeats one line.

Overlord

Not now! I'm busy!

Nearby is a book on a pedestal It seems to glow.

Ice

There it is! Let's read it!

Upon approaching and interacting with the Book, the player UI changes to just a view of the pages with the options to page forward backward, copy text and stop reading.

Final Product

Deadlines:

TUESDAY APRIL 27TH

THE LEVEL HAS ALL CHARACTERS AND OBJECTS SPAWNED OR

PROGRAMED TO BE SPAWNED

THURSDAY MAY 6TH

(DURING OUR OFFICIAL CLASS FINAL EXAM TIME – 7:15PM to

9:15PM) WE HAVE A PRESENTATION IN THE STUDIO OF:

1. A WALKTHROUGH OF THE LEVEL

2. A DESCRIPTION OF THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES AND THE CORROSPONDING GAME

PLAY TO MEET THE OBJECTIVES

3. A DEMONSTRATION OF AT LEAST 2 FUNCTIONAL INTERACTIONS

Learning Objectives: -Rules/Rights for each community

-Responsibilities

Interactions:

-monkey bars

-intro/talking

-turned away

-individual

-someone suggests individual

-talk to individual

-individual suggests overlord

-book

-overlord points us to book

-walk up to book

-collision detection/ click

-a page about rights

-pop up page

-page made in photoshop, looks like real book pages

-has info about rights and rights for the island

Executive Summary The Players American 6th through 12th Grade students learning about civics.

The Need Children need to functionally understand the roles of the citizen in civics and strategies necessary to protect those roles in order to be participating citizens of the United States of America.

The Content Content comes from the 5th Content Standard of the National Standards for Civics and Government per the Center for Civic Education. <http://www.civiced.org/index.php?page=912erica#15>

The Game One Elemental child, Metal, and his two small Elemental friends, Ice and Electricity, have been banished from their playground‐equipment home, the Monkey Bars, by their larger Elemental “friends.” In order to win back their usage of the Monkey Bars, Metal leads Ice and Electricity on an adventure across Playground Island in an effort to learn what their rights are, why they have them, and how to use and protect those rights in order to guarantee not only their own freedom, but the freedom of everyone on Playground Island.

Game Opening

Little Electricity is slowly making his way across the Monkey Bars before he is knocked off by the much larger Fire. An argument ensues between the smaller of the Elementals and the larger ones. A bet is made that if Metal can make it across the monkey bars, the little ones may stay. The cutscene fades to Player UI and the player may move their character, Metal, across the Monkey Bars. Halfway across, Player UI cuts into a cutscene and Metal is knocked off of the Monkey Bars by Fire and the smaller Elementals are forced by the larger ones to leave the area.

Gameplay Sample

The player UI turns towards a small Elemental who points out an Individual to the player. The player then moves toward the large Individual, clicks on it via the mouse, and several options for interactions appear. They range from asking about the Individual itself to bluntly asking about Rights. The player chooses to ask the Individual for help in what the player's party can do in order to regain their use of the Monkey Bars. The Individual informs the player of a book that contains the Rights held by the children on Playground Island and points them to where they may find it. The player leads his party to the Overlord's Perch and they search out the book. By clicking on the book, the player chooses to open it and the player UI changes to show the contents of the book, page by page. The player selects a section of text, clicks on the "Copy" button and saves it to their clipboard for later use.

“TakeAways”

The player will understand the roles of the citizen in civics and strategies for upholding those roles on a functional level within American society.

Instructional Design Report Audience/Player Demographic

Our audience is American 6th through 12th Grade students

learning about civics.

Overall Goal Description for Game/Simulation The overall goal of the game is to teach children the

information about civics and strategies for utilizing civic

knowledge not traditionally taught in schools.

Specific Content embedded within the Game/Simulation

The specific content therein is derived from the Center for

Civic Education’s webpage document on the National

Standards for Civics and Government, Section V. “What

are the Roles of the Citizen in American Democracy?”

Learning Objective/Affordance Matrix:

Learning Objective Player Interactions Affordances Necessary Character/ Objects/ Environment

Each citizen is a member of this community.

Interaction with various members of Playground Island through speech and aiding in various activities.

A variety of individual occupants inhabiting the communities of Playground Island and the island as its own community.

Several separate communities and a culmination of these into one community spanning the island.

Each citizen is a full and equal member.

Surveying, argumentative writing, and debate to defend citizens' rights.

Confrontations and/or violations of one or more citizens' rights.

Citizens whose rights are violated, the citizens violating their rights, and citizens left as "standers‐by."

Each citizen is endowed with fundamental rights.

Recording and upholding Rights through research, debate, and writing.

Violations of one or more citizens' rights and an editable source containing the rights as written.

A book containing the written rights and citizens lacking knowledge thereof.

SCRIPTS of SCENES/REGIONS

INFO ELEMENTS INTERACTIONS STORY/DESCRIPTION

Date: present day

Locations: VC island playground

Cut scene

The player can press a button to skip cut scene?

There are children on the playground, playing in groups, cliques, each group controlling different parts of the playground. Within one group, the Elementals, an argument arises and the members split off to form two groups. The larger of the Elemental children take over the monkey bars and no longer allow the dissenting, smaller Elementals to use them. This smaller group is now one of nomads, without playground equipment, without a home.

Spawn in starting area (monkey bars)

UI= minimap (gives your location on island and pink dots for interactive npcs) and objectives button (tells what tasks you have to complete at the moment)

First person control of an elemental on the island

Walking from where character spawns to the next area, the slides

Lizard has some kind of indication to talk to him

Click on lizard to talk to him, then NPC fire Elemental talks to him

After this, the fire elemental tells you to follow him to Over lord

These little Elementals decide to try and find a new piece of equipment on which to play so they head off towards the slide. The slide is ruled by the Lizard children though, and they do not take kindly to outsiders. The leader of the Elemental nomads, Fire, approaches the Lizard leader, Hiss, and asks if his people may use the slide, to which the answer is, of course, no.


Fire elemental NPC heads to overlord, player is supposed to follow, but is not forced to, if you don’t follow, nothing else on the play ground will be interactive

Once you arrive, short cut scene of overlord’s response

Fire, followed by his small companions, immediately runs to the playground Overlord. This Overlord is grouchy, not great with children, quick to judge, and slow to sway. The little Elementals complain to the Overlord whose immediate response thereto is vomiting. The Overlord then tells that that, if they want his help, they must provide him with enough evidence to garner it.


Pink dot shows up on minimap indicating where individuals are

Fire elemental suggests that you talk to individuals first and gives their background story?

The little Elementals immediately set off in search of the Individuals, creature children of various sizes who belong to no clique, have no playground family. Without equipment of their own, the Individuals had plenty of experience with rejection and some had become experts in bargaining.


After talking to the individual, an option appears to “save this information for later use” or “discard”

Saving it puts into player’s inventory which can be accessed at argument maker area

To receive their personal accounts, the player must run up to the individuals and talk to them by clicking on them

After collecting personal accounts and complaints of the Lizards' abuse of other children, the little Elementals run back to the Overlord and present their evidence.

UI= argument template; clicking and dragging?

After collecting info, bring back to overlord

He gives you instructions and directs you toward area where you can make your argument

The overlord may reject your presentation, the player must fix the document until he approves

Maybe a cut scene at the end, ending back to game play at slides

The Overlord demands that they take their evidence and condense it, make it an easily understood and powerful argument. The Elementals write out their evidence in a short argument and re‐present it to the Overlord who then takes flight to chastise the Lizards and force their cooperation with the Elementals. The Elementals are now free to slide as they please.


Transition?

Bugs click‐to‐talk

This is not enough though. The little Elementals yearn for their original home, the monkey bars. They itch for its usage and begin to beg Fire to return there. After trekking across the playground to approach the big Elementals, they are quickly denied passage by the Bugs, a group of children who rule the tunnels.

The tunnels are a large, cool maze that traverse under the playground and are a blessing to the youngest members of the Elementals who are miserable under the hot afternoon sun. The Bugs only pose one question though, the answer to which is the key to passage. The Bugs only ask, "Why should we let you through." The little Elementals think for a minute and decide to find out exactly what their rights are.


Interactive book

Hint to go to overlord? First, the little Elementals go to the Overlord and ask what their rights are. The Overlord tells them of a few but directs them to The Book, a large tome when details the rights of the children on the playground. One of these rights is about traversing the playground and another describes the health of

Again can select to “save this information” or “discard”

those on the playground.

The Bugs still do not allow them to use the tunnels though, even when presented with this information.

Cut scene The little Elementals take shelter under a small shady tree (for the sake of the youngest of them) and discover there an Individual. The Individual gives them a few hints on how to combine one right with another to create a stronger argument.

UI= argument template; clicking and dragging?

Back to the area where you can make arguments

Go to bugs with argument, etc

The little Elementals present their new argument to the Bugs who are sort of confused. The little Elementals then condense their argument into a concise writing and present this to the Bugs who are then convinced.


(cut scene) Arrive to monkey bars, NPCs walking around monkey bars, click to talk to a Big Elements

After this nothing on the monkey bars is interactive so the player will leave the area and run into an individual and click to talk to them

The individuals presents player with (options, tasks??)

Eventually player figures out what to do and makes bargain

Upon reaching the far side of the playground, the little Elementals find the monkey bars in disrepair. The Big Elementals cry that they cannot reach the small bolts of the monkey bars in order to repair them and yet will still not allow the little Elementals near. A large Individual shambles past and the little Elementals consult with it. The Individual instructs them to bargain: they are small and can reach the bolts but must be able to regularly use the monkey bars in order to reach all of them.

The little Elementals present this to the Big Elementals who agree. The little Elementals then have their use of the monkey bars again.


Fire contemplates his actions of late and visits a Bank, a place that is used by children to get drinks, snacks, and converse electronically forum‐wise. On the forum, many children have complained of wanting to use all of the equipment.

Fire collects evidence of this want, uses the complaints to write a

concise argument, and calls for a playground‐wide meeting of all of the children and cliques. At this meeting he presents his evidence and argument and then calls for a vote, a vote that results in the writing of a new right stating that all of the children on the playground may use every piece of equipment and the insertion of this right into The Book.

Art Team Report

Visual Examples of each:

Characters: Metal

NPC or Object: Fire

Water

Earth

Wind

Ice

Electricity

Bug Leader

Bug Guard #1

Bug Guard #2

Lizard #1

Lizard #2

Lizard #3

Lizard #4

Ostrich #1

Ostrich #2 ‘’

Ostrich #3 ‘’

Ostrich #4 ‘’

Gnome

Long Cat

Fish Boy

Emote Kid

Overlord

Scene or Region: Monkey Bars

Tunnels

Overlord’s Perch

Swings

Slide

Soccer Field

Documents

R347 VC Presentation