Write a Treatment: Take the description you wrote in Exercise 6.7 and expand it into a three- to five-page treatment for your game idea. A treatment does not go into great detail about every aspect or level of the game; however, it will address these top-level questions about the idea.
Who is the game for?
- Anyone who is interested in finding out what parenting can be like or any parent who is looking to feel understood (misery loves company)
What will make it appealing to that market?
- Satirical but true perspective
- Fun gameplay representative of some of the challenges of parenting
- Emotional outbursts of characters in the game
What is the formal structure?
- Player: Single player
- Objective: A solution game: Objective is to complete each level filled with different obstacles within the time given.
- Procedure: Each level has a start position and an end point. The player has to get from one to the other, but in order to do so, there are multiple obstacles or tasks to complete, which can be located in different areas of the game space. For example, the goal of one level would be to get the kids to school on time. Game space would be the house. Start is in the parent bedroom, tasks are to get up and dressed, wake kids, feed kids, make lunches, pack backpack, find lost keys, etc. End point would be that the player got all the kids into the car, ready to drive to school. There can be a set order to complete the tasks, but this may be level dependent. For example, kids must be awake before fed, but in another level, you may be able to do laundry before or after putting the kids to bed.
- Kids are NPCs, basically programmed to do the opposite of the goal of each level. For example, in the level mentioned above, kids would need multiple prompts to get out of bed, would move slowly, say “no” to almost every breakfast suggestion, can’t find their homework, etc.
- Rules:
- Parents are free to move about the space, but cannot move through solid objects like walls.
- Gravity is in effect.
- Parents can pick up items, open things, jump on things, move things
- Parents can speak to children. Children’s response (programmed dialogue or action) will depend on dialogue selection of player
- Parents cannot pick up children and move them
- One task does not necessarily need to be completed before starting another (E.g. you can feed one kid, go and wake another, pack lunches, feed the second kid, put lunches in backpacks)
- Resources:
- Mindful moments – Player gets 1 of these per a level, allows them to stop the clock for x amount of time, can freely wander the space, but no sound or interaction/completion of tasks
- Coffee – Player can collect these in each level, allows them to move faster through the space
- Call a Counsellor – Player has 3 calls over the course of the whole game to call a counsellor. This bring up a dialogue box that will essentially give the player the correct answer (where to find something, what to say to the kid to get them to do what is needed, etc)
- Conflict: Overwhelming amount of tasks to complete to get to the end of a level in a set amount of time. Please see conflict description in dramatic elements for more detail.
- Boundaries: Although this game mimics real life scenarios, the boundary between real life and this game is the humorous and over-the-top nature of this game… like a mix between Super Mario Bros and Cheaper By The Dozen. In the game space, boundaries would include ground/room/buildings/walls, and time. One idea is when time is close to running out, character makes an exasperated face and expression like this:
- Outcome: Successful completion of each level ends with cheering and praise. This also opens up the next level. Unsuccessful completion of levels results in crying or frustration. Player will need to try again. Possible perfect bonus level when all levels are completed.
The dramatic structure?
- Challenge: Each mundane task level has complex obstacles to completion in the tight time frame. An example of this is taking the garbage out of the child’s backpack to make room for the lunch kit only to find a banana that has been in there so long it has gone liquidy. When you take your hand out there is banana dripping off your fingers and you notice the child’s gym clothes are covered in rotten banana. The challenge is maintaining a certain level of calmness while finding new gym clothes and a suitable carrying device to hold all the child’s school gear… before the school bus arrives, any minute now.
- Play: Mix of interaction with kids (NPC) and tasks to complete, which can sometimes be one and the same. For example, when waking the child up in the morning you notice their eyes flutter and a small fake snort. When you tickle the child’s feet you notice that they are hanging on to the edge of the mattress so you give them a little tug, then a big tug. The next thing both you and the child are laughing so hard because the child has managed to hang on until the mattress is laying on the floor. When you go back into the room you see the child pretending to sleep again so you pick them up and carry them to the kitchen and sit them at the table. Other forms of play come when you pick up the child to put them in the car or when you are feeding the child. Interactions with kids will include verbal communication as well as thought bubbles. This change in wording should clarify our intentions. Tasks can include finding things, avoiding things, chasing things, catching things…
- Premise: The premise of the game is to survive the day, a successful day ends with all children nicely tucked into bed which will give the player a sense of relief.
- Character: The player takes on the character of a busy parent. The player can choose whether they are male or female and from a wide range of ethnicities and clothing. The character will experience many frustrating, funny, exhausting, and humbling situations. The player may be able to relate to the character and/or gain perspective on what it’s like to be a parent.
- Story: Rather than a story that follows like a connected narrative our game exists more like a series of vignettes that represents a day in the life of a parent. Children will be able to relate to the children in the game. What child has not been woken up abruptly or what parent has never yelled at their child to get out of bed? Players may laugh at the absurd way it happens in the game. Teenagers, young adults and adults who do not have children and will be able to relate to the story either from what is happening in their friends families or their own childhood memories. This is a game about a busy family who has way too much to do for the number of awake hours in a day. Levels in the game follow a typical day, the first level is quite simple, it deals with getting yourself together before the kids wake up. Over the course of the day the levels get harder, for example after you have successfully woke up the kids and ensured they are dressed in clean clothes you need to feed them breakfast. Challenges here are dealing with running out of milk, spilt juice, and cleaning up an egg that rolled off the counter and broke on the floor. If the player makes it through breakfast they can move on to making lunches, packing backpacks and driving the kids to school. If the player gets through this they can move to the next level, dealing with homework that was left at home and phone calls from the school for fighting and for rapid diarrhea. After school brings on the challenge of after school activities, homework, dinner and bedtime. If the player successfully gets through all levels they may choose to unlock the “perfect” day where the parent gets praised by the kids and all activity is conflict free or they can choose to up their game and unlock the challenge of having their extended family over for dinner, you know the sister with 6 kids under the age of 6.
- Conflict: Player vs. “nature” (of children). Children are seen more as creators of obstacles or dilemmas rather than opponents. As the parent of children you cannot simply ask them to behave, eat the food provided, get along with their siblings and others and to do well in school. To move successfully through the game the player needs to use the tactics that are made available to them as they navigate the house. For example if the player turns on the TV they will not have to deal with the kids arguing over breakfast but if they do not turn it off soon enough a new show will come on and the kids will raise a fuss over leaving for school.