Making a Pitch

Parkour, adapt and overcome .

A challenging, stimulating simulation experience, where you have to quickly find ways to escape one of the most famous nuclear disasters to date, whilst witnessing the devastation it resulted in on the surrounding environment.

Brief Overview

Players are put into an immersive intense environment, left to their own devices, in order to figure out a way out of the collapsing reactor station. Through their journey, they can take different paths, which will result in different opportunities. The game is meant to be challenging - mimicking the real life challenge of escaping a collapsing nuclear station, and show the effects of nuclear disasters on the environment. The player will be guided into safe spaces where they are able to take a minute to consciously acknowledge and process what devastation is occurring in their surroundings.

Genre

Simulation, Puzzle, Parkour.

The experience will aim to mimic real life urgency and activate your survival instincts to escape and survive the collapsing Fukushima station. As the game is primarily a simulation, there will be a combination of visual and sound features that enhance the immersive experience and help guide the player through levels. There will be small interactions available to assist progression and open new pathways/routes.

Target Audience

My experience is aimed towards young adults in college/university, with an age rating of 16+. The game is intended to be mechanically challenging as well as though provocative, for those reasons a younger audience is better suited. However, the game will also feature content that can be quite difficult to comprehend for a younger audience. Topics such as loss and death will feature a lot within the game and are not appropriate for younger audiences.

Furthermore, the game will feature flashing lights, loud noises and fast-paced movement. This game is not appropriate for those with severe epilepsy, those who struggle/suffer with motion sickness as a result of 'latency' and those sensitive to quick movements and loud, sudden noises.

Studying the ERSB rating scheme, my game fits between T(teen) and M (mature). The key differences between these being more intense graphical content, more violence and sexual content. My game will not have very violent scenes or sexual content however I don't feel comfortable as a developer publishing this game for an audience of 13+. For that reason, I am putting my game as

ESRB Rating : M (mature) - Content is generally suitable for ages 17+

Additionally, putting my game into the mature category, means that if I am to begin adding more graphical detail to what was originally intended, I am within the correct age rating. It will function as a good safety net. 17+ is very close to 16+ which is what I aimed for

Unique Selling Point

An intense simulation of a real life catastrophe that allows students to capture the emotions of the event from a closer and more intimate level, whilst also developing their survival instinctive thoughts by putting the player in an urgent life or death scenario. The experience is intended to generate reflection on what is happening around the player (how the nuclear reactor's collapse is affecting the environment). As well as reflect on their own instinctive thinking.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is used to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats within a company/ organisation. Being a solo developer, I can still apply these principles and analysis framework to my project.

Strengths

Areas I am doing well and have advantages:

Passionate about my game and executing it as well as possible.
Communication with external people for feedback regularly and suggestions.
Strong prototype starting point.
Thorough and extensive research conducted into game genre and mechanics.

Opportunities

External factors that can contribute and develop strengths:

Marketing on social media platforms and contacting industry experts in order to support a more organised and clearer function specific process.
Making use of University social community and promoting game to target audience.
Possible external developers or function specific roles - to assist development. (outsourcing).

Weaknesses

Area need to be improved:

Further research into Fukushima and the area around the plant before collapse.
Potentially reduce size of scope.
Refine and make planning more thorough with clear requirements and expectations (specifics).

Threats

Potential risks/problems caused by external factors:

Unaffordable
Time management to complete everything
Competition
Personal Health

Using this analysis, I was able to categorize and focus on different aspects of my project. Where I am weak and need some support, and where I am currently doing well. Additionally, looking into the future and what I should be weary/conscious of as it could negatively affect my project's development.

My main strengths are my passion for the game I am developing and the strong foundation I have given myself leading up to development in Unity. The through prototyping I have done will hopefully allow for an easier development, which in turn eases the pressures of meeting my scope. I think also, at every opportunity I have to- talk to industry working professionals, I ask as many questions as possible that may assist my eventual development in semester 2. These are all good things that will hopefully strengthen the eventual product.

As for weaknesses, it is a case of breaking things down to their specifics, in order to then build a clear plan of what is expected within my scope. To solve this, at the beginning of the project, following my chosen Agile methodology, I will dedicate enough time to make thorough planning to facilitate easy design and later development. Furthermore, I recognize my own ambitions and that my scope may reflect that characteristic, so if during semester 2, progress does not go as smoothly as intended, I will make the appropriate adjustments to the scope, making compromises where necessary.

Currently, I am not sure what external opportunities are out there, other than those I can attempt to make contact with in hopes of receiving some benefit. I think it will be a natural progression, as I continue working throughout the semester, more opportunities will arise, and it is my responsibility to make the most use of them. At the moment, my opportunities lie mostly within my social media reach - for that reason, I can only strengthen and improve that by growing my social media presence and networking.

The biggest threat to this project is time. Managing it to the best of my ability and being adaptable to any external changes that may affect the total amount of time I can dedicate to the project. Additionally, if I require assistance, from external developers, it may be too expensive to afford, if that is the case, then I will need to adjust my scope and make compromises.

I will account for the threats and weaknesses within my planning, by ensuring I have some safety net, in case things do take longer than expected/are delays etc. Additionally, I will allocate more focus in areas that require more attention, to mitigate risks and turn weaknesses into strengths. This will include prioritising requirements, making a very clear list that I can easily follow.