Story 15
Kyle and Mitch start to design a computer game.
KMG’s Ghost Rides
Kyle Cortez and Mitch Milton liked to play computer games. One Saturday, they decided they knew enough about computer games to create one. So, they started planning a game. They made a folder named Kyle&MitchGame. Then, they started a brainstorming file named “KMG Plan 07.14.10.”
Kyle said, “To get started, let’s have players fight their way through a jungle.” Kyle typed while he talked.
“Good idea!” Mitch agreed. “And, they have to get past the jungle to start the game. And, to get through the jungle, they can’t be bitten. Let’s say they need to avoid bugs, bees, snakes, mosquitoes, and spiders. It’ll be like a jungle path entry. Every time a player gets a bite, it looks nasty. And the bites can become too much for the player. He or she has to go to the clinic and then start over.”
“I think a clinic is too common,” Kyle said. “How about if the bites make them sick. Then they get crazy and make bad choices. Like walking through a group of lions instead of around them.”
“I don’t want to have animal attacks. But bad choices are a good idea. How about climbing a mountain without the right gear?”
“OK. I can do without the animals,” Kyle agreed. “I think we need about five bad choices. We can do the mountain. We could have them mix water and power. Players could walk in front of a semi.” Kyle was typing almost as fast as they were talking.
“Yeah, and set off a bomb by taking a lid off of a box,” Mitch added. “That makes four, so we need one more. Oh … I know … we could have them shower in acid. We’ll only have bad choices for them to make. But, we’ll have to make it look like they made the choices. So, we will have to hide that the choices are so bad.”
“Like one button could say ‘Climb a Mountain.’ Another could say ‘Feel the Power’,” Kyle said as he typed.
“Yeah,” Mitch agreed. “And two others could say ‘Take a Walk’ and ‘Get the Lid’.”
“And ‘Take a Hot Shower’ can be the last one,” Kyle said. “When they get in a bad way, they will get a warning. It could say ‘Beware, your choice-making skills are weak.’ They will never get past that point. They will have to start over.”
“I think that they should be able to get 10 mosquito bites before they go crazy. And, 10 bug bites, too. But, they have to have what they need to treat them. Otherwise, they can’t go on with these bites. And, only two bee bites. And, only one snake or spider bite. All the snakes and spiders will be deadly,” Mitch said. Kyle laughed and typed.
“And,” Kyle said, “they don’t have to get bites. They can make wise choices before they step into the jungle.”
“I don’t think we should make the choices too clear. We want them to think ahead on their own. Let’s just have a button that says ‘Any Questions?’ and make them ask for protection.”
“Perfect!” Kyle said laughing. “We could put in key words. Then players must type one of the words to see protection choices.”
“Key words could include things like ‘spray, protect, bites, sting, and danger’. And, of course ‘mosquito, bug, bees, snakes, and spiders.’
Kyle added, “And ‘safe, save, guard, itch, itchy, painful, eat, and eaten’.”
“So,” Mitch said, “let’s say we get a really good player. She gets past the bite problem. Then, where does she land? Not in a jungle.”
“I know,” Kyle said with a grin. “How about a ghost amusement park? You know, like a ghost town. But it’s a park full of old rides.”
“Too cool!” Mitch said. “And, we can have a “You Must Be this Tall” sign. But let’s use lizard-lengths instead of inches. We can set it at 7′5˝ so everyone gets in. But, they have to figure their height in lizard-lengths.”
“And, of course, all the rides will creak and groan,” Kyle laughed. “And, we can make rides lean if a player sits in the wrong place.”
“And, we can have bolts fall out if a player bumps the wrong part,” Mitch added. He was quiet while he typed. Then he said, “Let’s have ghosts working the rides. And, some ghosts riding on the rides. But, of course, the ghosts won’t all be friendly. And, they won’t all tell the truth. Some of them will think the players are in the way. And, they will take every chance to trick the players.”
“I like all that ghost stuff. But, I think we have to be careful. We don’t want the ghosts to outsmart the good players. The ghosts can’t beat everyone,” Kyle pointed out.
Mitch said, “You’re right. It can’t be too easy or too hard. I like games where I get better each time I play. Good players can figure out how to do better each time.”
“What are we going to call our game?” Kyle asked. “KMG something?”
“Let’s have KMG be our company name. We could call the game ‘Broken Rides’.”
“Yeah,” Kyle said. “You are right about KMG. How about ‘Ghost Rides’ for the name of the game?”
“Good! I like that!” Mitch agreed. “Ghost Rides by KMG.”
What do you think?
- A general rule of brainstorming is to accept all ideas without judging. Do you think Kyle and Mitch did a good job with this rule? Explain.
- A general rule of compromising is to accept some of each other’s ideas. Do you think Kyle and Mitch did a good job following this rule when they were deciding about bad choices? Explain.
What would you do?
- In the game, players will be allowed to treat their insect bites as long as they make a choice to bring a first-aid kit with them. What would you put in a first-aid kit in order to be prepared for insect bites?
Life Skills in This Story:
- Brainstorming with a group
- Compromising
- Treating insect bites
- Identifying months by numbers
- Reading and writing dates
- Finding a file in a computer or on a CD
- Avoiding bug, bee, snake, mosquito, and spider bites
- Using non-traditional measuring devices
- Making decisions
- Handling electricity safely
- Choosing a lid that will fit based on shape
- Paying attention to noises and comments around you
- Reading pictures
- Using basic appliances and tools
- Knowing your initials
