Girls As Game Designers
© Michigan State University Comm Tech Lab, 2005
Carrie Heeter, Rhonda Egidio, Punya Mishra, Leigh Graves-Wolf, Randy Russell, Brian Winn
partially funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation

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5th and 8th Grade Girl and Boy Team Game Concept Promos

Below are the QuickTime trailers inspired by game brainstorming of our 8 child design teams at Space Pioneer Learning Adventures camp. Fifth grade games are described (first the girls, then the boys) followed by the 8th grade games (again, first the girls, then the boys). For each game a screen shot from the promo, a short description of the game concept, and the team logo are show. Each game name is linked to the quicktime video for that promo.

Carrie Heeter worked with space scientist Randy Russell, game designer Brian Winn, graphic artists Deon Foster and Susan Stevens, and sound design team Tim O'Brien, Greg Mercer, and Hai Kyung Min to elaborate on the game ideas invented by the same-sex, same-age, Artists Deon Foster and Susan Stevens created the art elements for the promos, with graphical integration provided by Heeter; five person child design teams, integrating science content (in keeping with interests expressed by the groups) and adding enough gaming elements (again staying as true to the brainstorms as practical) to create a promo for each game concept.

5th Grade Girl Game Concepts and Promos

The Great Probe Rescue

Humanity has sent probes to every planet in the solar system, but all 9 probes are missing, along with the first ship of astronauts who went looking for the probes. A transmissions from near Jupiter looks like aliens may be involved in stealing the probes. You choose which planets to visit, encountering adventures and aliens (some silly, some hostile, some helpful) on every planet.

Dr. Evil Stinky and the Poison Cake

Peace has at last been achieved on Earth, and people are celebrating with a planet wide party. A cake big enough to feed the world is being airdropped. You are sitting in a space ship about to launch when everyone on earth passes out from the poison cake. You are accidentally launched half an hour early. A pirate message from Dr. Evil Stinky says you are Earth's only hope to find a cure. You visit all of the different planets to find clues and create an antidote.

Virus Fighters: The Defeat of Juppa

Humans and aliens coexist happily but the aliens didn't tell us they had an evil leader named Juppa. Juppa is imprisoned on a cold, dark, transneptunian object out beyond Pluto but before he was caught he unleashed a terrible virus. Your mission is to stop Juppa and his evil minions and save the solar system from the virus. Your first challenge is to blow up an asteroid carrying the virus and headed towards Earth, using exactly the right number of nuclear warheads to blow up each comet fragment. You encouter other challenges (that teach science) on your mission.

Never Safe in Space

A team of scientists living on a research outpost on Jupiter's moon, Europa. have been drilling through 5 miles of ice to look for life under the planet wide ocean. The core sample is brought into the lab. Scientists spill beer on it and it begins to grow rapidly. The last transmission to NASA was a distress call. You choose to send a new science expedition to continue the search for life and discover what happened to the orignal scientists. . Near Europa your engine fails and you abandon ship in lifepods...

Virtual Reality Mars Resort

You are the new president of a half-built Mars resort. The game begins when you land on Mars. You face a series of "SamQuests" beginning when the resort manager runs out of bolts and you must find enough chromium and iron on Mars to finish the resort. You earn your choice of magic pet (alien, rabbit, butterfly, etc.) for each quest you succeed at. If you keep your pet happy and well fed you inherit it's magical powers.

Desdemona IX

You are captain of the starship Desdemona IX. Earth has been devastated by World War III, and your mission is to find new planets and moons for humanity to live on. Colored discs display the emotion of each crew member. In the promo the captain leaves a small team to colonize Mars and heads onward towards Jupiter. The grateful turtle rescued from a storm on Jupiter's moon, Io, offers to lead you to a far away Earthlike planet. Your crew is in conflict over whether to leave the solar system.

Mission to Mars: The Race to Save Humanity

A close spinoff of the existing game, Moon Tycoon. The objective is to transport 50,000,000 humans from the overpopulated Earth to a colony on Mars, while getting rich. There are three views -- Earth, Space, and Mars. In the Mars view you construct facilities to provide the colony with food, water, oxygen, services, and recreation. In space, aliens attack transport ships unless the ships are adequately defended.

The Universal Challenge

A close spinoff of the existing game, Halo II. Battles with aliens over control rage on every major moon and planet in the solar system. You fight to save humanity, responding to military beacons to receive assignments. You choose a weapon and vehicle for each assignment. Fighting occurs under the actual conditions (gravity, atmosphere, surface, heat, etc.) of each mooon or planet, making the choice of vehicle and weapon extremely important to whether you can succeed.