Writeup:
Our P3 game is called Ca$h or Credit (for now) and is about the credit scoring system in the US. We’re exploring this system, which assigns a numerical score to citizens in an attempt to assess their likelihood of paying off a loan based on their financial history. The mechanics are somewhat like Monopoly, in that players move around a board, passing Payday and Bills Due, potentially landing on Opportunities (to take out a loan for some asset) and Events (positive or negative life events that impact a player’s cash or credit score). A value we want to embed in the game is that the credit scoring system (and capitalism in the U.S.) is not an equal-opportunity system for all members of society – in this system, bad credit, debt, and income are linked in a way that makes it much more difficult for low-income individuals to accumulate wealth or take out a loan. We want players to experience this dynamic as they go through the core loop of our game.
P3 core loop
An arc between each of these asset-buying loops is accumulating money and increasing your credit score to the point where you can take out a loan for your next asset. In our game, you win by accumulating assets, so a player will go through some number of these loan loops, with a refractory arc in between each loan. A challenge we’re currently facing is balancing an accurate portrayal of our system with a fun, playable game. We don’t want our game to be too much like Monopoly, in which the rich become richer and the poor become poorer, but on the other hand, that’s just how the credit system works.
Mind Maps of Reading:
(partially reused from CS247G)
(resubmitted late)
