Our game, ISPS, is intended to model the system of a postal service. Our primary interaction loop is to give the player a mental model of what they have to do when they see different boxes that must be sorted, transported, and delivered in the context of a postal service game.
They will then identify their decision to perform one of the three games or acquire one of the numerous upgrades to make them easy. They will later have infrequent decisions to acquire contracts from different planets that put a time pressure on them to deliver a certain amount of packages for an increase in reward. If they fail under the time pressure, their earnings from the planet will half.
Their action will be to play one of the games and press the corresponding keys to sort the boxes or move the vehicle out of harm’s way. They will understand that sorting the package wrong deals a penalty to their net income and the way the deliver vehicles handle. They will also see that successful package delivery gives them money to buy upgrades. This will be their feedback. Then, they will make a mental update about how to optimally play the games and acquire upgrades. Finally, they will make more informed decisions about acquiring new contracts to balance the risk and the reward.
First, they will have to master each of the mini games before they master strategizing which upgrades are the most worthwhile and whether or not to accept contracts. The simple tasks are the mini games and the complex tasks are strategizing about the amount of time completing all the mini games will take. If they have difficulty with the contract part of the game, they are likely having difficulty with the minigame part of the game.
The interaction arc will mostly entail the different sounds that occur when doing well and doing poorly, visual changes of machines and instruments as upgrades are invested into, and the different music / visuals of each minigame. When they see the puny space ships, delivery vehicles, and package facilities with the upgrade bar at the bottom, they will make a mental model of success and growth. They will decide how to achieve this and what upgrades they want to invest in. They will then take the action of upgrading. Next, they will see that they need currency to get the upgrades while the upgrades help them increase their currency. Finally, they will receive feedback in the form of an upgraded vehicle and easier play during the minigames. Their mental update will include wanting to upgrade to see what all the different upgrades look like and to better their success in the game.
