Premise: In this interactive fiction story, the player takes on the role of a new parent navigating the joys, challenges, and unexpected decisions that come with raising a child. The story begins in the later stages of pregnancy, when either the player or their partner is expecting a baby, and follows their journey through the child’s first birthday. Along the way, the player encounters many of the common questions and dilemmas faced by new parents, from everyday decisions about feeding, sleeping, and childcare to broader questions about family support, workplace expectations, and the role of society in raising children. As the story unfolds, the player builds a digital baby photo book that captures important milestones, and memorable moments throughout their child’s first year. By the end, the photo book serves as both a keepsake of their parenting journey and a reflection of the world they are helping to create for their child.
World: The character’s world is only a slight modification of the player’s world. Their experiences occur in different everyday scenarios from home to the hospital, mall, restaurant, or workplace. One of the early scenes depicts Coit Tower and another displays a Ghirardelli dessert to add a little bit of creative constraint to the player’s imagination.
P2 Timeline
| Task | Description | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Map and premise | Blog Post detailing P2 plan | 10/19 |
| First Draft of Game | Path created with all questions | 10/19 |
| Overview | High level premise and overview of the game, initial concept mapping if you’d like, etc. “How did this idea/experience pop into your head?” | 10/19 |
| P2: Target Audience + Content Warnings | Form with information for in class playtests | 10/19 |
| Tiny Playable Prototype | A list of learning following the first in class playtest | 10/20 |
| Complete Draft of Game | Playable game with visual and audio elementsComplete Baby Book implementationComplete branching logic for photosCheck for consistency with parental choiceAdd sound effects | 10/20 |
| Playtest prototype | Playtest and refine your prototype at least once with players outside of class. Zac (New Parent) | 10/21 |
| Refined prototype | Playtest and refine your prototype at least once with players outside of class. Post questions to the blogJarred (Non Parent)Lizzie & Jason (Thinking about Parenting) | 10/26 |
| Branching Choice Map | If your game has branching paths, create a map summarizing major/impactful choices and the possible outcomes/endings from each of them. | 10/26 |
| History Versions of Game | Demonstration of improvement over time through playtesting and iteration. (I.e. Did the results of your assessment improve from earlier versions of the game? Why are you convinced that the game is better now at achieving its objective(s)?) | 10/27 |
| Photos/Video Clips of Game Testing | For each playtest, include the number of players and any available demographic information (gender, age, background). Summarize feedback and how it informed certain changes. For Video/Audio, please also include relevant timestamps of moments that stand out/serve as particular evidence. | 10/28 |
| Reflection | A short reflection section at the end of the article that roughly portrays the following information: “I did this, I learned this, next time I’d do it this way.” | 10/29 |
| P2 Blog Post | Combine all materials into a cohesive blog post. | 10/30 |
| P2 Reflection | No parameters released yet | 10/31 |
| P2 Values at Play & Peer Grading | No parameters released yet | 10/31 |
