The serious game I explored was Spent. The game was designed by McKinney. Spent is an interactive online game where players make a series of financial decisions, with the goal of avoiding running out of money. It promotes reflective play, requiring players to carefully consider their choices and the potential outcomes as they progress through the game.
We can analyze the game Spent using the MDAO framework. The mechanics of the game include the rules, behaviors, and actions available to the player. In Spent, players are presented with a series of decisions, such as choosing a job or selecting a health insurance plan. There are some actions within the game that you must do such as paying rent. Like stated earlier, the point of the game is to make the most of the little money you make in the game. Another aspect of the game that unfolds as you progress is the need to keep your job. You must balance your expenses while avoiding more than three job strikes—if you reach three strikes, you get fired.
The Dynamics of the game form a pretty anxiety-inducing gameplay flow. With each decision, the consequences are shown immediately, adding pressure to every choice. After each action, they will show a screen of information related to the decision made, connecting the in-game struggles to those of many in real life.
The Aesthetics of the game are impactful. The choice of font and colors immediately set a serious tone. The sound used in the opening of the game is quite dramatic too. Early on, the game presents a series of unfortunate financial circumstances that the player is forced to navigate. The game is very in-your-face with the overall pace and style.T his immediately grabs and keeps your attention as you try to work through the financial challenges presented in the game.
The outcome of the game is clear: it highlights how difficult it is to escape financial hardship and how limited opportunities. Often expenses outweigh the opportunities to get a liveable income. After this very dramatic, tense gameplay experience—where it quickly feels like there’s no real chance of winning—you get to the ending screen where you’re asked to donate. It becomes apparent that the point of this game is to get people to empathize with economically disadvantaged people enough to donate money.
