Designers: Kumari Sikha Singh: Persona, Marketing Analysis, Learning Objective Brittney McFarlane: Moodboard, Storyboard Wanyue Wang: Game Mechanics, Aesthetic Design
Overview
Go with the Flow is a multiplayer social game to help young adolescents learn about menstruation. Menstruation is a taboo topic in some cultures and some young adolescents are too shy to talk about it. It is very important for young adolescents to understand menstruation facts and be prepared for it mentally. And parents and teachers play an important role during the education process. So the game combines the learning factors and social factors for the game design. The game can be played with peers, parents, and teachers. The game includes a wheel that standards for menstrual cycle and cards with knowledge for each menstrual cycle phase. Players take turns to spin the wheel and have a conversation based on the spin results and related cards. The main dynamic is cooperation while competition as a secondary dynamic. We also hope the game can be a taboo breaker and a conversation starter.
Game Mechanics
Wheel
The main interface of the game is a wheel that standards for a 28-days menstrual cycle. The wheel is divided into four phases:
Period
Proliferative phase
Ovulation
Secretory phase
Cards
Other key elements are cards with related knowledge for different stages. Cards cover menstrual topics of biology facts, products, fun facts, code of conduct, myths.
Considering players with different cultural backgrounds, lifestyle, and a priori knowledge of menstruation, the use of products, codes of conduct, and myths may vary. Even though our target players are US tweens, the aforementioned information can still different because of many reasons. So we provide default cards that cover biology facts of the menstrual cycle, myths that are common across cultures, and general products (without brand). We also provide blank cards that allow players to customize. They can add extra fun facts, myths, and codes of conduct based on their own preferences.
The frontside of cards is an illustration that depicts the knowledge players need to learn. The backside of cards is an interpretation of the illustration and scores. Different cards have different scores from 1 to 5, which are based on the difficulty levels. The design of the card is shown below.
Illustrations are online assets: Image resource: https://www.freepik.com/premium-vector/feminine-hygiene-set-with-menstrual-cup_5308611.htm
Rules of play
Players take turns to spin the wheel
When it stops the player needs to randomly choose one card about the stage where the wheel stops. Players can decide whether to put the card back.
The player freely describes the illustration of the card she/he chooses
After the player finishes, others discuss his/her description and vote for right or wrong
Check the answer behind the card
If the description is right, the player earns points, those who vote for the right get 1 point, those who vote for wrong won’t get any points
If the description is wrong, the player earns no points, those who vote for wrong get 1 point, those who vote for right won’t get point
The next player spins the wheel
Players can end the game whenever they want, the player with the highest score wins
Prototype for Physical Board Game
A physical board game is the main form of On With Flow. We hope players can sit down around a table and play the game follow the rules. Here is the mockup for the board game.
Wireframes for the Digital Version
A board game is not portable compared to a digital game, so we offer a digital version as a complement. The digital version is completely offline, the rules of play are the same as the physical version. The main interface is still the wheel of the menstrual cycle, players swipe the wheel to start a round. When the wheel stops, a card for the phase will pop up. Players follow the rules to describe the card and vote. They can check the answer by clicking the button under the card. With a flipping animation, the answer shows. Players check their answers and calculate scores. They can move to the next round by clicking the “Next Round” button.
