Beach Sweep

Hayley Franks

Beach Sweep
Hayley Franks

Table of Contents (remember to right-click and UPDATE TABLE when finished editing)
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 2
Design History............................................................................................................................................................ 2 Vision Statement ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 Logline ............................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Synopsis............................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Game Description ..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Formal Elements ........................................................................................................ 3

Objectives..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Gameplay Description ............................................................................................................................................ 3 Tutorial ............................................................................................................................................................................. 6 Character Selection ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Conflict/Argument....................................................................................................................................................... 6 Challenge/Procedures................................................................................................................................................ 6 Outcomes .......................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Dramatic Elements ..................................................................................................... 7

Game World ................................................................................................................................................................ 7 Characters.................................................................................................................................................................... 7 PCs ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 NPCs.................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 Story ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Reflection ................................................................................................................... 8
Dissoi Logoi ................................................................................................................................................................. 8 Composition ................................................................................................................................................................ 8

Introduction
Design History
Beach Sweep came to be from a writing assignment that was assigned in my Advanced Writing assignment at the University of South Carolina. The assignment was to design a whole game and its layout. While still pondering my game design, I was visiting my hometown and sitting on the beach, looking around at all the debris and garbage on the beach. I was home for a unhappy reason, and the beach has always been my safe haven-a place where I go to think and escape. I was disappointed that my safe haven had turned into such a dirty, uninspiring place, and the game idea game to my head. The game will

hopefully inspire people to help clean up the beaches of our coast, and help keep the ocean clean and the animals safe.

Vision Statement
Logline Beach Sweep is a game based on reality that will have players rapidly cleaning for a cause. Synopsis The idea for Beach Sweep is to have players race against a clock to clean as much debris off the beach as they can. Whenever players reach 5 pounds of trash, a private company will donate money to Save Our Shores foundation. The point of the game is to open players eyes to the mounting beach pollution. Animals and beach goers are getting affected by the pollution. The animals are the innocent ones getting harmed-humans are the cause. The game is marketed to those who want to help clean the beaches, but cannot physically go and pick up debris. They will get to play, and donate money to the foundation that can do the work. It is a one player game, that has them interactively picking up the trash.

Game Description
This game is a Tetris-like game. The player playing Beach Sweep will begin at level one and the clock will be set for a longer time. As the player progresses in levels, the clock will speed up, giving the player less time to get all of the trash. If the player does not beat the clock, the player will be dropped down a level, and will need to proceed from there. Once they reach 5 pounds of trash, a donation will be sent to the Save Our Shores Foundation. As the keep on playing, the donation amount will add up for every 5 pounds gained. The game begins with the player on a dirty beach, with debris in the water and on the sand. Like Tetris, the player will have to use the arrow keys to maneuver around the beach to the trash. Once they are next to the trash, they will click the space bar to pick up the trash. The clock at the beginning level will be set at 60 seconds. As the player plays, the time will be dropped by 5 seconds per level. The amount of trash on the beach will stay the same at each level.

Formal Elements
Objectives
The only real objective of the game is to pick up 5 pounds of trash so money will be donated to clean up the beaches. Smaller objectives are: Pick up trash Beat the clock

Gameplay Description
The player will start on a beach that looks like this:

There will be more pollution on the beach, but this is the general idea. There will also be only one player. The player will have to maneuver the arrow keys to get to the trash:

Once next to the trash, the player will hit the space key to pick up the trash:

Once the player has picked up the trash, the game will automatically weigh the item, and add the weight to a Total Weight Scale on the side of the screen:

The player will then need to move the arrows around to pick up other trash. They will need to beat the clock, will gets faster as the levels progress:

If a player does not get all of the trash before beating the clock, they will be knocked back down a level, and will have to start from there. Once the player gets 5 pounds of trash on the scale, a balloon and confetti celebration will appear, and that level will be over, and they will automatically progress to the next level:

The scale will just keeping adding weight, and whenever the player ends, the scale will round down to the nearest 5 increment, and will send a donation based on that weight. Tutorial There will not be an actual tutorial of the game. The game will just have pop-up hints throughout the first level. The player can exit them if they do not want to see them. Character Selection The player can pick whether want a boy or girl avatar. Conflict/Argument The conflict of Beach Sweep is a race against time. They are only given a certain amount of time to pick up all the trash on each level. Challenge/Procedures The procedure of this game is to get all of the trash before the clock runs out. The player needs to manage their time wisely and device a plan to get all the trash using without the time running out. There isnt a certain route they must follow. They are free to roam the beach and get whatever trash they would like, in any pattern. If they do not get the trash within the time limit, they are knocked back down a level, and need to restart from there. Their poundage from the lost level will be gone. Outcomes There isnt a win/lose situation. The game will just end at level 10, when there is only 15 seconds left on the clock. This game is more of a reflection game. After the game is done, the player can see where their playing donation is going. They can see pictures of the beaches and animals that are affected by the pollution, as well as learn more about Save Our Shores foundation. From there, they can learn more information about what they can do to help keep the beaches clean.

Dramatic Elements
Game World
This game is a true reality of what our beaches look like. There is definitely not as much pollution on the game beaches versus real beaches, but it still equitable. There will be birds flying over the beach, waves crashing in the water, fish flopping etc. It will look like a real beach, just a virtual beach. There will be sounds of waves crashing and birds screeching.

Characters
PCs There arent any special movements the player can do. The player will be able to just walk and bend down to pick up the trash. If there is trash in the water, the player will automatically swim to the trash, the arrow controls will be the same. NPCs The only other characters in the game would be the birds flying over. These birds are NPCs, and cannot be controlled or changed.

Story
The reason picking up trash is so important is because our beaches are dying. Animals are getting caught and dying from all of the plastic and debris. Animals believe that plastic bags are food, so they eat them, and then suffocate from the bag. The animals that eat plastic bottles die because the bottle does not digest, which gives them the Im full feeling, and they suffer from malnutrition. Turtles, and other animals, get caught in ropes, fishing line, and 6-pack rings, which cause them to suffocate. Its not just animals that suffer. Humans get illnesses from swimming in the unsanitary ocean. The toxic plastic that

animals ingest gets reproduced into our food chain, which harms us. Broken glass or tin lying on the beach can cause infectious cuts and scrapes to those who walk on it. There are many foundations that help clean up our beaches, and for those that cannot physically go clean up the beaches, this game will help them be able to donate, without feeling it come out of their pocket.

Reflection
Dissoi Logoi
Beach Sweep could be seen as too environmental. There are other environmental worries out there, and conservatives might see this cause as lower on the list. A Freudian approach might argue that the id may not want to pick up the trash. It does not see the importance of it. The superego represses that feeling, and picks up the trash. The ego is the happy middle, and picks up the trash, but not because they subconsciously want to pick it up. The ego picks it up for society, and the social repercussions that come from that. A Marxist approach may fight that only certain social classes care about the game. The higher classes may be the ones to just donate the money, because they have the means to do so. They are also the ones who may be supporting the beach initiatives anyway. A person from the lowest class may not be educated in the effects of the game, so they would not care to play, or may not have access to it. A middle class citizen would be the one to play the game, and care about the cause. They are the ones who try to be more green in their daily lives, and fight for a better future. They would be the ones who may not have the means to give extra money out of their own pocket, but they have the means to play the game to donate.

Composition
This kind of exercise has a freer form than a basic composition. It allows students to design and write out a game, without having to follow strict paragraph formation. It allows for irregular paragraphs, and for graphics to be inserted as needed. It allows students to be more creative, without having to follow the strict rules of composition. It doesnt matter that the game will not actually be produced. It is a huge feat that my game has been designed and conceptualized. I think there is a place for game design-maybe based on the literature or time period a class is studying?