From Idea to Game: Making of ‘Resist’
Learning a new skill is challenging, but with proper guidance and commitment, nothing is impossible. In this blog, I will share the process I went through over four semesters in the MA Digital Narratives programme at the Internationale Filmschule Köln (ifs) to develop my master’s project titled “Resist,” a mini-game that tackles the critical issue of labour and unionization within the gig economy.
Before enrolling in this programme, I was a journalist — a pen-and-paper guy — with little experience in producing digital formats and none in game production. Yet, through a combination of rigorous coursework, hands-on projects, and a deep passion for storytelling, I along with my co-workers was able to bring “Resist” to life. This journey was far from straightforward, filled with uncertainty and challenges at every turn. I am sharing the cone of uncertainty for “Resist” to illustrate how this uncertainty, initially at its peak, gradually reduced over time as I reached key milestones.
Milestone 1: Ideation and Initial Exploration
My journey began with the idea of creating an interactive digital format to tell stories about labour movements. Frustrated by the lack of public engagement with theoretical discourses on labour issues, I wanted to create something accessible, fun, and engaging.
Working for a day at a DHL warehouse in Cologne, I witnessed the harsh realities of the job — strict management, lack of breaks, and physical and mental strain. This experience, coupled with a similar story from a colleague working at an Amazon warehouse, inspired me to create a game that would highlight these issues.
While walking home from the ifs one day, I had a breakthrough: a game about warehouse work could effectively bring these realities to the public and raise awareness about labour issues. This became the starting point for my project.
Milestone 2: Prototyping and Concept Development
Although I had the idea to create a game about the ongoing labour movement within Amazon.com Inc., I was unsure how to proceed. Coming from a journalistic background with experience in covering labour issues, I had information about the ongoing struggle, further consolidated by my research. However, the uncertainty was high. I had no experience in game design or production and no realistic idea about the initial steps or the production timeline.
In the first two semesters, we, the MA Digital Narratives students, had production exercises where we created prototypes of digital products using technologies like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. These exercises were helpful in understanding software production. One key takeaway was that a prototype should be as appealing as the final product. For my game, the prototype should reflect the core gameplay experience.
This knowledge reduced some uncertainty, but I still didn’t have a clear vision of how my game would look. I started playing various games from AAA companies and indie developers, searching for a fun and educational game idea. I wanted to motivate players to join or support unions or simply learn about them. The fun factor was crucial because I wanted my audience to learn while playing. Despite extensive searching, I struggled to find an original and unique idea that conveyed my message.
During one seminar, we were tasked with creating prototypes with LEGO blocks, which helped me visualize my game concept. This exercise clarified my thoughts and provided a path forward. As the semesters progressed, the uncertainty gradually decreased. I continued researching game development, reading blogs, and listening to talks. During this process, I was introduced to different game genres, including impact games. Impact games are designed to create a meaningful impact on their audiences. My project aimed to create layers of impact for different audiences, further reducing uncertainty as I refined my concept.
Milestone 3: Final Prototype Development and Testing
Despite the progress, the idea was not ready for production. This became clear in the third semester during our production sprint. The goal was to take our prototypes to the next level. In the second semester, I created a Twine prototype, a tool for interactive and branching stories. Although significant, it was more of a text adventure game.
Inspired by The Uber Game by the Financial Times, I wanted to create something different that looked and felt like a real game. I aimed to attract Millennials and Gen Z, who are abundant in the global workforce and have the potential to challenge the status quo. During the production sprint, I attempted to develop a playable prototype by hiring a sound designer, programmer, and artist. We had only two weeks, and I failed to produce a new prototype but managed to create a slideshow of the game idea.
This failure increased the uncertainty about my project. With the master’s programme entering its final phase, I had to reflect on my process and understanding of game development. Initially, I wanted to focus on the project with minimal thesis work, but this failure pushed me to opt for a more thesis-oriented approach. However, my passion remained in game production. This moment of reflection led me to rework my game design and create a detailed game design document. I assembled the team again, hired a new artist, and shared all relevant documents to align our work with the project goals: to experiment with storytelling in games and create layers of impact for different audience segments.
Using Campfire’s audience segmentation framework, I divided my audience into three categories: skimmers, dippers, and divers. Skimmers were foreign students studying in Germany, who might look at Amazon as a potential employer since German language skills were not a barrier in entry-level or manual jobs at the warehouses. Dippers were activists and individuals interested in social and labour issues, and divers were Amazon workers who might play the game and feel motivated to join the labour movement within their company.
I used HacknPlan, a project management tool customized for game development, to create a workspace where team members could communicate and share assets. The final production sprint lasted about two weeks, but planning took a couple of months. By the end of the sprint, we developed an initial prototype for testing. This prototype provided valuable insights and helped check if the product was working towards its goal.
Conclusion
The journey from ideation to a fully developed prototype was filled with challenges and learning experiences. Despite initial uncertainties and setbacks, the structured approach and continuous refinement of ideas led to the successful creation of “Resist”. This project allowed me to explore new skills in game development and reinforced my commitment to raising awareness about labour issues through innovative storytelling.
I am set to present my prototype on July 11 at the ifs graduation ceremony. If you happen to be in Cologne on this date and have time, come, try the game, and give your feedback. After this, I will also share my prototype here. Please follow this Digital Narratives blog to stay updated.
