System Dynamics — Roadrage Game
RoadRage Game
The P3 game my team and I are currently designing deals with the system of driving — more specifically roadrage while driving. What causes roadrage? How does roadrage affect people’s behaviors?
Game Details
Players are driving around a roundabout — when suddenly all the roundabout exits are shutdown. The players are now stuck in an infinite loop of going round and round …and round. As they drive, they interact with the otehr driver who share their roundabout fate. These interactions in turn affect both of the players. As players get more and more frustrated, their rage levels increase until reaching the “RoadRage” level — after which they are eliminated from the game. The last player left standing is crowned the winner.
Loops and Arcs
Loops
Players start with the mental model of driving they would most likely all be familiar with. This model prompts the players to make a simultaneous decision about their movements — where to go and what path to take. These decisions follow one another in rapid succession and can lead to different actions being applied: if a player has an action card and is in the right location to activate it then that player can play the card. If the player collides with another player, another set of actions need to be taken to resolve that incident. Feedback is present in different ways across the game. Players receive feedback from actions other player undertake to predict their future behavior and update their mental model, as well as from the “events” that the board itself forces unto the players.
Arcs
Each player will have a rage counter. Different actions will cuase that range counter to increase by one or two levels. Rage counters will increase based on interactions with other players. The player’s mental model will be set at the start of the game regarding how the rage counter can be incremented. When the players find themselves in a specific situation, they have to make a specific decision. This decision will lead to an action (e.g. cut off the other player). The action will then result in specific visual feedback based on the rules: rage counter is incremented by one.
