Fitter critters gfh_presentation

Transforming children's attitudes toward nutrition

John FerraraBri Lance

Agenda

20%

30%30%

10%

5% Overview of the challenge

Game demoStrategies for creating a persuasive game

Shameless padding

Adorable baby pictures    

Pie charts5%

'Sup.

Playful DesignCreating Game Experiences in Everyday InterfacesDecember 2011PlayfulDesignBook.com

John FerraraLead designer, Fitter CrittersCo-Founder, Megazoid Games Now playing: CityVille, Prof. Layton, Team Fortress 2

What causes childhood obesity?

Access to healthier options is improving

Through the National School Lunch Program, public secondary schools are offering students healthier options in the cafeteria.RWJF, Bridging the Gap   04.May.2011

Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010

In 2010, 12 states developed policies to improve access to healthy foods in school venues.National Conference of State Legislators   25.Apr.2011

Access alone isn't enough

There must be transformation.  Children need to:• Understand the nutritional attributes of food• Build a knowledge base of better & worse food choices• Develop skills to interpret nutrition information• Learn to value healthier food choices

More than anything, the problem is cultural.

"I am determined to work with folks across this country to change the way a generation of kids thinks about food and nutrition."Michelle Obama

Challenge to create games that teach 8- to 12- year olds healthier eating habits

Virtual pets.  Real nutrition.

• Player is responsible for maintaining the health of a virtual pet

• Must shop for the critter's food, cook for it, and feed it

• Each day the player must fill the critter's green bars without filling the red bars

Goal #3 : To educate• Understand the nutritional attributes of food• Build a knowledge base of better & worse food choices• Develop skills to interpret nutrition information

Goal #2 : To persuade• Learn to value healthier food choices

Goal #1 ...

Our strategic goals for the game

To entertain!

A quick demo

Unit plan for teachers

Designing to persuade

1. Define a core message

A persuasive gamemust be designed around

a clear and concise statementof what you want players

to do or to believe.

2. Tie the message to strategy

Games drive playersto find the most efficient ways

to win. If the message represents

the ideal strategy,then the process of playing

serves as a proof of its truthfulness. 

We built a tiered system of rewards

Better food choices

Health goes up

Greater productivity, more sports wins, sick less often

Earn more money

Trick out your pad

Social rewards

3. Enable self-directed discovery

Self-directed discovery persuadesby giving people

a feeling of ownershipof the insight they've uncovered.

Discovering better food choices

Discovering better food sourcing

Discovering healthy recipes

Players can cook, combining ingredients into prepared meals.

Meals of greater nutritional merit are worth more than their constituent ingredients

Meals can be sold to the restaurant for a profit.

Other players can then purchase them, enabling social learning.

4. Offer meaningful choices

If there is no advantageto making the wrong choice,

then there isno choice at all.

Effects of high-calorie foods

Advantages:• More energy for sports games• More energy for work

Consequences:• Exceed daily limits faster• Critter starts rejecting

healthier options

5. Keep it real

Video games' capacityto simulate the conditions

of the real worldcan impart credibility

to embedded arguments.

Fitter Critters has real nutrition data for 675 actual food items

...and the daily objectives are based on real consumption guidelines

Conclusion:Changing behavior

So what's next?

We want to bring Fitter Critters into classrooms!

We're interested in talking to prospective:

• Investors• Partners• Advisors• Clients

MegazoidGames.com

Email:  mega@megazoidgames.com

Twitter:  @megazoidgames

Book:  PlayfulDesignBook.com