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Presentation describing Fitter Critters, a nutrition education game intended to transform children's attitudes toward nutrition.
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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
