CONfident

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  An only *slightly* dusty computer

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  A timid squirrel with a cute hat

Inspiration

The inspiration for this project was the realization that too many “infomercial type” games where the knowledge intended to be shared is blankly presented, while the backgrounds and characters are often appealing, there is a lacking plot to keep players engaged. We found inspiration in games that have increasingly complex rules, such as “Papers, Please”. In this game, the user learns a wide range of information on border rules, without feeling like that's the purpose of the game. We wanted to mimic the unique way of learning through experiencing.

What it does

Working as a shady sales lizard, the player learns to make scam insurance policies. The challenge of manipulating customers teaches players classic ways that they themselves could get scammed. Over the days, the impact of getting tricked into a bad policy is shown, and loveable characters suffer from the bad policy they received, cautioning players to use what they learned about bad insurance deals to responsibly pick a plan.

How we built it

We built the game using Python, implementing Pygame. All visual elements were created using pixil.art.com. We began with a general idea, a plan, and storyboarding. After all planning was complete, we divided the work of programming and drawing the final characters while checking in often with each other to make sure we are on the same page.

Challenges we ran into

We wanted the game to have unique characters with personalities, though creative complex characters with accompanying artwork within the time constraint was definitely a difficulty. Another challenge was trying to create the dialogue to build the experience we wanted, it was difficult to accept that with the time constraints, the full vision of character and plot development could not be done correctly. Balancing human needs and working on the code was a challenge. Determined to see their vision through, a few team members decided to skip lunch and planned to get food from Whataburger. But of course, things don’t always go as planned, and while outside the building attempting to get food, a police officer warned us of an armed person and advised us to go back with empty stomachs.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of the storyline we were able to come up with. We created characters that we love, and visuals to be proud of. We also managed to get the game running which gave us the chance to show it to others. Seeing their reaction was definitely something to be proud of.

What we learned

We learned about how Pygame worked, and a lot about insurance policies and how they can hurt you or help you. As well as that we learned what got positive reactions from people and what was found boring.

What's next for Confident Insurance

Further development of the story and characters, as well as more advanced options for creating the insurance scams, are some things that can be developed further. The plot twist comes fast, before relationships with characters can be built, which makes the game a bit more “infomercial-y” than we’d like. We'd like the game to be longer in order to incorporate new insurance policies over a larger amount of levels, creating a more powerful and positive game experience as the game grows.

Built With

• pygame
• python