the Village

In-game screenshot of road construction

Introduction

Features - Abstract

Simulation Mode (prototype)

The Simulation mode features the actual "game" area of The Village. Here, the Real World mode is translated into a more playable environment and individual players are able to see how their actions can affect the real life villages of Honduras. This is where they can build roads and buildings immediately, allocate funding, provide food and education for the villagers and try to solve problems like AIDS, poverty, and unemployment. Time will be sped up and they can see the progress from their actions.



Real-World Mode (proposed)

The Real World mode is an as realistic as possible digital interpretation of a real life region of Honduras. It reflects almost everything in the real world from buildings, roads, weather, cleanliness, happiness, food levels, etc. When something happens in the real world, the Real World mode of The Village will be changed to reflect that occurrence. Individual players of The Village have less control over what they can change in the Real World but are allowed to see what does happen when that change does occur.


Features - Details

Zoom Levels

For both the Simulation and Real World modes, zoom will be a big feature. There will be several zoom levels implemented. The highest level will show the entire area of Honduras and the surrounding countries. Your villages and other cities will be exaggerated on the map to better represent where they are in the country. The next level of zoom will be on just the region that you are controlling. It will feature your main village and the surrounding ones and show the roads between them and how they are affecting each other. There will still be visual exaggeration for the player but not as much as the country zoom level. The next area of zoom will be an overview of an entire village. The exaggeration will be even less and you will see how your actions are affecting the village as a whole. This will be your main area of interaction and provides the player with the best view for the simulation. The final level will be on individual areas within the village-from hospital to school to houses to farm land, etc. This will be the most realistic and there will be little to no exaggeration.

<< Back to Top

Village Construction

A big feature, especially in the Simulation mode of The Village will be the construction of infrastructure, roads, hospitals, homes, schools, farmland, public arenas, entertainment buildings, communication buildings, airports, ports, food areas and all manors of buildings a society requires to function. This will be the main feature that affects The Village. Much of Honduras was destroyed in 1998 by a terrible hurricane, setting the country back 50 years. One of their main problems is the lack of infrastructure needed to function completely. The construction of buildings from donations, taxes, and allocations from other areas in the best possible and most efficient places will have the most effect on the region and will show how the player can make the biggest difference.

<< Back to Top

Resource Management

For the Simulation Mode, the player's ability to affect The Village will be in the form of a resource pool which will be broken down into different types. There will be different levels of money, food, water, building materials, workers, and medicine. These will all affect each other as well as other aspects of The Village. These resources are the ones you can directly control however. For instance you can use money to hire new workers or buy more food. You can use food and water to feed your workers. You can have your workers use building materials to construct new buildings. You can sell your extra medicine to get more money. And so on. Resources will also be given to your from other sources as well. You can get lucky and receive gifts or you could get unlucky and have a hurricane wipe out your water supply.

<< Back to Top

Natural Disaster Mode

An important part of The Village will come in the form of natural disasters. This is shown in both the Real World mode and the simulation mode. For the Real World mode, if a disaster such as a hurricane or fire breaks out in the real village one will be promptly added to the Real World mode to show it in digital form. Players will be able to see the devastation wrought and come up with possible ways that they can alleviate the hardships.


For the Simulation mode players can either elect to run a disaster through their village to gain experience in how to rebuild afterward or see if what they built was structured in a way so that it deals with a disaster in the most efficient way possible. There is also a toggle switch for turning on and off random disasters. With it on, every once in a while a disaster will break out in the village and threaten a certain aspect or various aspects of it and players will have to deal with it in whatever way they wish. With it off, no disasters will occur.

<< Back to Top

Tutorial Mode

For the Simulation mode there will be a tutorial that the player can elect to play before going into the full simulation on his own. This will be a completely guided experience meant to teach the player exactly how to play the game. Every action will be explained through text before it is implemented. Hints will be given in all areas of the simulation to help the player decide what to do next and how his action affected another area. He can elect to turn the tutorial off at any time and play the game in regular mode.

<< Back to Top

Player Profiles

Each player will be allowed to create a player profile for themselves. This will feature different stats including Voting Power, hours played, name, personal info, funding history, voting statistics and any other information the player is willing to provide. This will allow players to identify with each other and allow them to create their own identity and give them a specific voice.

<< Back to Top

Fact Sheets

One of the major problems of Honduras and other poor and ill-affected areas of the world is a lack of identity. This is due to little knowledge of their culture and society outside of their small area of the world. They do not have the funds for tourism, they do not have the claim to fame that other well-off countries take for granted. This will be alleviated in the village by a constantly updated and visually appealing fact sheet. It will feature timelines, history, unique holidays and events, famous citizens, music, art, and all other aspects of culture that Honduras has to offer. This will allow players to easily learn about the area and relate to it in ways they never thought possible giving the region and identity all its own.

<< Back to Top

Democratic Governance

One of the main features that connects the Real World mode with the Simulation mode of The Village and bridges the two with the players of the game will center around the ideas and ideals of Democracy. When an individual looks at the simulation in the Real World mode it is hard for them to know how they are affecting this real life region. They see that they can donate money and they can see some progress in certain areas over a long period of time, but there is a disconnection between them and The Village. A way of bridging this gap is to develop a democratic feature of the game. Giving players the ability to vote and allocate their funds in certain ways gives them a feeling (and actually) of control over this village. If several hundred or thousand people come together and vote and have their opinions heard on an issue, more often than not, that issue will come to the forefront and be looked at from all angles and intelligently and logically decided on to produce a better future.


The part of this that connects the Real World with the Simulation mode will be in the form of Voting Power. The longer and more positively players affect the Simulation mode of the game, the more Voting Power they will receive. Donating money to the cause will also increase the players Voting Power. Another way to do this is by offering to the players tests approved by the government of Honduras that will measure their knowledge of the country and the issues at hand. Through any or all of those means, the accumulated Voting Power will then be taken over the Real World mode and put to good use. This will allow the players with more experience in the issues and more empathy towards the plights of The Village to have more say in what is to be done.


Areas to be affected by the democratic voting and discussion will be funding allocation, decisions on construction, types of organizations and programs that can be contacted to help the area. There will also be measures in place to make sure that these decisions are as non-biased as possible and do not allow mere opinion to rule. Of course, all of the decision made will be discussed with local officials to try to find the best course of action.

<< Back to Top

Meet the Villagers

In order to make a personal connection to the village, several real life people from the region will be featured in the simulation. You can see various pictures and video of these people and read lots of information and personal history on them. You will also be able to see their opinion of how their village is being affected by the simulation and your decisions.

<< Back to Top

Real-Time Donations

Funding for the real world villages will be provided in a couple ways. One way is for each player to individually donate. They would determine a dollar amount and have it sent to the region. The way it's allocated will depend on the democratic features and the decisions of everyone involved. Another way for funding is for determination by the players to contact various outside government and private organizations for funding and aid of their choosing. There will be a large list of possible donators and players will decide which ones best suit the interests of the villages.

<< Back to Top