Technology meets Biology

We at Torchlight productions would like to present our latest game idea for the Nintendo Wii, Wii Playground.  Using the Wii technology and following the traditional Wii style, such as in games like Wii Sports, we have developed a game to bring the playground to the living room. Children will be able to build sand castles, play hopscotch, jump rope, and play catch as well as many other simple yet entertaining games while staying healthy. Parents can return to their own childhood and enjoy it all over again with their kids.

The target market for Wii Playground is most directly younger children as well as entire families. With “the most popular game genre once again was "Family Entertainment," (this accounted for 19 percent of all games sold in 2008, up from 9.1 percent in 2006. +),”[1] it is smart to invest in this type of game.  “In addition, of the games sold in 2008, 57 percent were rated "Everyone (E)" or "Everyone 10+ (E10)”[2] This game would generally be marketed to the younger audience, but would most likely appeal to all ages of casual gamers, those who play games that “are games that are easy to pick up and do not bug you down with needless complication and that can be stop roughly at any point.”[3].

We must also consider that the broadest definition of our audience will be those who currently own a Wii console. By marketing a game that uses the Wii’s unique controls and style, we are limiting ourselves to this audience, how ever it is not small. In its lifetime, the Wii has sold over 52.62 million copies as of June of 2009.[4]

One of the other appeals to Wii playground is that it requires a limited amount of knowledge of game system.  It features a compilation of playground games that most people have played as a young child, and many can be adapted to a virtual context without changing the game dynamics significantly. Wii’s unique controls will allow for the games to be played intuitively using the motion detecting software. Anyone who picks up a Wii controller can play Wii playground effectively and enjoyably with very little practice. 

This game generally appeals, to these types of audiences, because of its plot and game play.  Wii Playground focuses on interactive games played by young children around the world making it a family friendly game that appeals to many demographics.  The Wii already has a reputation for providing family friendly games making Wii Playground a perfect addition to the Wii repertoire.

With Wii playground, we have followed the naming convention evident in many of the other Wii specific games aimed at children. The name is straightforward and relatively self explanatory. It is a compilation of games generally played on the playground that are now played on the Wii.  Like many of the simpler Wii games, it will only require the basic Wii remote and sensor bar which would also allow it to be marketed as one of the base games that comes ready to play with a new console. If a player owned a nunchuck, a smaller Wii remote addon, they could participate in more advanced version of certain games or others designed specifically fro two controllers.

Wii Playground does not fall into any of the traditional game genres directly, but spans multiple genres. Overall, it is a life-simulation game in that the player is simulating actions that would be found in real life. However it only simulates one small portion of the player’s life, their playground antics thus it is not a traditional life simulation game.  When looking and the individual games and interactions, Wii playground appears to be more of a sports based game. The player interacts in many different no traditional sports like hopscotch or jumping rope.

Based on the easy going nature of the game overall, we would classify the game as one for everyone. According to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ERSB) a suitable game of this rating has “content that may be suitable for ages 6 and older. Titles in this category may contain minimal cartoon, fantasy or mild violence and/or infrequent use of mild language.”[5] By meeting the standards of this rating, Wii Playground will appeal one of the fastest growing game audiences.

Wii Playground not only spans many different genres, but it also has multiple core dynamics.  Because of the variety of the different smaller games involved, each has their own specific core dynamic.  For instance if you were to play rock, paper, scissors the core dynamic would be prediction or a game where you try to predict what your opponent is going to play.  Every game that the player participated I would have a different core dynamic.[6] This allows for a broad range of players to find something they find entertaining.

This latest Wii game will have multiple different types of game play activities.  The different activities will be situated around a virtual playground and identified by the virtual groups of kids playing the different games.  A player would use their character, a Mii, to walk from group to group and play the chosen game by clicking on the group.  The game activity will depend heavily on the chosen playground game.  Each of the games would involve a different movement of the Wii remote to interact with the virtual players.

If a player were to decide to play in the sand box, the activities would involve choosing different sandbox tools to shape the sand sculpture.  A player could place a bucket on screen, fill it using the Wii remote as a shovel then flip the bucket to make a tower.  That same player could the use the Wii remote to place decorative items from around the area to decorate their tower. If the player wanted to jump rope, they would walk their Mii over to group jumping rope and activate the jump rope mini game. The player could choose to play with one or two ropes, whether or not they want to spin the ropes or jump.  If spinning they would have to move the remote/ remotes in a circular fashion and match pace with their digital partner.  If jumping the player would hold the remote vertically and move it up and down to simulate jumping in rhythm with the rope.

Each of the different games available through Wii Playground would use the Wii technology in a different fashion.  The motion technology allows for the player to control the actions on the screen and act like they are playing many of their favorite childhood games.  Because the games rely on the player using the movement qualities of the Wii it requires them to be active in the majority of the games. The player physically has to jump to jump rope, they must move their arms to play a game of patty cake, or even as simple as moving an arm up and down to play rock paper scissors. Any way the game is played the player must engage in physical activity, but the level of intensity can be decide by the player

While understanding the concepts of the game and why the game is important, it is also important to understand the way the game will look and feel.  In the case of Wii Playground, the design is rather straight forward. The game will fit the style of many other Wii specific games such as Wii Sports and Wii Carnival.  These games all have 3-d cartoon feel to them and is a style that caters to a younger audience. For Wii Playground, this style will continue and the player’s characters will generally be portrayed as younger children to fit the style of the game.  Each of the mini games will also support the Wii style yet applied to the different games respectively.

The general atmosphere of the game will be one that should remind the player of the time on the school playground.  The music will be upbeat and simple, with the sounds of children’s laughter and conversation pervasive throughout the playground world. For example, in a jump rope mini game the sound effects would be of children singing traditional jump rope rhymes.  

Wii Playground is game that fits well with the new genre of video games introduced with the Wii.  It appeals to the casual gamer and a wide variety of players.  It is a game that can take a parent back to their childhood days or take a child outdoors even after dark or in the rain.  The Wii’s unique motion sensor technology can be used in many ways to encourage players to remain active even while playing video games. Wii Playground is a new twist on traditional Wii games.