Dev Log 1 - Conducting Research for Game Design

The first two weeks were about addressing a design challenge through a research report. This is an important step in the design process as it serves as the foundation of my game premise moving forward. I decided to go with animal rights and the topic of overfishing and its effects on sharks.

I began by researching various academic sources through the Sheridan Library and found some good books and articles on overfishing. I learned about the problematic advancements in technology that are allowing fisheries to harvest at a rate that vastly exceeds the rate at which fish can reproduce and ecosystems can recover. I then investigated the two types of aquaculture, wild fisheries and mariculture (fish farms). This study provided data that shows that we are moving towards a fishing market that utilizes primarily maricultures. I then looked into the negative effects that overfishing has on sharks. The reason being that sharks are generally the apex predator of their ecosystems meaning that if removed, the entire ecosystem's food web would be out of balance. This research showed that sharks are being overfished for their fins as well as being the result of bycatch. It also showed that longline vessel fleets are fishing in areas that overlap with important shark hotspots that should be protected by global regulations.

In the coming week, I'll be looking at the ideas that I have for a game on this topic and picking one to pitch to the class. Currently, my two ideas are a management sim that would have the player managing a large fishing operation and a game where the player plays as a shark that needs to manage their ecosystem's food web and survive in an overfished ecosystem.