Dev Log 1 - Conducting Research for Game Design

Over the course of the last two weeks, I was conducting research for a design challenge and presenting it through a research report. Deciding to take up the issue of wealth inequality as one of the most pressing concerns today as we prepare to go out into the workforce and find homes and jobs that we can use to survive. I also think that the exploration of inequality as a whole has always been a solid foundation upon which games can be designed around to say something meaningful about them.

I started by checking out Sheridan's Library services, finding various articles both on how wealth is calculated and how wealth affects not only the extreme edges of society in the impoverished and the ultra-rich, but in fact how it affects everyone and that it is most concerning when the people in the middle are suddenly becoming worse and worse off financially based on factors such as inflation, debt, and education. I learned about how assets are calculated into wealth, and how the system is designed not to focus on tangible wealth, but instead places more value on assets even if there is not necessarily the material wealth to back that up. I learned about how the banking system and the stock exchange are intertwined and yet 50% of all stock is owned by 5% of the population. I also began to look at the idea of wealth distribution, what would be required for such a thing and where the money would go, as well as speculation as to how it would be spent by average people were it redistributed.

In the coming week I'll be working on my game pitch, figuring out a potential gameplay loop and the way I hope to make a comment on wealth inequality in a positive way that can generate both interest and empathy. My ideas are very rough at the moment and need refining, but I'm confident I can produce something exciting.