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PDS Task Force (Developed in 15 weeks)

Client based project at the Entertainment Technology Center, CMU

(I.E. Needed)

Name of the software

  • PDS Task Force

​

Client

  • Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center​​

 

Objective of design

  • Create a simplified simulation game that educates the audience (chemical medics) about the flow of a Personel Decontamination Station (PDS)​

  • Make the game into a web based experience

  • Provide ways to modify the game settings in order to simulate various situations

 

Goal for players

  • Save as many soldiers as possible by giving precise diagnosis and effective resource management. 



Design challenges

  • Simulate the activity that happens at a triage station in a simplified / entertaining way

  • Create challenges for the players so that they can feel the intense atmosphere

  • Provide situations where the players have to make seriouse decisions such as giving up on a certain soldier in order to save more soldiers

  • Limit the desigh so that it can be fully developed within 15 weeks.


Initial design features

  • Player controls a medic that moves around the station marking wounded soldiers 

  • Color coded soldier's texture to represent the soldier's symptom

  • Players would build and upgrade each zone in order to enhance the treatment speed

  • Added an automatic battlefield where the soldiers would go and fight and retreat from

  • Player's performance would be rewarded through the progress in the battlefield

 

Rapid prototyping 

Feedback from the client on the initial design

  • Controlling unit limits the vision of the player to the unit - the goal is to teach the 'flow' of the PDS

  • Would like more details about the type of wounds

  • Building and upgrading the zones makes the software feel too much like a 'game' - want it to be entertaining but still focused on the educational simulation part

  • Battlefield portion of the game is very interesting but it also draws too much attention, preventing the soldiers from concentrating on learning the flow of the station

 

Final design features - changes made based on the client's feedback

  • Make the player a non-ingame character

  • Provide short descriptions of the symptoms the soldiers would have

  • Limit the interaction to reading the symptoms and assigning their destination and treatment priority

  • Player can manage the number of medic units by assigning them to different areas

  • Treatment consumes medic kits and the player has to resupply medic kits when depleted

  • Limit the map / gameplay to be within the PDS only

  • Assign variables to most of the stats (health, speed, spawn ratio, spawn interval, spawn number, treatment speed and on)

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