Drivethru Tycoon A conceptual game design by Ching

Drive-thru Tycoon A conceptual game design by Ching Chun Kao (Kevin) Student #: 200122176 Project Goal: To let the players have a sense of accomplishment by running his/her drive-thru restaurant.

Drive-Thru Tycoon Persuasive Purpose - to engage the player to become a manager of a drive-thru restaurant - to let the player have an basic understanding of running a fictional restaurant - to let the player understand the basic structure of supply and demand - … and most importantly, to let the players have fun!

Drive-Thru Tycoon User Description Casual gamers who have time to play a game that requires no more than ten minutes per play on each level. They are likely… - age 13 -40 - love simulation/tycoon genre - comfortable at using the computer

Storyboard: Making money

Drive-Thru Tycoon Features / Functionality - players will have an initial budget (amount depend on the game level), where he/she must decide what kind of kitchen appliances that is in need of an upgrade at every game level - the more upscale the appliances are, the faster the food are being produced by the chefs - the number of drive-thru customers will depend on the game level (high level will have more customers) - players will need to set salary level of the restaurant employees. This includes the chefs and the drive-thru staff - the higher their salary level, the faster the food are delivered to the customers - players will need to constantly direct the drive-thru staff to pick up food in the kitchen and drop off food at the respective drive-thru stand - as the game progresses, a number of variables will appear: - the number drive-thru stands will increase for the player to micro-manage - randomly generated “events” (e. g. a ton of customers will arrive at the player’s restaurant due to rush hour, fire in the kitchen that will destroy an appliance) - the player must satisfy an specific amount of budget in order to continue the game

Drive-Thru Tycoon Technical Requirements The game will be developed through Flash. Reasons are: - flash is multi-platform (PC and Mac) - flash player is free for download - can be played immediately though the web (no installation) - file size is small - an old computer can run the game as long as the computer supports the latest version of Flash - 2 D artwork can be produced through flash - …and most importantly, the game requires no game engine extensions

Drive-Thru Tycoon Justifications for Design Persuasive Strategies - should be able to complete the game given our short course timeframe and number of members per team - should easily be programmable and develop - simple game mechanic, yet effective game play (basically a series of point of click repetition) - 2 D artwork can be completed and revised in a number of days, instead of weeks (3 D models) - the game’s time and money management aspect appeal to casual gamers (both sexes) - wide audience, as this game is playable on all computers that supports Flash player - most importantly, this game is fun through player’s choices in order to run a successful, drive-thru restaurant

Drive-Thru Tycoon User Testing Tina, 20 -the game seems confusing at first for the participant - may need to include a short tutorial to get the player up to speed - liked how each level only requires a short time to finish - big fan of simulation genre games

Drive-Thru Tycoon Shortcomings - may be too complicated for the average user to play - might get boring after two to three plays due to repetition - does not reflect real-life restaurant management - Flash games have a tendency to slow down computers, resulting the game unplayable - too much variables and syncing on the programming side given the course timetable and amount of team members

Drive-Thru Tycoon Expansion – What else is possible? - mini-game: food ingredient maker - each restaurant employee has his/her own specialized skills - hiring new employees (chef and drive-thru attendants) given their skill levels - each food ingredient used is deducted from the player’s budget - able to own several drive-thru restaurant stores, making it a popular franchise

Drive-Thru Tycoon The Next Steps in the Design Process - build paper prototype of Drive-Thru Tycoon - usability studies - get the team’s programmer inputs on the game mechanics (is it realistic or not)

Drive-Thru Tycoon The Summary - Drive-Thru Tycoon is based on the player running his/her own drive-thru restaurants by directing the staff, and by managing the cost of cooking appliances