For those looking for tools and resources to get into the game industry, Gamasutra’s education-focused sister site Game Career Guide is a great place to start. It has blog posts, news, and information on the best places to get an education in game design. And every three weeks, it runs a design challenge to let you test your designer muscles and be judged on your creative game design skills.
Whether you’re a student or industry veteran, practicing your pitches is a good opportunity to think on your feet, so why not give this week’s challenge a shot?
For this week’s challenge, the Game Career Guide judges want you to think about road trips. Whether you’re zooming up the Pacific Coast highway, or got yourself lost on the highways and byways of Europe, road trips are an opportunity for adventure, a birthplace for mystery, and a foundation for new relationships. So the question remains, how would you recreate that experience for players?
You can read more details on the design challenge below.
The Challenge
Design a game that centers around a cross-country road trip.
Assignment Details
From the rally racing of Out Run to the freight-moving action of American Truck Simulator, games based on traveling from one destination to another are a staple of the driving genre. Cross-country adventure games emerged with MECC’s hugely influential The Oregon Trail, and recent tributes like Organ Trail and Super Amazing Wagon Adventure keep the spirit of the genre alive in the modern day.
For Game Career Guide’s latest Game Design Challenge, your job is to design a game based on road trips.
Any style of gameplay is fine for the purpose of this contest, as long as your game is themed around a leisurely cross-country journey. Your game’s backstory can involve a family vacation, a spring break getaway, or any other activity you wish. For ideas, consider a match-three game where you match items to keep your kids quiet while you drive, an open-world driving simulator where you need to get to a party across the country, or a game where you need to manage the wear and tear of your car by solving various puzzles at different stops along the road. Be creative, and have fun!
To Submit
Work on your ideas, figure out your strategy for coming up with a solution, and ask questions on the forums. When your submission is complete, send it to [email protected] with the subject line “Game Design Challenge: Road Trip!” Please type your answer directly in the email body — do not submit .pdf or Word documents.
Submissions should be no more than 500 words and may contain up to three images. Be sure to include your full name and school affiliation or job title.
Entries must be submitted by Wednesday, July 20.
Results will be posted Tuesday, July 26.
Interested? You can learn more about this competition and other Game Design Challenge Winners over on the GameCareerGuide forums, then head over to GameCareerGuide to get the full details and submit your idea!