Prosperity City
Creating a game for social change
This passion project served not only as the centerpiece of my senior capstone, but also as my featured submission for The Corcoran School of Art and Design’s NEXT exhibition.The problemIn context of the project, I define the American Dream as the promise of equal opportunity and attainable prosperity through hard work in the United States. Despite this promise, systemic barriers, random chance, and inequities often make success unattainable for many. This disconnect can diminish empathy and reinforce an individualistic mindset, limiting community solidarity.
The SolutionI created a game that encourages players to step into different life experiences. Through gameplay, it highlights the role of systemic obstacles while emphasizing the power of collective action, mutual aid, and community support in overcoming challenges. By modeling community support in-game, users are encouraged to do work in the real world to create change.
I drew inspiration from the Black Panther Party’s Survival Programs, one of the most successful mutual aid programs in the US. By studying successful community-driven support, I identified tasks that could be integrated in game.DurationSept ‘24 - Apr ’25
My Roles GAME DESIGNER PROGRAMMER
USER RESEARCHERUX/UI DESIGNER
How might we foster empathy for those unable to achieve the American Dream and encourage people to build community in the process?
ResearchTo ground the project in real perspectives, I interviewed 5 potential users, collected survey responses from 18 participants on their experiences pursuing the American Dream, and collected survey responses from 27 gamers.
🔎 Key findings
- People held skepticism for the American Dream
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Participants felt unsure how to challenge a systematically rooted in the US
- Gamers were more concerned with mechanics and narrative rather than the art style.
“The discrepancy between rich and poor in the US makes it very hard to climb. Add the fact that people can be hampered by things totally out of their control, like disease, for which they are financially penalized to a much higher degree in the US than in many other places.”
-Participant 13, American Dream Survey
What similar products already exist?I audited products that served similar purposes to find what aspects I could take inspiration from while also finding how I could set myself apart from what already exists.
Competitors explored
🔎 Key findings
- Most games take physical form as board games rather than video games
- Products aim to introduce difficult conversations about race and privilege
- Players are assigned different identities that gives each person unique gameplay
‼️ Differentiating my product
- The game will model a viable solution rather than only bringing attention to the problem
- A digital space to allow for more Immersive world building
- Resources provided allows players for location based calls to action
Development PlanWith a hard deadline approaching, I planned out how much time I wanted to spend on each phase of development to keep It on track. Additionally, to ensure that my solution was successful, I planned out the journey I wanted the character to follow, engraining the purpose of the project in the gameplay.
MockupsTo brainstorm the visual style of the game, I used AI to generate initial mockups for 2D and 3D options which helped me quickly explore different design possibilities. I decided to take inspiration from game models like Stardew Valley and create a 2D, top-down pixel game.
2D mockup3D mockup
User Testing
10 participants tested the game demo. I watched both how they interacted with it while playing and interviewed them about their experiences after.
🔎 I found that players
- Were confused which objects and NPCs could be interacted with
- Had a hard time navigating the map because of its size
- Didn’t know where to go to complete tasks
- Felt that the game could benefit from more choice options during dialogue
- Felt that the dialogue options were too easily identifiable as “good” or “bad”
Final PrototypeKeeping user feedback in mind, I added a quest pointer, mission highlight, a minimap that is expandable, and additional options during dialogue.Quest pointer and NPC highlightExpanded minimapDialogue with updated options
Test out Prosperity City yourself! Play fullscreen for the best experience
ExhibitionI created graphics to give those who were browsing the works a background on the project and ensure that the controls were accessible during the entire gameplay.