Immigration Jam\Game Concepts
From BostonGameJams
Contents |
Theme
The theme is "immigration". That's it.
I could be focused on
- immigrants
- emigration
- aliens (or a different kind than you usually see in games!)
- borders
- nations (with a distinct de-emphasis of military elements)
- economic change
Ideas
The basics
Here are a few basic ideas that many have thrown around. We encourage people to think beyond the obvious, so let's get them out there right off the bat.
Border defense
This would be some kind of base or "tower" defense-style game. Maybe like "Dungeon Keeper Lite".
Kind of mean spirited and definitely not politically correct (though for the record, we are not all into Political Correctness), but could be fun, and would certainly be easy to create
Sneak across the border
This is the flip side of the "border defense" concept: you're trying to break in to the country. (by the way: not necessarily America!)
Political
Pick a hot-button element of the world of immigration-related politics and make a game that demonstrates a political viewpoint or perhaps mocks the one-sidedness of political rhetoric.
This can be problematic because the game could easily seem preachy (or sophomoric in its criticism of politics) but it could also be a good way to poke fun at a hot debate where people easily lose perspective.
Beyond the basics
Thinking beyond some of these initial ideas... let's get more creative with how we can play with the concept!
Emigration
Perhaps make a game about leaving a specific country -- fleeing refuges trying to start a new life in a safer land, perhaps.
NOT about America
How about picking a different country as the destination of the immigration in question... if you're from another country yourself, why not focus on your home country? It could even be a game about emigration. (see below)
Story time!
Why not tell an immigration story with your game? (or better yet, let the player tell the story!) Make it about how your family came to America, or if you're a first-generation immigrant (or visitor) yourself, then tell your story!
Pier manager
A "flood" of immigrants arrive at a half-forgotten port in your city, and you have to balance resources and keep the peace without letting people die -- sending them back is not an option! This might be a really fast-paced SIM- or Tropico-style game, just remember to keep it simple because you only have a day and a half to make the game!
A puzzle game: navigate the (literal?) maze of red tape to get to the end goal of legal citizen status.
Keep a low profile
A stealth game, where you're trying to trying to hide from authorities and keep a low profile, whiie you earn enough money to feed your family back home.
Economic shift
One significant influencer of emigration/immigration is economic change. How about a game where you try to balance the spread of the world's population by manipulating macroscopic economic elements?
--> Add *your* ideas here! <--
Let's help inspire creativity in one another by sharing ideas here!
