Survival of the Fittest is a fitness app that is designed to place the user in friendly competition against the user's friends to see who can get the fittest.  Anyone can use this application from couch potatoes, to gym rats, to marathon runners this application can help you with your fitness needs or desire.  The various types of workouts and difficulty levels allow everyone to be able to grow physically from this app.  

The inspiration for Survival of the Fittest came from other workout apps such as Zombies, Run! and the Nike fitness app.  One common trend we noticed among fitness applications was that they mostly just tracked your data and only you could access your data.  With survival of the fittest there is a point system for your workouts, and there is a leaderboard between you and your friends ranking you by how many points you have in comparison to your friends.  

Survival of the Fittest has many different features inside the application.  There is a Challenge of the Day feature that allows you to do a different workout everyday.  There is a Free Run feature where you can do a workout and you will also get points for that workout.  You can also see your run route and other possible run routes for your runs. 

Parasite is an interactive board game that teaches its players about parasites and the spread of infectious disease. In Parasite, humans try to stop an infectious parasite from conquering the world. The majority of the players play as humans and one player plays as the parasite. The rules are designed so that the game plays perfectly no matter how many humans are playing. The game board is designed in a hexagon and the Parasite must maneuver around avoiding water tiles and searching for cities. This is because, just like in real life parasites spread by entering areas with a high concentration of people. the humans try to stop the from doing this by entering areas controlled by the parasite and trying to treat the infected people and in doing so eradicate the disease.

The physical game board and pieces were designed using Rhino a 3d and 2d modeling software then the pieces were cut using a laser cutter, and then the pieces were glued together. The logo, designed in Rhino, was engraved and burned onto the game tiles.

This game was made because many informational games are boring and not fun for the learner. The game Parasites creates a fun way to learn about a serious topic. In the future, informational games designed in a manner similar to Parasite could allow kids to have fun while learning all sorts of helpful information.

Parasite was inspired by two games. One of which is a game called Plague where the player is a disease trying to dominate the world and other which is called Pandemic where the player is a human trying to stop a disease. Parasite was always going to be a game about diseases, infections, and especially parasites. Parasites are very interesting, especially Ophiocordyceps Unilateralis which is the parasite used in the game. Although the idea stayed the same, the rules changed a lot through the process. Many popular games such as Monopoly and D&D use dice to add a bit of surprises to the gamers experience. Also the use of dice limits choice in gameplay. When a player is given too much choice, they sometimes become scared by the game, but when they are given too little choice, they are bored by the game.  Parasite tries to balance these two aspects by providing some level of choice and some contraints.

First the game was going to be played with many dice and on a game board shaped like the world. This was great in theory but in practice it was annoying having to deal with all of the little dice. Also the game was the same every time the player played it. This wasn’t okay because a board game should be played multiple times and be fun each time so the rules were changed again. In the end, Parasite can be played with only a handful of dice and can be played on a fully customizable map, so that every time a player plays, the game will be a completely different experience.

One of the struggles of making this game was engraving the tiles. To engrave something using the laser cutter, the design must fit certain requirements. The original tile designs did not meet these requirements but once they were redesigned, they worked perfectly.

The concept behind my video game is to create an interactive novel. It's kind of like a choose your own adventure book, but with more educational aspects integrated into the story. The educational aspect of my game is in the realistic use of medical terminology, equipment, diseases and their treatments. The general storyline for my game is a hospital setting, where the player is a new doctor in the hospital. The first few days they will learn where all the important medical devices are and where important medications are. After the tutorial, the player would begin working with patients, treating illnesses and advising other doctors if they need second advice. Over time, patients will either return with new symptoms or new patients will come in with their own symptoms. Also for example, if the player were to treat someone with pneumonia, the player would keep them under bedrest in the hospital for a few days, so the player can monitor their recovery.

Here is some (very very pre-final) artwork that I created. I used a programme called Paintbrush for Mac, it's a free downloadable Mac version of Paint for PCs. I drew a simple picture of a doctor (wearing the lab coat), and the exterior view of a hospital, complete with a highway and cars. These drawings showcase the kind of artwork I am aiming for in my video game, from the retro point-and-click style of gaming.

Here is a digitised version of the scan that I uploaded, with added variables that allow the player to learn more information about the patient. This will allow for a more informed diagnosis and treatment.