Drive-thru Tycoon

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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.
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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!
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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
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Storyboard Making money
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Storyboard Making money
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(No Transcript)
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Features / Functionality
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• - 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 players 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

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Technical Requirements
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• 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
• - 2D artwork can be produced through flash
• - and most importantly, the game requires no
  game engine extensions

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Justifications for Design
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• 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)
• - 2D artwork can be completed and revised in a
  number of days, instead of weeks (3D models)
• - the games 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
  players choices in order to run a successful,
  drive-thru restaurant

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User Testing
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• 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

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Shortcomings
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• - 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

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Expansion What else is possible?
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• - 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
  players budget
• - able to own several drive-thru restaurant
  stores, making it a popular franchise

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The Next Steps in the Design Process
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• - build paper prototype of Drive-Thru Tycoon
• - usability studies
• - get the teams programmer inputs on the game
  mechanics (is it realistic or not)

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The Summary
Drive-Thru Tycoon

• - 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