Operation SSRI
THE CHALLENGE
To work in a team of biomedical visualization students to create a video game that teaches a biomedical concept.
THE TEAM
This video game was ideated and crafted by:
Morgan Marshall: (co) Art Director
Rachel Poli: (co) Art Director
Sarah Garcia-Pava: Coder
Victoria Zakrzewski: Producer
THE SOLUTION
A desktop application titled Operation SSRI: Operation SSRI is set on a post-synaptic cell of a depressed human. The player takes on the role of a personified antidepressant being. Upon entering the game and watching the introductory animation, the player learns that the transporters on the sending cell keep taking back the signal messengers, serotonins, before they can reach the receiving cell. This is causing depression in the human host. The player is tasked with collecting the SSRI antidepressant orbs that have been released into their human home, and blasting them at the transporters in order to block them from taking back more serotonins.
AUDIENCE
This game is best suited for someone who is familiar with the basics of biology/neuroscience, such as an undergraduate biology student, or a student interested in pursuing a career in health care.
CLIENT
Sam Bond
COMPLETED
December, 2019
MEDIUM
Unity, Pixologic ZBrush, Adobe AfterEffects
FORMAT
PC desktop app
Process (My role as producer)
RESEARCH AND IDEATION
As a team, we all worked together to brainstorm ideas, and arrived on a game that was meaningful and exciting for each of us. My role as a producer was to document our brainstorming process, facilitating discussions, and finalizing decisions. In this role, I sought to make sure every group member felt heard, and make sure the game holds true to the group’s vision.
SETTING LEARNING GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
Setting learning goals and objectives allowed us to narrow the scope of our game, and hone in on accomplishing our most valued objectives. In doing so, we were able to tailor our game mechanics and game design to meet our goals and objectives.
LEARNING GOALS:
Direct: To educate a lay audience on the basics of how antidepressants work (on a cellular/molecular level)
Indirect: To decrease the stigma surrounding the use of antidepressants by using the intervention of education. This intervention will be executed through an educational game
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Primary: The SSRI antidepressant treats this imbalance by blocking transporters (specifically, SERTs, BUT the fact that they are called SERTs is NOT part of our learning goals)
Primary: SSRI antidepressants prevent the uptake of serotonin into the presynaptic cell
Secondary: Time plays a role in antidepressants.
In blocking the SERTs, this treatment prevents the uptake of serotonin into the presynaptic cells, allowing an increase in signaling to the postsynaptic cell
DESIGNING USER EXPERIENCE THROUGH WIREFRAMING
In our next step, it became my responsibility to law out the UX of our game. I used our collective research, learning goals, and feedback from group discussion to lay out the information flow and overarching story of our game. This prototype and facilitated conversation between the team members, and allowed for seamless development of assets and code.
STORYBOARDING
The introductory animation of this game plays a critical role in setting the scene, and meeting many of the learning objectives. I produced this early stage of the introductory animation storyboard, and worked closely with the art directors and programmer to refine the storyboard, and ensure a strong story-line for our users.
PRODUCTION
After completing the main pre-production components, I worked on setting timelines and meetings with the team, supporting my team mates wherever extra hands were helpful, meticulously testing the game to ensure no errors or gaps in the final deliverable. You can learn more in our Game Design Document by clicking the button below!