Decisions under pressure
Mayor’s Destiny is a 2D text-based management prototype created for a Playful XP Design final assignment. The player becomes an interim mayor and handles municipal decisions over the course of a month.
My contribution
I contributed as a designer and storyteller alongside Hazan Çiviçakan. Emir Savaş and Emre Kökeş handled development.
Designing competing priorities
Each proposal affects four values: public happiness, urban development, nature, and money. Accepting a proposal can benefit one area while putting pressure on another. The player must keep all four values away from their extremes throughout the month.
Our design worksheets mapped the effects of accepting and rejecting each proposal. They also explored different decision sequences, including alternating responses and accepting several proposals before switching to rejection.
Increase bread prices?
- Accept: money increases, public happiness decreases.
- Reject: public happiness increases, money decreases.
Making consequences visible
During development, we moved from a card-based presentation to an email interface that placed decisions within the mayor’s daily work. A news tab communicates changes in the municipality, connecting the player’s choices to developments beyond the resource indicators.
