A Fine Line, developed by True North/Carnegie
Mellon University's Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), has won gold
honors in the 2016 International Serious Play Awards competition
under the Student Higher Education category.
The Serious Game addresses academic integrity
and violations, on and beyond campus life. In partnership with students and
administrators on main campus, the ETC student developers aimed to create a
tool for the university to educate and speak to both the practical and moral
implications of academic integrity.
Presented in the form of a web-based,
illustrated world, the experience gives players the ability to navigate the
story, and make impactful decisions within it. It creates an environment where
students confront true-to-life scenarios involving academic integrity, and
reflect on how they would navigate these challenges in real life.
In the game, you play a student who along with three
friends must navigate your last semester in school, balancing demanding
coursework with your relationships.
The characters within the story are based on
composite case studies. They incorporate
and explore the psychological motivations that encourage people to commit
academic violations. Through combining
story elements, expressive characters, and player interaction, ETC students aim
to promote behavioral change. Their goal
was to develop a complex and engaging experience for players where they must
learn and reflect on their own perceptions of what integrity means, especially
as they move on to the professional world.
The team was composed by True North students M.
Hilman Beyri (Programmer),
Sarabeth Boak (Co-Producer, Writer), Ross Houston (Artist), Timothy
Staton-Davis, (Co-Producer, Game Designer) and Emily Zhou (Programmer, Sound
Designer).
Faculty instructors were Mike Christel &
Ralph Vituccio, both from the Entertainment Technology Center. Project clients
include Lucas Christain (Director of Community Standards & Integrity) and Joanna
Dickert (Assistant Director of Undergraduate Research and National Fellowships),
both from Carnegie Mellon University, and also Carnegie
Mellon University Academic Integrity Resources.
In May the team concluded the 15 week
production. They presented the project to the ETC faculty, as well as to
faculty and administrators on main campus. The response on campus was reportedly
exciting, and they were coordinating with their client to pilot the experience in
the context of a summer course.
