The ability to choose is one of the things that makes us human. But making decisions is not always easy.
The ability to choose is one of the things that makes us human. But making decisions is not always easy. The consequences of one bad decision can affect the rest of our lives. What happens when you’re faced with a difficult choice? Say you’ve just completed high school. Do you get a job or study further? How do you know what to do? Which path is the right one to choose?
For young people in Uitenhage, Formula D’s Life Choices Touch Table Game is helping them to understand how personal choices affect their lives.
Located some thirty-eight kilometers northwest of Port Elizabeth, Uitenhage is a city undergoing rapid economic and social growth. Driving this growth forward is an umbrella development vehicle called the Uitenhage Despatch Development Initiative or UDDI.
The UDDI may be laying foundations for a thriving economy, but the future of Uitenhage essentially rests in the hands of its youth. The decisions young people make today will have an effect on what happens in Uitenhage tomorrow. The UDDI needs to ensure that young people are making the right choices.
To help them do this, Formula D interactive has designed a specific interactive game for the UDDI’s Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Center. The Life Choices Touch Table Game is a multi-player touch screen game that presents players with animated scenarios and personal choices affecting their lives.
Players must navigate through ‘life’, making choices that change the outcome of each stage along the way. They are confronted with possible consequences of their decisions throughout the game. Depending on the choices made by players, the game projects different possible outcomes in the future.
The Choices game is played on Formula D’s innovative UBIZO Table, a sophisticated multi-touch kiosk system designed by the company’s in-house product design team and manufactured in Cape Town. Up to four players can play at one time. The game is started by a touch to the table. Players are prompted to then select a male or female avatar and to input their names.
Next, they get presented with animated illustrations of a particular scenario and a choice of two possible decisions to be made. Depending on the decision chosen, they then get presented with another scenario. Each scenario is a direct result of the previous decision made.
The game has 32 potential outcomes. A central map graphic tracks the position of each player in the decision matrix.
The UBIZO Table is a horizontal 42 inch full HD LCD screen powered with multi-touch technology. This plug and play kiosk system with built-in PC and speakers has been elegantly designed for extreme use in public places.
In both design and function the Life Choices Touch Table Game serves a crucial role in the Nelson Mandela Bay Science and Technology Center. With a little help from a fun, innovative game, children will be empowered to tackle difficult real world decisions with confidence.
