The report describes a workshop run as part of the St. Helens Local Area Partnership Climate Change Project. The workshop was held on the 25th January 2011 and began the process of designing a recycling game. The workshop was facilitated by Paul Ladley from games-ED (http//www.games-ed.co.uk) and officers from St.Helens Council.

1. St Helens Primary Schools (Local Area
Partnership for Creative Learning):
Recycling Games Design Workshop
25th January 2011
Author: Paul Ladley (pladley@games-ed.co.uk) Tel: 0161-427-8684 www.games-ed.co.uk
Copyright games-ED (The Pixel Fountain Ltd - www.pixelfountain.co.uk)

2. Recycling Game Design – Schools Workshop
Summary
The following report describes a workshop run as part of the St. Helens Local Area Partnership
Climate Change Project. The workshop was held on the 25th January 2011 and began the process
of designing a recycling game. The workshop was facilitated by Paul Ladley (games-ED) and
officers from St.Helens Council.
Background
St. Helens Council has been working with twelve schools over the last two years in a Local Area
Partnership for Creative Learning (LAPfCL). The LAPfCL have developed a Climate Change Action
Plan (CCAP). The CCAP looked at pollution around the world and stated key tasks and objectives
that ought to be delivered over the next three years in St. Helens. Objective 3 looked at recycling
and asked the question „can more be done?‟ The joint second priority task was to „Look to
commission an educational recycling console game‟. The first stage of developing a game is to
create a design and a specification and that was the purpose of the workshop.
The Workshop
The workshop was split into three parts:
1. An opening presentation and quiz.
2. Each school generated an initial idea.
3. Two ideas were chosen and more detail was added to them.
The Presentation / Quiz
The opening presentation looked at different types of games and what makes a good game. Most
importantly the golden rules of design were explained:
o Need - Think about what the player wants (educational, fun, challenge and information).
o Platform - What gaming device should the game work on (internet, console, computer or
mobile phone)?
o Money - Consider the cost of developing the game.
o Time - How much time will the game take to develop?
The presentation was mixed up with quiz questions. A round of applause to Nutgrove Methodist
Community Primary School won the quiz.
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3. Recycling Game Design – Schools Workshop
Initial Game Ideas
The five ideas:
1. Polluto – Polluto and his army are trying to stop you from making the world a better place. You
only have a certain amount of time in each level. Can you solve the problems and find the
green portal in time?
2. Walk around the World – Your character visits different parts of the world to solve
environmental problems. As you try to solve problems such as removing litter, people create
more!
3. Eco Factory – This is a game of mini games such as eco Pac Man. When you successfully
complete a mini game, you earn part of an eco factory. When your factory is complete it will
create eco products such as recycled pencils.
4. Eco Busters – You move through rooms in houses with your pet Munchie solving eco problems.
As you and Munch (who can eat rubbish) solve problems you earn credits that enable you to
buy more items such as another Munchie.
5. Eco Party Planning – Every party creates a mess! But if you can clear up and recycle everything
properly you earn money. With the extra money your next party can be even better, but if you
don‟t earn money then your next party is going to be rubbish.
The Vote
Each school was asked to choose its favourite and second favourite idea. They couldn‟t choose their
own. All the ideas gained votes, but two ideas had the most support: Polluto and Eco Busters.
Detailed Design
After a break for lunch and quick football game, two teams were
formed to add more detail to the chosen ideas. Each team worked
in three groups to look at game play, graphics for the characters,
scenes and menus and finally ideas to keep up the game
interesting. Some of the ideas from games not chosen in the
morning were included in the detailed designs.
Presentation
The teams presented the two games. The game idea was explained
first, followed by the graphics and finally ideas to keep up the
games‟ interest.
The final Vote
Each pupil was asked to vote for which game they would most like
to play. The ballot was secret but the pupils were asked to identify
the teams they had worked in. This last point was important because the votes were multiplied by
different numbers, so that each team had the same chance of being chosen. Pupils were instructed
that if the team number was not written on the vote then it would not be counted.
The votes were counted. One vote was not submitted and another vote did not identify the team
and was ignored. And the winner was … both teams, it was a draw.
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4. Recycling Game Design – Schools Workshop
Conclusion
Because the vote resulted in no clear decision, the facilitators from St.Helens Council and games-
ED decided the fairest way to proceed was to write two technical specifications. These
specifications will then be judged by schools from the Local Area Partnership for Creative Learning
who were not present at the workshop.
To ensure that the game is developed the following will need to happen:
o Money to develop the game will need to be found.
o An individual / design team will need to create a more robust design for a developer to work
with. This will make the development costs cheaper, but will mainly ensure the ideas from the
workshop are not lost in translation.
Participants and Funding
Schools from Local Area Partnership for Creative Learning:
o Allanson Street Primary School
o Merton Bank Primary School
o Nutgrove Methodist Community Primary
School
o St.Marys & St.Thomas Church of England
Primary School
o St.Theresa's Catholic Primary School
Officers from St. Helens Council:
o Grace Tatlock - Education Link Officer
o Tish McKee - Housing, Health & Education
Link Officer
o Bernie Parr - LAP Manager
o Cheryl Boland - Environmental Assistant
o Towera Mpore - Climate Change &
Sustainability Co-ordinator
o Mark Wilkinson - Recycling Liaison Officer
o Alison Bayliss - Graduate - Climate Change
Paul Ladley from games-ED (www.games-ed.co.uk) who produce innovative, teacher-led
collaborative games based learning.
Funding from:
Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority and Veolia Environmental Services.
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5. Recycling Game Design – Schools Workshop
Technical Specification – Polluto Game
Platform
Nintendo DS (although could also work as web based game developed in Flash).
Game Type
“Platform”
Idea
Polluto – Polluto and his army are trying to stop the player from making the world a better place.
The player only has a certain amount of time in each level. Can they solve the problems and find
the green portal in time?
o The player‟s character runs through various scenes – scrolling backdrop.
o They collect items and avoid obstacles.
o Polluto and his army chase them and fire weapons at them.
o The player needs to get to green portal within a time limit in order to progress to the next level.
o The player needs to collect eco points / objects (such as solar panels) to unlock the portal.
o Checkpoints exist in the level, so that if the player fails they can return to the last
checkpoint and not to the beginning of a level.
o Easter eggs contain hidden items that help you speed through levels (power-ups, such as roller
skates).
Navigation
Web based – Cursor Keys – Up (jump), Down (duck), Left (left) and Right (right).
Nintendo – Navigation Pad – Up (jump), Down (duck), Left (left) and Right (right).
Levels
o 10 levels (web) or 25 levels (Nintendo DS):
o First 5 themed around different countries (Global).
o Second 5 themed around rooms in a house (Local).
o Each level lasts about 5 minutes (web) or 15 minutes (Nintendo DS).
o As the player succeeds in a level, the items they collect interact with the theme. For example,
level 1 is set in Paris and the player needs to collect solar panels to light up the Eiffel Tower.
o Boss battle at the end of the game.
Mini Games
None
Story Sequences
o At the start of the game Polluto says he will defeat the player in their attempt to make the
planet a better place.
o At the end level:
o Success: For example, light up the Eiffel Tower and Polluto says he will defeat you in the
next level in New York (Mwaaahhhh)!
o Failure: Polluto laughs at you.
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6. Recycling Game Design – Schools Workshop
Technical Specification – Eco Buster Game
Platform
Web based game developed in Flash.
Game Type
“Platform”
Idea
The player moves through rooms in houses with their pet Munchie solving eco problems. As they
and Munch (who can eat rubbish) solve problems, they earn credits that enable them to buy more
items such as another Munchie.
o The player character runs through various rooms within houses in a street.
o Ghouls chase the character.
o They solve problems (turning lights off, remove rubbish) and avoiding traps set by ghouls.
o Solving problems can make the game harder. Turning the lights off means more ghouls
appear. The ghouls set more traps for the player and create more eco problems such as
dropping more rubbish.
o Rubbish is collected in backpacks that are colour coded to be the same as St.Helens bins.
o Pictures talk to the character to give tips and eco information.
o As the player proceeds through the levels they can earn smile tokens. They can use these to
buy a new Munchie. Each new Munchie will enable the player to get rid of more rubbish, so they
are in effect a power-up.
o The Munchie and other power up items such as backpacks can be bought in a shop.
Different styles of backpacks exist for boys and girls.
o Levels have to be done in a certain time scale or the ghouls will put everything back to
how it was at the start of the level.
o Easter eggs (spiders) contain hidden items and mini games. Secret levels can be accessed
through the bookcase. Some Easter eggs are bad and can mess the level up, fill up Munch or
steal the player‟s smile tokens. Gems help you into the trophy room.
Navigation
o Cursor Keys – Up, Down, Left, Right – Hold down to run.
o Space bar = Jump.
o Mouse to solve problems.
Levels
o 4 houses with 7 levels (rooms). Can the player make the whole street eco-friendly?
o Each level lasts about 5 minutes.
o Each Level gets scarier.
Mini Games
Mini games earn the player smile tokens that they can spend in the shop. They include:
o Whack a rubbish – bat your rubbish to your Munchie.
o Recycle rampage – Pac Man with smile tokens.
o Plant the plant – Plant as many plants in your garden as you can in a set time.
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7. Recycling Game Design – Schools Workshop
Graphic Design
Eco Busters – Option for the game‟s logo design. Eco Busters Game: Munchie design.
Polluto – Option for the game‟s logo design. Polluto – Option for the game‟s logo design.
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