This game was created for the homepage of The Flow Nation’s website, an organization whose mission is to empower young people who menstruate to take control of their periods through education, connection, and social change. The game was designed for 8-14 year olds who are just beginning to menstruate with the goal of de-stigmatizing menstruation: the style and feel of the game is fun and validating; blood clots give extra points to show players that they’re normal; and the background of each level shows that people can and do menstruate in a variety of situations.
Game Design
I worked closely with the client and their researchers during the ideation process, to ensure that the game’s rules and mechanics aligned with their organizational mission. This involved pitching multiple ideas and collaboratively iterating upon the one eventually selected for development. Keeping the intended audience in mind, we used three design pillars to guide the development process:
Level Design
The client wanted four period products featured in the game, so there are four levels. While the primary purpose of this game is to educate & de-stigmatize, I always strive to make serious games fun, too! If the player is engaged, I believe the serious message of the game will stick. To this end, The Flow is a game with a win/lose condition, as well as increasing difficulty of levels.
PROGRESSION
Too often, progression in games just means the grind, or introducing brand new game mechanics (often without proper tutorialization) halfway through the game. I think this is poor level design. My attitude toward game progression is to maintain the same game mechanics throughout the whole gameplay experience to allow the players to achieve a rewarding sense of mastery; instead, low-level rules and hidden numbers should be adjusted to increase difficulty.
Here’s how this manifested in The Flow:
Ashley Rezvani 