Week 19 – 2020: Development underway

 This week we went into the first development sprint. The sprint is filled with setting up the core game structure, database and primary flow. Normally the developers (based in Indonesia) work from our office in Yogyakarta. However, because of the precautions as a result of Covid-19, they are also working from home. Even though they are challenged with different hardware and limited Internet they still manage to stay connected and productive. Good job guys!

We have also updated the scope for the Minimal Viable Product which will be released mid-June. This will contain:

• The ability to log in with a company e-mail address (making it possible to hand out company based licenses).
• Setting up a game room as a group leader and inviting others to join your game session via a magic-link (secure but no hassle with passwords). The game is playable up to four players per session.
• Video players for the introduction (and outro) video of the game.
• A waiting room where players gather before the run starts. Here they can choose a name and avatar and select skills that match their personality.
• The CEO-office level where players search for clues, find data sources and play the bulk of the game. This is where the players are challenged to find a explanation for the huge attrition problem within BrightBase (the in-game company) and substantiate these with facts from various data sources to be found in the rooms.
• Dynamic game briefings. Players receive a briefing and feedback based on their progress in the game.
• An algorithm that checks the written answer players provide and assigns a score based on this. This is very interesting since we are able to have players write up a conclusion themselves (in an open field) and our text learning algorithm will scan for keywords to assign a score.
• The scoring mechanism. The game score is made up out of the remaining time the players have in minutes.
• The ability to add customizable data sources. This way we can customize the game based on your companies branding.

In future releases we plan to add:

• The feature to share screens between players (so you can analyse data sources together).
  

  

• The feature to buy hints by spending game time. Each hint will costs 1 to 2 minutes which is deducted from your end score.
• A feature which can be used by companies to set up game rooms in advance and assign players using their e-mail address.
• Advanced analytics.
• Single Sign On.
• And more..

In our next blog update we will share some results from the first development sprint!