Game Overview:

"A Day for Mia" is a game designed to simulate-- and build empathy for-- the frustration felt by those with mobile disabilities when struggling against insufficient structural accommodations and careless bystanders. You play as Mia, a college student attempting to finish a short To-Do list before meeting with a friend for coffee. Mistiming your crutch swings, bumping into anything, forcing yourself to move faster than is comfortable, or asking people to move will raise Mia's frustration. Stumbling with too high a frustration leads to a fall, and takes longer to recover from. The player must manage their frustration, pick an efficient task route, and avoid making mistakes to complete this seemingly simple To-Do list in time. 

​

Level Overview:

The game takes place within a 3 story multipurpose college complex, loosely based on Texas A&M's MSC. Completing tasks will see you traverse in and out of varied rooms from floor-to-floor with an open structure to task order and paths taken to complete them. As such, the layout is open-ended with dynamic risk-reward scenarios deriving from the location of tasks left to complete, the proximity of Mia to options like stairs or elevators (and the pros and cons of using these options), and the player's confidence in navigating obstacles present along these possible routes.

​

The end result of these factors paired with the strict limit is the player needed to quickly assess their options and commit to a plan, eliciting stress and frustration that mirrors the experience of Mia, thus building empathy for her plight.

​

Layout...

​​​​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

• The map layout doesn't have 1 optimal path or task order, however some tasks can flow more seemlessly into eachother than others would

  • i.e. checking out a book from the library, using the library stairs, grabbing a snack across from the store opening, then entering the study hall next to it to drop off notes.

​

Structural Obstacles...

There are a handful of obstacles resulting from the building itself. How they impede your progress will impact the your choice of task-order and traversal route

​

• Faulty Doors

  • While the doors in this game have a disability button to open automatically, they aren't well-maintained and will fail to open about 1/4th of the time​

​

• Inconvenient Elevators

  • The 2 elevators in this game are problematic because they are painfully slow to arrive, open, and close their doors, as well as being out of the way from notable locations​

    • This inconvenience makes them a pain to use, despite being safer​

​

• Stairs

  • The stairs are often located in more convenient spots than the elevator, but are very strenuous to use.​​

  • On stairs, Mia's frustration meter constantly rises and the player must spam 'Space' to lower it, plus each step taken causes it to immediately increase substantially

    • This is meant to simulate how exhausting it is to use stairs on crutches​

  • Maxing out your frustration meter causes a time-consuming stumble

​

Locations...

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

• The level has 5 distinct Rooms attached to wide open floors. The rooms are:

  • The Library (Floor 2). Task: Rent a library book here​

    • Players navigate through tight spaces between shelves and around students

    • Closed door and elevator entrances provide challenge to access

  • Study Hall (Floor 3). Task: Lend a friend notes here​

    • Players navigate between tables and students in a winding pattern.

    • Closed door and elevator entrances provide challenge to access

  • AU Merch Store (Floor 3). No task. Connected to the library via stairs​

    • Relatively open space-- only a few cylindrical shirt stands and some students to avoid

    • Players may decide to use this as a shortcut to or from the library by using the stairs

    • Other entrance easiest due to permanently open doors

  • Print Lab (Floor 1). Task: Print a paper here​

    • ​Players thread between the front desk, main computer stand, and several students to access the printerPl

    • Closed door enterance provide challenge to access

  • Underground Cafe (Floor 1). Task: Meet with friend for coffee after all tasks​

    • Players must navigate between winding path of tables and students to get to barista​

    • Entrance requires a long trek across the entire floor if you player comes in from the elevator

    • Entrance down a steeply inclined ramp

​

• The 2 tasks located within the connective sections are:

  • Buy sports tickets at ticket booth​

    • Must travel through a narrow rope divider path to reach​

  • Get a snack from the vending machine

    • Located outside the AU Merch store​

    • Open area has many students wandering it

​

The locations, like the animal characters, are designed to be cute and welcoming. This contrasts with the gameplay where, due to lack of consideration for her problems, Mia must struggle to go about her daily life. The world wants to be welcoming, and is towards most people, but isn't towards Mia due to ignorance or apathy.

​

Distracting Elements to Planning...

• Bystanders are distributed throughout the entire map, and avoiding them is a constant drain on player focus and planning ability. Plotting an efficient route is easier said than done when your thought-process is consistently interrupted by both inconsiderate strangers wandering into you on top of the involved movement system​​

  • Switching focus between avoiding a stumble or fall and planning against the clock is a stressful experience​

​

Obstacle Impact on Chosen Route...

• In the end, the route player's construct will be one that minimizes risk, and risk is dependent on how they struggle with particular obstacles.

  • Some players are terrible with using the stairs and will avoid them entirely. Avoiding stairs means picking a route centered around the placement of the 2 elevators.

  • Bystanders are located throughout, but their especially challenging to avoid in tight spaces. Picking routes around open areas is ideal if the player struggles with that scenario.

​

​

​

​

​

​