Activity Instructions: Natural Selection Game Design

Step 1

Explain to students that in this activity, they will be coming up with an idea for a video game based on the theory of natural selection.

Take a moment to invite students to share their thoughts about the following questions:

What is natural selection?
What is survival of the fittest?
How are they related?

If students need a refresher on natural selection, you could share this video: Natural Selection - Crash Course Biology #14

Step 2

Students will now begin thinking about how they could turn the theory of natural selection into a video game. Explain that survival of the fittest can also feature in the game but shouldn’t be the central theme (this video game shouldn’t look like the Hunger Games!).

Students can work in small groups to develop a Game Design Document. This is a document that explains the overall ideas about the game they are designing.

The benefits of group work - Research shows that as a pedagogical practice, group work in the classroom can have a big impact on both student learning and their socialisation, for example:

Find out more about the benefits of group work here.

In preparation for creating this document, students should respond to the following (also available on the Student Worksheet):

The idea or concept - This is a broad overview of the game i.e. This game is based on the theory of natural selection. Players will have the chance to choose different physical features and find out how these evolve to help or hinder the survival of a species.
Genre - Is this an action or adventure game? Is it a racing or strategy game? Or is it a puzzle or fighting game?
Story and characters - Come up with a short story idea that their game will be built around (do they know any examples of natural selection e.g. the peppered moths?). One or two sentences could be enough to summarise the idea.
Core game mechanics -
- What is the player trying to achieve in this game? When is the game finished? What happens at the end?
- What incentives will you have for the players?
- What are players doing in the game? Where are they trying to get to and what obstacles might they encounter?
Art and/or sketches - Create some sketches that show the world you are creating, including the colour palette you’d like, the lighting and the mood, some of the scenery you might expect, and an example of how some of the characters might look and how you might make they appealing to the players.

Note: There are many resources online about game design. If students want to know more, they could start with a quick google search, for example, this video (Game Design: Crash Course Games #19) or this website (Game design basics: How to start creating video games).

Step 3

In the next step, students will create their Game Design Document. Before they do, though, they need to check that their game design ideas include or align with the theory of natural selection. Where there are gaps, they will need to amend their ideas.

Step 4

Students can then create a final version of their Game Design Document. In this document, they should include their answers to the questions above and any sketches.

Step 5

Students can present their game designs to the class. Encourage other students to ask questions and offer constructive feedback on their designs.

Optional: If students were interested or excited about an idea, you could spend some time developing their game design further and could incorporate other theories into the game more explicitly, such as evolution.

Meaningful Moments: Natural Selection Game Design

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