One of the more fun and unique projects that I have worked on is known as Super League Gaming. Super League Gaming is Nth Games league gaming experience designed just for kids, built to encourage social interaction through live gaming events.
Create a "Theme and Variations" game that lasts for 1.5 to 2 hours, based on one or more shorter pre-existing games. This game must change slightly from week to week without any real changes in play, built with an educational bent and suited for kids ages 8-14. Establish a community of gamers around Super League Gaming for the benefit of ongoing league play.
We began by examining game design from a neuro-stimulation perspective, while simultaneously playtesting a few different game designs that we had built as a proof-of-concept of the Nth Games platform. After a period of evaluation, we found that most of our players were interested in one of two types of games - a traditional adventure battle game, and a sandbox-style building competition. Given that games for the Nth Games platform are expected to run for at least 1.5 hours, we then used a few creative storytelling techniques to tie our two game types together, alternating them at appropriate intervals to encourage neural stimulation and maximum engagement. Finally, we tied the whole gaming experience together with one of four unifying themes - one for each gaming event, intended to be cycled over the duration of the league series. These themes were then used as the basis for a collection of educational materials to be presented to kids in-game, as well as supplemental materials for parents and teachers.
After approximately 20 successful, sold-out events in Southern California, and one full run of a beta league, Nth Games is currently planning a nationwide rollout of Super League Gaming, beginning with events in 26 cities in July of 2015.