Eearrgh. The Gamer Geek Guide to Fibromyalgia
Here it is 3 in the morning and I am not asleep. know why? I don't. Well sort of. I got an idea in my head, and I couldn't go to sleep without spending two hours writing it all down.
My idea is to create a teaching game to let folks learn a bit about what its like to have Fibromyalgia.
The idea came to me as I was reflecting on my day, and what I did and did not do regarding household and other tasks I felt needed doing, and how I passed up a party with friends and yet it seemed I could barely keep up with housekeeping and bills let alone get fully unpacked and do the hobbies I wanted.
So I was bitching in my head about how I "ran out of action points" today in my errands, and that it seemed like a game trying to decide what to do with my energy and that I was always making judgements and yet not everything got done. A gamer geek version of the 'Spoon Story' (very famous and oft used analogy, available in a pdf link from this fibro site:
Anyhow it went from this little bit of me comparing my life to the game strategies I am doing in board gaming, and BOOM the idea on how to convert it to a real playable game as a teaching aide to friends and family with Fibro came into being.
I am always being asked, what exactly is Fibro? I mean, I don't look sick. Of course, said with all best intents. So maybe if they had to spend a half hour making the sorts of judgements I do all the time to see if they could earn enough "Quality of Life points" to reach the Indepenant Living tier, they would have an idea.
So here are my ideas in more detail . . .
Of course, one thing is to keep it very simple. As a teaching aid, its NOT for gamers in general, so it has to be simple for those not family with traditional gaming mechanics and themes. SO, that means I condensed everything I was thinking of into a single card deck and a score sheet on laminated paper.
The goal of the game is to fulful five tasks each week. After four weeks (four rounds) the game is over. Each Round you score QUality of Life points based on how many and how far your tasks completed were. The five tasks are:
Each turn, the player has X number of cards. THey have to play EVERY card in their hand, but they ca choose the order.. SOme cards are Activity Point cards that let them move their tokens on the tasks. Others are Events that modify the game or resources or their tasks , health cards that modify their activities, and Bonus cards that reflect things in their life like friends who can help.
I have ideas also as to what each category of card might contain, and how they may work, but I have to make some important decisions about balance and numbers of cards. But I feel the basic idea of the game structure would work.
My idea is to create a teaching game to let folks learn a bit about what its like to have Fibromyalgia.
The idea came to me as I was reflecting on my day, and what I did and did not do regarding household and other tasks I felt needed doing, and how I passed up a party with friends and yet it seemed I could barely keep up with housekeeping and bills let alone get fully unpacked and do the hobbies I wanted.
So I was bitching in my head about how I "ran out of action points" today in my errands, and that it seemed like a game trying to decide what to do with my energy and that I was always making judgements and yet not everything got done. A gamer geek version of the 'Spoon Story' (very famous and oft used analogy, available in a pdf link from this fibro site:
Anyhow it went from this little bit of me comparing my life to the game strategies I am doing in board gaming, and BOOM the idea on how to convert it to a real playable game as a teaching aide to friends and family with Fibro came into being.
I am always being asked, what exactly is Fibro? I mean, I don't look sick. Of course, said with all best intents. So maybe if they had to spend a half hour making the sorts of judgements I do all the time to see if they could earn enough "Quality of Life points" to reach the Indepenant Living tier, they would have an idea.
So here are my ideas in more detail . . .
Of course, one thing is to keep it very simple. As a teaching aid, its NOT for gamers in general, so it has to be simple for those not family with traditional gaming mechanics and themes. SO, that means I condensed everything I was thinking of into a single card deck and a score sheet on laminated paper.
The goal of the game is to fulful five tasks each week. After four weeks (four rounds) the game is over. Each Round you score QUality of Life points based on how many and how far your tasks completed were. The five tasks are:
- Important Stuff: Bills, House, Etc
- Work/School: (can you do your commitments?
- Family: (can you spend time with and take care of your family)
- Self-Care (are you eating well? Are you exercising?)
- Hobbies and Socialization: (THis category offers bonus points, but it may work differently, not sure yet)
Each turn, the player has X number of cards. THey have to play EVERY card in their hand, but they ca choose the order.. SOme cards are Activity Point cards that let them move their tokens on the tasks. Others are Events that modify the game or resources or their tasks , health cards that modify their activities, and Bonus cards that reflect things in their life like friends who can help.
I have ideas also as to what each category of card might contain, and how they may work, but I have to make some important decisions about balance and numbers of cards. But I feel the basic idea of the game structure would work.