BountyHunter: an interactive learning game​
​By Jonathan Kinlay
About the Game
BountyHunter is a computer game that teaches the user about geography in a fun and interactive way
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  • The player is a bounty hunter who is tasked with locating a target situated in some unknown city in the United States
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  • The player earns bounty rewards by driving from a random starting point, navigating from city to city across the country to locate the target
    • Game Console
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    Aim of the Game

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  • The aim of the game is to earn rewards (credits)
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  • Each game offers a bounty, based on the degree of difficulty, which the player collects of s/he locates the target

    • Bounty
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    Credits
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    Searching

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  • The player selects a new state and city to move to
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  • As the player moves, the location and route maps are updated

    • Updated Location Map
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    Latest Trip
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    Entire Route

    Messages

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  • The Message Board provides updates on the player’s progress

    • Message Board

    Information Channel

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  • The Information Channel give detailed background on each city and state

    • City Information

    State Information
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    Clues

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  • The player can use their credit balance to purchase clues about the target’s State or city location
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  • Simple clues that convey limited information are cheap
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  • More complete clues such as the partial State or city name are expensive

    • State Clues
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    City Clues
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    Clue Maps

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  • The most expensive clues are maps that give more specific guidance on the State, city or direction of the target
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  • These clues are priced as a (high) % of the bounty
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  • This discourages over-use and obliges the player to think about cost vs potential reward

    • Nearest States Map
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    Nearest Cities Map
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    Direction Map
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    Bonus Quizzes

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  • These provide another way for the player to earn credits
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  • As the player moves to a new city, a random, multiple choice quiz is created

    • Quiz Topics
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    Example Bonus Quiz
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    Time and Fuel

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  • The player starts with a fixed amount of fuel and travel time s/he can use to locate the target
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  • This encourages efficient searching
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  • Additional time and fuel can be purchased. Again, this requires the player to think about the trade-off between cost and potential reward

    • Time
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    Fuel

    Fuel Gauge
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    Fuel Stats
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    Route Map
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    Buy Fuel
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    Game Data

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  • All of the player’s game data is captured and stored
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  • Various reports are generated and updated with each game

    • Summary Stats
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    Game History
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    Credit Chart
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    Cities Visited
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    Learning Objectives

    Geography
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    Budgeting / Resource Allocation

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  • How much time/fuel is required to reach the target?
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  • Does it make sense to buy more time/fuel to reach the target and earn the bounty?
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  • How much fuel/time do I need to buy in order to reach the target?
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  • Is it worth buying clues to increase the chance of earning the bounty?
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  • If so, what budget should I allocate and which clues should I buy?

    • Reasoning & Logic

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  • If I travel 100 miles West and reduce the distance to target by 100 miles, in which direction should I travel next?
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  • If I travel 100 miles west and increase the distance to target by 100 miles, in which direction should I travel next?
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  • If I travel 100 miles West and reduce the distance to target by 50 miles, in which direction should I travel next?
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  • If the elevation of the target city is 0 feet above sea level, should I head towards Colorado or New Jersey?
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  • I know the State tree is a fir. Should I head North or South?
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  • If the bounty for this game is only 3 credits, how can I make it worthwhile to buy additional clues to help me find the target?
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  • If the bounty for this game is 30 credits, does it make sense to spend 20 credits on additional clues such as the nearest cities map?
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  • I know the target Sate and some of the letters of he target city. How should I proceed?
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  • If my average search efficiency is only 10%, how can I improve?
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  • If a player’s average search efficiency is 90%, what is the most likely explanation?

    • Correcting Mistakes
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    Competition

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  • Build a larger stack than your peers!
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  • Win competitions

    • Collaboration
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    Applications

    Remote Learning
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    Structured Assignments
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    Competitions
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    Quiz and Exam Preparation
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    Target Audience

    Players
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    Decision Makers
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    Influencers
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    Future Developments

    AI version
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    Multi-Player version
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    Game variants
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