http://philome.la/Amina8mazhar/dining-with-asia
The concept of my Twine game is pretty simple and straightforward. It’s based on stereotyping and it’s affects on interactions between various individuals. I wanted it to reflect how people think of others, based on real life stereotypes, but nothing that would offend anyone’s race or personal beliefs. I was going to base the situation portrayed in my game on religion but decided against it, because I didn’t want anything too controversial portrayed in the class. I decided on a more simplistic stereotype that I believe anyone in the class could relate to or believe in.
The plot of the game follows a woman who goes out to dinner with one of her friends named Fabio. Fabio tells her that he also invited one of his other friends to have dinner with them as well, who the main character has never met before. When the woman meets Fabio’s friend, Asia, she finds out that she works for the fashion industry and styles outfits for celebrities. The separate paths follow whether you like Asia based on what your beliefs are. You judge Asia based on the stereotypes of people in the fashion industry but end up being wrong about who she is as an individual.
I wanted people to understand how everyone stereotypes and judges others whether it be intentional or not. It somewhat comes naturally to us as humans to judge others on how they look or how we perceive the way they’re acting in front of us even when we don’t know them. This idea relates to what we discussed in the first lecture of this class regarding cultural operating systems. This system revolves around what people do based on the culture around them. If this norm is broken, you can be judged or stereotyped.
We talk a lot about gender in this class, which stereotypes can also play a big role in. Girls and boys are expected to act and talk in specific manors. The culture surrounding us teaches us what is expected out of different genders. However, not all girls act the same and not all boys act the same. Thus, this stereotype causes many problems for those individuals who are considered outside of the ‘norm.’ My game somewhat has this stereotype mixed in by portraying a ‘typical’ girl who loves makeup and fashion.
I believe that I developed a simple story in which stereotyping occurs. The type of situation portrayed could occur in many peoples’ lives, which makes it relatable and easy to understand. I believe that it relates to the topics we learn in class, and that it teaches people to think twice before intentionally stereotyping. Overall, I feel like I could have made the game more impactful. However, it did get my point across that everyone stereotypes whether it’s intentional or not.