Overview

Bummer is a new type of video game which blurs the lines between the real and virtual worlds. It can be thought of as “non-fiction gaming” or “gamification” but the core idea is that the time you spend and the actions you take in the game should make a difference in the real world.

Gameplay

In Bummer, you play a homeless person in San Francisco trying to live a better life. Dodging traffic and obstacles, you explore certain areas of the city seeking food, money, shelter, warmth, and opportunity.

Early concept art for title screen

Through scavenging mini-games, you collect cans, bottles, scrap metal, and other resources which can be sold for cash. With cash you can buy food, clothes, blankets, sleeping bags, personal hygiene products, and services such as job training, haircuts and grooming, or medical care.

Busking, Begging, Exploring, and Working are other ways to gain income and experience which can be used to further your character. Quests and missions will guide you through various minigames within a semi-open world as you explore areas of San Francisco relevant to homeless life.

The Game Affects Reality

Specialty items which confer additional bonuses can be purchased for your character via microtransactions. A portion of the proceeds from these transactions will go to buy similar items for actual homeless people. For instance, you could buy a jacket for your character and also help buy a jacket for someone living on the street, through a participating homeless charity.

Reality Affects The Game

While player actions in the game spill over into the real world by distributing goods and services through charities and nonprofits, the game world is affected by the real world as well. Certain statistics pulled from publicly available data will determine how often certain things happen in the game. Game events and areas to explore may be unlocked by real-world goals being met, such as a fundraising amount or a number of shelter beds made available.

Mixed Reality Philanthropic Gaming

In the end, Bummer is more than just a game; It is a conversation between the real world and a virtual world where the results of actions in one world can appear in another and vice versa. It is also a social engineering experiment, to try to change policies, attitudes, and lives by readjusting incentives, redirecting wealth and man-hour streams, and propagating non-zero-sum games.

Overview of how Bummer mixes real and virtual worlds, creating a gameplay path to net social good which overcomes traditional barriers to charitable giving.

Current Progress

Help Wanted

• Development Team (iOS, Web Game, Database)
• Art Team (Technical/Lead, Maps & Levels, Characters & Animation, UI Design)
• Reality Integration Team (Charity Relations/Fulfillment & Distribution, Statistical Analyst, Gamification Designer)
• Online Services Team (Community Manager, Network Operations)

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