get a life

developing college and career awareness through game-based learning

Project Description

A student’s choices shape their character’s story in Get a Life, a narrative-driven, college- and career-awareness game.

Guide a character from high school graduation to retirement. Decide what interests they will pursue and whether they will continue in school. Then, navigate opportunities and obstacles. Balance their comfort, civic involvement, and income to ensure they lead a comfortable, satisfying life.

Dynamic play ensures nearly limitless storylines and outcomes, much like life.

Get a Life is designed and written to teach secondary school students about college and career options and encourage them to discuss their futures. By playing Get a Life, students will:

• connect the concepts of college, career, and income;

• understand how salary impacts other aspects of life; and

• consider their comfort and civic involvement when evaluating possible future careers and career clusters.

Students are introduced to a character who has just graduated from high school and is ready to begin adult life.

The character has an expressed interest, an ACT score, and a GPA. Using that information, the student must make choices on the character’s behalf.

Get a Life promotes interest exploration by encouraging students to investigate options outside their comfort zone. In Get a Life, students:

• consider their character’s interests when making decisions, exploring options they may not have otherwise chosen for themselves;

• navigate events that demonstrate how job satisfaction is influenced by factors other than income;

• experience common challenges and setbacks in postsecondary education to gain perspective and discover the resources and support that schools offer to students; and

• manage major- and career-specific decisions that offer insight into the type of work involved with the career field they chose for their character.

Awards and Publications for Get A Life

Student Choice Award: Get A Life. Interservice/Industry Training Simulation and Education Conference: Serious Games Showcase and Challenge. (2019). 

My Role

I was the primary instructional game designer for Get A Life.  I was in charge of defining the game mechanisms, instructional content, and evaluations used in this learning experience. I worked directly with developers, artists, and subject matter experts to ensure the instructional experience was engaging and effective at achieving the required learning objectives.

I oversaw content development, managing junior designers to develop over 650 game events totaling over 60,000 words.