Introduction

ChoiCo (Choices with Consequences) is a software created by the Educational Technology Lab with the aim to support students and teachers in creating their own digital games. It is available free of charge and in online form at http://etl.ppp.uoa.gr/choico/.

What is ChoiCo

ChoiCo is a “game generator” that belongs to the Point & Click and Simulation games categories. In ChoiCo games, the player can make choices among the available points displayed on the screen, keeping in mind that each choice corresponds to specific consequences that are numerically reflected in the score of the game. The main objective of the player is, by making choices, to stay as long as possible in the game, always within the limits set during the design phase.

ChoiCo is different from existing simulation games in the fact that the mechanism that determines choices, their consequences and the rules of the game is not closed to the user, but it is a subject for thought, discussion, negotiation and modification as the user has deep access to game functionalities. ChoiCo software offers two different functions:

1. Play Mode, where the player can play a saved game with:

   1. Load game, which is stored in a file locally on your computer

   2. Online game, through a library of created games that are already uploaded to ChoiCo platform

2. Design Mode, where the user can design a new game or modify an existing one using the tools and the functionalities provided by ChoiCo.

When the game is over, players can be informed of their total actions through the game statistics, which can also be downloaded as a pdf file.

The rationale of ChoiCo games

Games designed at ChoiCo are “choice-driven” games. In the context of a ChoiCo game, the player makes choices that have divergent consequences in a set of fields. The flow of the game is based on the decisions that the player will make, regarding the available options. When a game of ChoiCo is played, the player’s goal is to keep making choices as long as possible so as not to cross one of the “red lines” of corresponding consistency, as defined in the respective game. The player’s goal is to continue making choices while staying in the game as long as possible without crossing any of the “red lines” of a consequence as defined within the game.

The rationale of ChoiCo games harmonizes with the approach of the Educational Technology Laboratory (ETL) to learning, according to which students, through processes of tinkering, sharing and discussion on digital - and not only - contents, have the possibility for expression, production and implementation of new ideas with personal meaning for them. Thus, ChoiCo, in addition to the role of the player, offers to even non-technical users (e.g., teachers & students) the opportunity to take on the role of designer and create their own simulation games with high-level interconnected computing capabilities.

In the same sense as above, ChoiCo gives players the opportunity to engage with socio-scientific issues (e.g. sustainability, energy crisis, eating habits, etc.), and also the ways in which someone (e.g., students) could manage them by making choices. These kinds of games attempt to simulate a real situation through the options available, the fields affected, and the programming of the rules that govern them.