Midbaryom

Overview

A zoo is to be rebuilt as natural 120 acre savannanah, in the heart of the Israeli Negev. This Safari is not only meant to display the animals as some kind of trophies, but to actualy educate the people about the importance of wildelife perservance and to create empathy with the animals. As part of this new park, set in Beer Sheva, are 18 unique interactive experiences and games set on teaching humans about how anumals behave, interact and socialize. I was the leading technical designer on 7 of them, the complex ones.

Role

As a Game Designer you often than not - an entratainer. You craft expreiences that alleviate fun. That is why Midbaryom is a very special project, in size, purpose and ethical values.

My job in preproduction, was to take the high level designs presented to the end cliet and methodically convert them into documentation ready for full production. This process does not limit itself to pure technicalities, it requires “poking” the design and understanding it deeply enough as to make important decisions about it. Moreover, tools for the gameplay designers must be specified as well, so they would know what’s in their control in the future.

Documentation was not the only task though. The client needed someone versed enough in gaming to know how to create both an educational and entertaining expreience.

Althogh most games ran on PC, the physicality of the activities is what mattered most. For example, one game was set on 8 2X2 meter screens set across 120m. Another game was a 5X3 screen with motion detection and weights input. Each game was somewhat unique in its needs and requirements.