We think it is more powerful and effective for the player to understand the MTA, through knowing the narrative of the subway system from the staff’s perspective, instead of being told what to do. Therefore, we hope our game will eventually allow the player to empathize with the staffs.
Our approach to the challenges can be divided into three aspects below:
Per the MTA’s preference and past experience, enforcement has not lead to great results, and they would like to now approach the challenges with the aim of education instead of policing. Therefore, the messages expressed in the game would be subliminal. There would not be signs or pop-up windows telling players what they should or shouldn’t do on the train. Instead, the player will need to deal with the mischievous passengers as an MTA staff. They will now see how the riders’ misbehaviors causes major disturbance to the train order and inconvenience for everyone, leaving them the impressions that such behavior is deemed as undesired. The impression would be further strengthened with in-game rewards, for example how dealing with incidents can leads to in-game item rewards, experience and level progression, etc. All messages that the MTA wants to express to the players will be conveyed as part of the gameplay.
We think it is important for passengers to understand the MTA’s daily operation and the subway system so that they learn the difficulty of operating the subway system. By building the train system themselves, players will hopefully see the considerations behind planning out the train system, and that train stations are not simply constructed randomly. In addition, the need to maintain the station — both events the player will encounter, and the frequency of the incidents — will help the player see that the MTA is a gigantic system, transporting a third of the New York City population daily. With an understanding of the organization, we hope our players will have second thoughts the next time they think about jumping over the turnstiles, and the potential negative impact their behavior might lead to.
In SimTrain, the player will take on the role of an MTA central operation staff member who monitors and resolves problems within the train system everyday. By putting the player in the shoes of an MTA staff, we hope the player can now seen the MTA being built and serviced by individuals, instead of a large corporate organization that is disconnected from everyone’s daily life. The MTA is built and maintained by New Yorkers, for New Yorkers. Experiencing the MTA’s daily operation hardship and associating them with the player’s own experience will make the passengers appreciate the MTA’s efforts in keeping the train up and running for everyone.
Ultimately, we want the player to sympathize with the MTA staff, and stand in their shoes. SimTrain will allow the player to see, in a fun and engaging way, how the MTA is hard to operate, and how a lot of effort gets put into it. As a result, the player, who are the subway riders, will be less likely to disrupt, out of desire of maintaining the order onboard, a behavior that is rewarded and emphasized in SimTrain.
Previous Constraints & Goals
Next (Design) Overview