Patrick Curry’s Thoughts on Game Design

Had this idea earlier in the year. Figured I’d pull it out now since the well is a little dry this week.

High Concept:

Air Traffic Jam is the game of high-speed and high-stakes air traffic controlling. You run a major metropolitan airport’s control tower, and it’s up to you to make sure that flights arrive and depart safely and swiftly. Battle bad weather, the clock, and maverick pilots in this game of quick thinking and quick reflexes.

Platform:

Nintendo DS

Why it needs to be made:

We’ve all been stuck on a flight that’s been delayed, rerouted, or had to circle before landing. What better way to kill some time and some stress than with a game where you get to be in charge of the very predicament you’re stuck in?

Description:

You can see everything from your high perch up in the control tower. You can survey the entire airport: the terminals, the jetways, the planes, the crews, and the runways. You also have every single technological gadget at your finger-tips. Radar screens of the entire surrounding area, real-time weather maps, and tons of schedules and statistics. Armed with all this information, it’s your job to make the sure the planes in your airport stay clear of each other and stay roughly on schedule.

Air Traffic Jam is an “action puzzle game.” Each level of the game is played as a single shift in the air traffic control tower. You start with a set number of planes at the airport, and using the DS touchscreen you have to plot them a path that gets them on their way to their destinations: first on the ground, and then in the air. But you also have to be aware of the planes that are entering your airspace, and make sure that you’re giving them paths that they can use to safely land and then taxi. Make sure that you’re not giving the planes directions directly into severe weather, and make sure they can land somewhere (be it at your airport or someone else’s) before they run out of fuel.

Why it will be fun:

Puzzle games are just darn fun. A well-designed puzzle game will be easy to learn, but difficult to master. Like Tetris, the longer you play Air Traffic Jam, the more quickly we throw pieces (planes) at you. It’s your job to figure out how to fit them onto the board (the runways and terminals), and then how to clear them (departing). But beyond that, there’s also something really fun about seeing little people do your bidding in a game. So Air Traffic Jam might be able to have a little bit of that classic Lemmings feel to it.

Final Thoughts:

While I don’t like the idea of real-life air traffic controllers playing fast and loose with my life, it’s a fun little fantasy to think about for a game.