Topic: Anti-Bullying/Suicide
Audience: Middle/High school students
Do you know someone or heard of someone being bullied, regardless it’s a friend, a family member, a classmate, or a peer? Have you ever witnessed bullying? This virtual reality game hits on some heavy topics about bullying, and what it’s like in a bystander’s perspective. In this game, you get to be a bystander and witness a victim being bullied physically and verbally. Throughout the game you have to find certain objects that give you a better understanding of the victim and what is happening. This means finding notes, blueprints, drawings, and letters. Each object you find reveals a flashback, which you play as in the perspective of the victim. Each blueprint and note is something that the victim invented, and could make. Once it goes back to the bystander, it continues as a scavenger hunt. After all the objects you find, it combines all of them and reveals a note. While reading the note, it takes you into the perspective of the victim. It shows you a flashback of the first day you witnessed the bullying happening, but you’re in the perspective of the victim. It reveals that the victim saw you standing there and watching this all unfold. It comes back to you reading the end of the note, which reads, “If only someone would’ve spoken up.” It then cuts out and gives a quick demonstration of what would’ve happened if you stood up to the bullying. The educational purpose of this is to inform people of bullying and its affects. It also informs people of a person who commits suicide could have had great ideas, and could have been a person who found a cure for something or invented something that’s helpful to the world. The person playing gets to feel what the victim feels along with how hard sometimes it is to be a bystander. I wanted to reach out to middle/high school students because bullying shows usually the most during those times. This game will put a student into perspective, and see how they could be helping individuals who are bullied, instead of being a silent bystander.
Bibliography:
http://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/stats.asp
http://www.antibullyingpro.com/researchhome
1.What excites you about this project and why?
This project excites me because it’s interesting, and the visuals I see for this project makes me feel excited. This is because the visuals I have for this is something serious, but it makes the game interesting and have its own story.
2.What do you want to see more of and why?
I want to see more of what the simulations can look like, and what can happen when everything is out together.
3.What additional evidence does the audience need for you to be convinced that this research is complete?
Additional evidence for this research would be statistics of bullying, and bystanders. Other evidence could be what’s involved with how it would look.
1.What excites you about this project and why?
This project excites me because I feel like it reaches out to a huge issue in society today and has potential to have a big impact.
2.What do you want to see more of and why?
Maybe there could be more of the thoughts and feelings going through the victims head
3.What additional evidence does the audience need for you to be convinced that this research is complete?
statistics on bullying, or amount of suicides every year due to bullying.
I really liked that the user gets to be a bystander and then see the butterfly effect because most of the time no bystander stands up and says anything. One thing that you might want to add into the app is give the one being bullied a history or background so the user can see how the history is affecting their bullying. One thing you might to think about adding is some statistical facts about the relation between bullying and suicide.
1) I think its a good idea to show others what effects bullying can have on others. It may even help them learn to stick up for those being bullied
2) More about the simulation
3) Evidence of bullying in schools in the local area
1. Having a flash back excited me because that is something cool to experience because in real like you can say you had a flash back but never really experienced it.
2. Seeing more of how everything would come together or showing how a person needed up after someone helping them.
3. Additional evidence could be how many people have been bullied this year alone and by doing that you would convince the buyers more why this is good.
1. This project excites me because it gives kids with the familiar situation something to relate too as well as a sense of prevention of bullying.
2. More insight into the how it exactly works.
3. More evidence into what the statistics are on bullying
This excites me because this is a MAJOR issue in our society today and people who are in these positions are often stereotyped and i do not think it is fair.
More interaction? Will the person get the option to be the bully? or look and see what the bully goes through to see why they act the way they act? or is it just for the victim?
More evidence about how often bullying/ suicide happen in our society.
1. It seems like a neat simulation because it can show people what is bullying.
2. How will this simulation work?
3. How often would people use it?
1. If someone has never experienced bullying I think this would be a great experience.
2. More of how this stimulation will function, more specifics.
3. Statistics would bring more light and accuracy to this pitch.
This is so fascinating structurally. The idea that you play as a bystander but then switch to the perspective of the victim through these artifacts is unique and interesting. It could be very effective. However, you need to adjust your tone to be professional and factual in this pitch. Edit carefully, and examine your word choices.