Yesterday's Tomorrow

Description

Yesterday’s Tomorrow was my submission for the Feed the Pig Challenge, a game design competition from the AICPA, the Ad Council and Games for Change.

In the game, you have the ability to view the life of a single character at certain milestones in his or her life. The outcome of decisions made at one stage will be instantly viewable at later stages. For example, pennies in a piggy bank at age five can help with a first car at fifteen. Money in the bank from an early job at twenty can help with a house payment at thirty.

This game concept was selected as a finalist and then winner and is now being developed by Crafter.life Studios.

Concept

For years now I’ve been fascinated by the relationship between a person today and that same person at a different age. Thinking in that realm, the core message I wanted to communicate with my concept was this: The person you are at twenty is the person you are at forty.

One of the most difficult parts about good financial planning is truly understanding that time will pass, you will grow older, and the choices you make now will affect the future in a real way. By creating an experience in which multiple stages of life are exposed simultaneously, it is easier to see the impact of a financial decision as it propagates through from youth to old age.

Thanks

The illustrations for these concept frames were created by the incredibly talented Leslie Kam. Many thanks also to Jess Fiorini, who was also a finalist in the Feed the Pig game design challenge. Jess was a huge help in handling the steps following the competition and by “huge help” I mean she pretty much handled everything.