Gemma Ballini
Game Writer | Narrative Designer
Social Determinants of Health
ROLE
Game Writer + Narrative Designer
OVERVIEW
SDoH is a VR medical game designed to educate current and aspiring healthcare professionals about the Social Determinants of Health and Cultural Humility. Our mission is to provide clinicians, including doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers with a deeper understanding of the cultural, economic, linguistic, and other barriers that often impede access to healthcare for underrepresented communities.
VR EXPERIENCE
Users will play as a person seeking medical care for specific health issues. Each scenario features a different patient from an underserviced community, such as Sofia, a 53-year-old Latina/Hispanic oncology patient. The goal of each scenario is to immerse players in the patient's experience as they navigate the complex healthcare system while encountering barriers to successful treatment and aftercare. Players will experience realistic challenges while confronting obstacles related to the Social Determinants of Health affecting each patient's unique circumstances. They will interact with clinicians who are often unhelpful due to their lack of understanding of the socio-cultural context affecting the individual patients. To learn from the experience, players will be given feedback, context, and tips by an NPC character UI.
YEAR
2022 - 2023
GENRE
Serious Games, Medical
PLATFORM
VR
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Narrative Design & Writing
OVERVIEW
Some of my responsibilities were the following:
Example of Script for Scenario
(Formatted According to Project Requirements)
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Screenwriting for Game: I created realistic scenarios that depicted the challenges faced by underserviced individuals. Through meticulous research and attention to detail, I ensured that the scenarios were accurate and engaging.
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Branching Narrative: I designed a branching narrative with multiple dialogue choices that resulted in various scenario outcomes and impacted the gameplay and narrative of the game.
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Research and Collaboration: I conducted extensive research to gain insight into the experiences of underserviced communities in the healthcare system. I collaborated with a diverse group of individuals from different cultural backgrounds to better understand their experiences and perspectives. Additionally, I worked closely with Nurse practitioners, Medical Experts, and University Faculty to ensure the narrative scenarios were accurate.
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Engineering Facilitation: To ensure the game's technical accuracy, I converted the scripts into a format suitable for engineering implementation. I also mapped out triggers for engineers to ensure smooth gameplay transitions.
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Game Design: I created a comprehensive gameplay loop that included a branching narrative, UI feedback system, Health Point System, Monetary System, and Character interaction system. By providing a cohesive and immersive game experience, players were engaged and motivated to learn more about managing their health.
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Collaboration with Artists: I collaborated with a team of artists to create realistic characters, environments, UI elements, and other game assets. Through close collaboration, we were able to create an immersive and visually appealing game that resonated with players.
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Production: Created production timelines, tracked tasks, created flowcharts, milestone lists, documentation, wrap kit material, oversaw sprints, crafted detailed Sprint Review presentations, and managed the team.
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