UXO: Laos

UXO: Laos is lifestyle simulator that focuses on the day to day living situation in Laos. The focus of the game is on risk vs reward, as a means to explore some of the difficult realities of living in a war-ravaged country. The player is incentivized to send innocent people into risky situations. The player is asked to weigh the age-old question of the needs of the many vs the needs of the individual. 

 
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Narrative Through Gameplay

The story I wanted to tell in gameplay, is a personal story of making the best of deeply conflicting goals. A core element of UXO is the game play of collecting the relics of war long since passed. The dense thickets of Laos are filled unexploded ordinance, and the player is asked to collect these duds for scrap so they can support themselves and their family. The only way around this problem is with critical thinking, and smart use of a metal detector. To succeed, the player must manage their diminishing resources effectively while navigating a hazard-filled environment.

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Paper Prototype Implementation

The paper prototype of this concept makes use of terrain cards. The player shuffles the deck and places the cards 9 by 10. In order to navigate the area, players turn over the cards one by one as they move around the area. This in effect keeps the gameplay fresh, and allows multiple play throughs of areas without players memorizing levels 

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Personnel Management

A defining element of UXO is the personnel management system. Each person that the player recruits is given a bio containing background information on the character that player is forced to read. This is intended to make the player's decisions that much harder to make emotionally. Players are tasked with protecting as many of these people as possible, but this often results in the lives of others being placed at risk. It is up to the player to decide who is allowed to leave, and who is forced to stay and risk their life.

 

Core Inspirations:

This War of Mine

Train

  • Emphasis on risk reward of sacrifice of intimately described characters

  • Core gameplay focused on resource management in order to survive

  • Systems that create a sense that there are greater personal stakes directly outside the player

  • Using real world historical context to create uncomfortable dissidence of gameplay and narrative