Sole Survivor is a sci-fi real-time strategy/adventure game intended to serve as a tool in learning introductory psychology. The target audience for Sole Survivor is high school and college level students who are currently enrolled in an Intro. Psychology Course, as well as psychology professors/teachers who can integrate the game into their curriculum. However, it is by no means necessary for one to be involved in such a course to fully engage with and enjoy the game. Considering Sole Survivor draws on a wide variety of genres, requires no prior knowledge of psychology, and utilizes a simple control interface, it should appeal to a broad range of gamers.

The game is structured to allow for learning through two distinct types of gameplay: Task Completion and Exploration. After the player designs her avatar, she begins the game in the ship’s “Task Room”, where an alien presents her with a number of assignments to complete. Initially, the player is unable to escape this room, but as she successfully accomplishes each task she gains more of the aliens’ trust. This results in less supervision and more opportunities to explore the ship unnoticed in search of clues as to just what has happened. Each discovery made by the player serves to motivate further gameplay and thereby provide new opportunities for learning.

Task Completion
During task completion, the player is introduced to classic psychological studies and key concepts through virtual hands-on experimentation that one could rarely experience in a traditional classroom. Often, these tasks involve interaction with the alien scientists’ human prototypes (Synthetic Characters) which each embody specific psychological principles. To aid in completion of these tasks, the player is provided with a helper droid, named Dr. Roboto, who ultimately plays an important role in relating the player’s experiences to relevant psychological theories. For example, the player is presented with a number of prototypes that have each been subjected to classical conditioning and is told to determine which have been conditioned to salivate. After Dr. Roboto explains what “classical conditioning” means, the player must then use whatever items are provided in the Task Room to get the job done. In the process, the player observes first-hand the behavior that is associated with such conditioning.

Exploration
Once the player can escape the Task Room, she will encounter scenarios which demonstrate additional psychological concepts, as well as those that further illustrate principles introduced during task completion. Here, as well, Dr. Roboto proves valuable, for he not only points out how each scenario relates to psychological theory, but also how the player, at times, exhibits the very behavior she has been studying. (Experiential Learning and Reflexivity) For example, during the course of the game, the player may learn an elaborate routine involving an electronic keypad for opening locked doors. The player soon comes upon a door, however, that will not respond to this routine, no matter how many times she tries. Eventually, she realizes she need only turn the doorknob to enter. At this point, Dr. Roboto chimes in, remarking on how the player had become “fixated’ on the earlier solution.

The Ship
The structure of the alien ship itself plays a significant role in providing opportunities for experiential learning and reflexivity. Students of psychology themselves, the aliens have constructed portions of their ship based on classic experimental structures and littered it with perceptual gags, giving it a funhouse-like feel reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland or Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Below are a few examples of experimental structures/principles that are demonstrated in this manner:

Cognitive Maps (above); Act-Outcome Associations (below)

Discriminative Stimuli (above); Stroboscopic Movement (below)

(Images from: Henry Gleitman, ed. Psychology: Third Edition. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1991.)