A Mega-game is a type of multiplayer game in which players are divided into teams, and then those teams are arranged in a hierarchy. These teams act out certain roles, such as a nation’s government, company, media organization, or other social or political parties, and they engage in conversation with other teams that represent either their adversaries or their friends.
As a result, the majority of a megagame consists of social engagement and networking, as well as attempting to complete objectives within a framework. The topic matter can be everything from politics and economics to history and literature, as well as heroic fantasy and science fiction.
Some people have described a mega-game as a cross between a LARP and a board game, with themes and mechanics borrowed from escape rooms. Megagames are distinguished by their enormous player counts, which can run anywhere from fifty to several hundred people.
A megagame might be thought of as a miniature version of the United Nations, with people competing on teams that may be representative of different countries.
However, a megagame scenario incorporates an underlying narrative that goes far beyond replicating an interactive operating bureaucracy. This is because the simulation of a megagame scenario goes beyond reproducing a functional bureaucracy.
Teams may be selected to represent nations as well as other groups, such as businesses, media organizations, clandestine or criminal organizations, or perhaps even religious, social, or political forces.
There is a distinct plan of action and a set of hidden objectives for each team or faction, and individual players may also have their own hidden objectives, which may or may not be in line with those of their team.
The development of a Megagame
Creating megagames is a tough endeavor in and of itself. The most difficult aspect of the project is coming up with something unique and tailor-made to the experience that the designer intends gamers to enjoy. In addition, the designers don’t want to «overdesign» the experience by coming up with complicated rules that would make it difficult for the control team to run the game.
In addition, establishing a new mega-game by adapting the architecture and gameplay of already existing games might be an interesting and fruitful avenue to pursue. The process of incorporating everything into a single title, on the other hand, maybe intimidating and time-consuming.
That being the case, it is possible that developing megagames from the ground up is a more straightforward process than modifying pre-existing games to work inside a megagame framework.
Existing videogames that were never conceived of as having the potential to become megagames might be challenging to adapt into a gameplay mode that places an emphasis on the player experience above all other considerations.
Megagames to learn Through Games
The use of game-based learning might be extremely beneficial when used for megagames. Megagames offer a one-of-a-kind gaming experience by combining a wide variety of simulation, role-playing, and social networking elements in a single game. All of these are fantastic examples of how experiential learning through games may be used.
There is a possibility that we do not consider megagames to be implementations of games-based learning. However, the widespread participation of student groups such as the Model United Nations and the Model European Union provides a wealth of examples and applications that are frequently seen in other types of megagames.