After 8 years as a firefighter, I saw firsthand how bias, culture, and silence shape experience inside the fire service.
Now, I’m learning full-stack development to build a game that tells those stories and challenges players to see them differently.
🎮 The Game I'm Building
The game is a progressive web app (PWA) built around a simple but powerful mechanic:
🧍 One fire station. Two perspectives. Same events.
- In one scene, you’re a white male recruit experiencing normal onboarding.
- Swipe the camera and suddenly you’re a woman or minority recruit facing skepticism, exclusion, or silent pressure.
It’s a narrative-driven experience designed to raise awareness of how bias works in subtle, institutional ways, especially in places that pride themselves on "team culture" and "tradition."
🧠 Why I Chose a PWA
A PWA (Progressive Web App) is a web-based app that:
✅ Works offline
✅ Can be installed on any device (no app store approval)
✅ Runs fast on desktop, tablet, or mobile
✅ Is lightweight and frictionless for users
Perfect for:
- 🧯 Fire departments and DEI trainers
- 🧪 Classroom use or mental health seminars
- 🔗 Quick, no-barrier sharing across organizations
It keeps the focus on story, interaction, and reflection—not big file sizes or complicated installs.
🧱 How I'm Managing It Solo
Building this game solo means I had to treat it like a real project, not just an idea.
Here’s how I’ve structured it:
✔️ Defined a Lean MVP
Just 6–8 key scenes, two characters, and a core mechanic: swipe perspectives.
✔️ Created a Work Breakdown Structure
I broke the game into:
- Planning
- Design
- Core development
- PWA features
- Testing
- Launch
✔️ Made a Gantt Chart
To stay on track and avoid burnout, I plotted my timeline over six months with part-time hours.
🛣️ Next Steps
- 🔁 Finalizing story flow and key dialogue choices
- 🧪 Testing swipe-based transitions
- 🎨 Designing minimalist visuals that feel heavy when needed
- 📋 Building a survey system to track reflection and bias awareness
💬 Why This Matters
I’m building this not just to learn code, but because I believe games can reveal invisible systems, build empathy, and challenge culture in a way nothing else can.
If you're a solo dev, a narrative designer, or someone using tech to tell uncomfortable truths—let’s connect. I’d love to hear your approach.
🙌 Bonus
If you'd like to see how I’m managing the project (charter, Gantt, WBS), let me know. I'd be happy to share templates or lessons learned with you.
Tags:
#gamedev #pwa #webdev #narrativedesign #projectmanagement #solodev #diversityintech
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