Dooley Rider is the next evolution of time management apps and strategies. Our innovative approach to the modern problem of time wasting is directed toward the Emory University student body in an attempt to decrease non-productive screen time. We invite you to explore this project and understand the rhetoric of Dooley Rider. Thank you.
Scenario 1:
8:00 pm on a Friday night
“Hey Will….. Whatcha gonna do tonight?”
“Oh sorry bruh…. I got to do homework.”
“You’re lame. Let’s go out!”
“Nah…. I’m good. I have so much homework I have to do tonight.” Spends the rest of the night on his phone looking at instagram and social media…….
Sound familiar????
Scenario 2:
Goes to library to study for upcoming midterm at 5:00 pm on a Monday night
Goes to first floor of the library because friends are there…
You end up talking to friends for a while and do no homework
You make the fateful decision to go to the stacks
Walking down the aisles you are searching for a booth
Any booth that doesn’t have the words ‘your life is worthless’ scratched into the desk will do
You sit down and unpack your things
You study successfully for 30 mins in the stacks then ,
A glimmer of light catches your eye
You dare to peek at your phone and notice a notification from snapchat from your friend
Without thinking you pick up your phone
Respond to the snapchat
2 hours later, you are still browsing snapchat and all other social media apps on your phone…
Sound familiar?
I tried to get some work done today but I got distracted on my phone — Everyone
Introduction
Hello and welcome to our game, Dooley Rider. Dooley Rider is a game we created to help Emory students manage their productive time efficiently. We tackled this issue after we noticed that not only Emory students, but students all over the world get distracted from their work because of their cellphone. Our generation has become so accustomed to using our phone for literally everything. The use of the cellphone is a good thing for society, but for a student who is trying to be productive, it is a nightmare. Students check their phones as soon as notifications pop up. Students use their phones to watch videos, play games, read books, send emails, communication, and the list goes on and on. We even check our phones when there is no notification, because we are just so used to looking at it for no apparent reason. Even though the modern smartphone is a blessing, in this case it is a curse in which we are trying to fix.
Game Analysis (Complex, using rhetorical analysis)
This game is employing many different strategies. First off, we are gamifying our problem of time management to make it a fun and motivating way to try to fix time management issues. Next, we are using the nudge theory at the beginning of the game by selecting everything as default.
The intended audience of our game is Emory Students, mostly first years who may not have experience with effective time management. The purpose of our game is to promote time management habits through discouraging phone screen time in order to get boosts and upgrades while playing our game. The genre of our game is a phone video game/app where users race against an invisible AI to try to get the fastest possible time. We are also looking to do a combination of Mario Kart for the time trial/leaderboard set up and bike race for the invisible AI that you cannot hit but race against. Our stance & tone of the game: phone’s are the main cause of wasted time, so we are aiming at a competitive friend group who would actually race each other every day, lightheartedly. This app will hopefully self motivate people to manage their time more properly. The context/reason why we made this game is that people have tried phone apps that lock people out of their phones in order to have productive study time or have tried phone apps that you hook up a credit card to and then once you open your phone on times when you should be studying they charge your credit card. Our game is different because it offers a personal motivation to want to have effective time management. We are creating an environment where if you have less amount of screen time you get special upgrades and unique benefits while playing our game. The design of our game is a sort of Mario Kart race style game between multiple people. The medium of our game is a phone app.
The Thinking Behind The Game (Simplified)
Dooley Rider was created to try to prevent as much procrastination as possible. By downloading this app, one agrees to this commitment. Also if one desires to join a group of friends, each individual does not want to let each other down in the leaderboard, therefore, they will try to be as productive as possible to not disappoint their teammates.
How it works
Upon installation, you’ll be given a set time frame of productivity based on when other Emory students set theirs. Also all apps will be set as wasteful. If you want, you can change these hours and toggle apps as productive/wasteful.
Gameplay and Mechanics
In Dooley Rider, you compete with your friends and Emory peers at large in a circuit based racing game every week. Depending on how much time you wasted on your phone, you can gain starting advantages or penalties as well as other helpful power ups in the race. This fun to play game acts as a representation of how procrastination hurts you compared to your peers and encourages the player to be more responsible with how they use their phone.
Testimonials
“I got my first A in calc II after downloading this app!”
Daniel Terp (Emory Freshman
“An app? I don’t have one of those iPhones”
Jason’s grandma
“Why would I ever help you out?”
Will’s ex
“I don’t get it, you want me to put more stuff on my phone to use it less? Ridiculous business model.”
Alex’s RA
Please vacate the premises immediately
Mark Cuban’s security detail
About Us
We are a team of four Emory University freshmen who understand the struggle to balance our time. We recognized early on that our phones were our main enemy in our fight for productivity. To help better Emory students, we have come up with a game to fix these issues which seem impossible to break for our generation.
Dooley Rider Kickstarter 