Expeditions is a new feature of Tyto that introduces collaborative gameplay. Students have to work in groups to stop an ecosystem from declining.
The game has four phases:
Problem Introduction: Students talk to the scientist to get an introduction, and then ask some (at least 3) questions before being allowed to move on.
Problem Identification: Students go to the field to collect data, and draw conclusions of the cause of the problem by analyzing the data and utilizing the research articles
The students will be given different tools to collect data with. Some data could be irrelevant to the problem.
Solution Exploration: Students propose solutions, test them and then decide on the best solution to submit.
Solution Reflection: The game simulates the results of the submitted solutions.
If the students do not submit a valid solution by a certain in-game day, or if they submit an invalid solution, the Expedition will fail. In our plan, they will be given the opportunity to rewind to an earlier phase, but we have not implemented it yet.
There are two periods for each in-game day:
Day time: the door of the spaceship is open and students are allowed to go to the field to collect data, as well as to use the research wiki, and to organize their thoughts in the info boards.
Night time: The students will be locked inside of the spaceship and will no longer be able to collect data, but the research wiki and the info boards are still available. It is designed this way to force the students to stop to think about the data they collected and share their thoughts.