Château Academy

Château Academy is a free serious game aiming to get players interested in the vineyard culture, wine-growing and wine selling functions. The targeted players are scholars between 14 and 20. The game is in solo player mode and doesn’t require any internet connection.

The game

At start, you buy a wine “Château” in the Bordeaux area. You will have to manage your estate, buying tools and machinery and hiring employees with different qualifications in order of making the best possible wine to sell. Every professional function has a short explanation. Deeper information on every job is available through an internet link to videos and files. The game covers a whole year. Game time ratio is 1 week every 2 minutes of real time, so the game can be finished in less than 1 ½ hour and started again to improve the score. Score is a combination of amount of money (earned selling the production) and reputation of the “Château” (result of the care the player took of the estate). Gameplay is based on a sequence of tasks to be fulfilled in a limited time. Random climatic incidents (hail and snow) can happen.

User interface

Interface is tactile usual: choices are made with a one finger touch; in and out zooming is made with two fingers moving closer or spread.

Initial instructions

Once you’ve made your initial choice (your estate location), you are welcomed by your executive staff and receive the first elementary game instructions and menu descriptions.

Everyday tasks

As soon as the game starts, you will have a lot of “tasks” to perform, which are reported with a warning. When touched, the warning opens the description of the task and what’s needed to fulfill it, i.e. specific employees and, most of the time, tools or an extra device for his tractors. All year long, you will have to take care of your grapevine and your wine in barrels and bottles. You will also have to manage your team. For instance, when hiring an employee, you have to choose his efficiency. The more efficient, the higher is his fee. An option is to hire less efficient people and when they are not staffed, to send them to professional training. When back, they are 10% more efficient but they don’t cost more. You are supposed to take care of your tools too. If not, failures will happen at the less appropriate moment.

The project

Chateau Academy is supported by public French “Conseil Régional d’Aquitaine”. The partners of the project’s consortium are EPLEFPA Bordeaux Gironde, CIVB, Inno’Vin and Shinypix.