American Trades

The goal of this project is to educate students on the existence and experience of working in the trades, and to combat the negative messaging around the trades they may be hearing at this pivotal point in their lives. This is done through short and sweet mini games that showcase the wide variety of available jobs out there. This project was made possible through the Library of Congress’s Occupational Folklife project. 

The audience for this game is American students in middle and high school. This is when students are often prompted by their teachers and support systems to begin seriously considering what they want to do in their futures. This is also when bias against the trades becomes exceedingly apparent. Besides this, students often look for games to play in class that won’t get them in trouble. Often this happens on websites forbidden by the school, since many educational “school approved” games are not made to be fun. 

We want students to come away with considerations or understandings of trades they maybe hadn’t given any thought to or didn’t know existed. 

Prototypes: