ABSTRACT
Short Sims is made up of levels. One nine-minute Short Sim may have as many as six or eight distinct segments. And most levels should have at least one moment of truth decision, but more likely three. The average number of screens for a level is about fourteen. A veterinarian may have several activities that make up her afternoon, each with opportunities for success or failure. Ideally, the levels collectively create a mood or atmosphere that pay off or otherwise impact the final, and often most important, actions. The first level should introduce an example of the type of interactivity the user can expect throughout the short sim, but in a simple and self-evident implementation. In more than a few occasions, part of the last-minute massaging of the content involves switching the order of some of the later levels for narrative or skill building purposes, which should be fairly easy in this kind of project.
