Chris Dass was turned off by "really boring" SAT-preparation books. Being a gamer through and through, he knew what was needed. "I can make a game that is fun, " he thought.

His proposal for Darkside Enterprises is a SAT-preparation video game. This membership-based RPG-style game, which he calls Secrets of the Arcane Tale (or SAT for short), engages students by letting them study as they play through a story and compete with friends. For this plan, Chris came in third in the Business Plan Challenge student contest.

"Discouraged with existing SAT study aids, he proposes designing an interactive game with plots, clues, obstacles and prizes, " said Lee Clark, one of the judges. "Sounds like an attractive way to diminish the drudgery of cramming, and a nice antidote to the kill-'em video games that abound."

Chris, a senior at Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High, said the game will also have a multiplayer system so that people can play with their friends. There will be monthly tournaments with prizes such as SAT fee waivers and game items. This game would focus on helping students learn the vocabulary found in the verbal portion of the SAT, but a second game focused on math is not out of the question, he said.

In his plan, he did not address how he would obtain the relevant SAT vocabulary from College Board, which administers the test and has its own study guide.

Chris would charge about $10 for membership but plans to do beta testing with a free trial period. When asked whether they would pay $10 to play this game to study for the SAT, almost everyone in his honors economics class raised their hands.

He said he and his team can develop the website, create the game and make advertisements. He already has access to a server to host the game and website. His marketing strategy would include write-ups and reviews on his friends' blogs and MySpace pages as well as advertisements at schools, libraries and gaming sites.

He acknowledged there's potential for game add-ons, such as new outfits for the characters, to bring in more revenue.

Chris, who enjoys math, soccer and basketball as well as gaming, has helped develop games before and may try creating a game like this over the summer. He will be attending Miami Dade College's honors program in the fall and is interesting in pursuing a career in software engineering.

"I am very excited about Chris' potential to make a huge success out of his initial idea of making an online RPG game for SAT review. It has the possibility of growing into so many different areas of review for high school students that the sky really is the limit, " said Ellen Elias, his honors economics teacher. "I hope that he finds a willing mentor to help get the logistics of the business off the ground because I am confident in his programming and gaming abilities."

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