Climate Change Casa

Inspiration

Climate change is an ever increasing problem that will only become more complex and deep-seated for each newer generation. It is therefore all the more imperative that the effects of climate change and actions toward practicing sustainability are encouraged early on, not only so that the topic becomes less unapproachable and unknown territory, but also so that younger kids are able to see the positive and independent ways they themselves can make a difference. Taking inspiration from booklets passed out in elementary schools, we wanted to create an interactive, mini adventure-based exploration game that helps teach kids how to practice sustainability in their own homes in a way that is both fun and environmentally beneficial.

What it does

This game helps teach kids sustainability tips, from turning off lights and faucets to recycling and composting. The user navigates an avatar through a house. When they approach a certain object or part of the house, such as the faucet or a plant, a mini game will begin--each mini game is associated with a 'tip' related to sustainability. The fun of the game is exploring the house and finding what objects will reveal a mini-game.

How we built it

We used the PyGame engine on Python to create many game functions such as game objects and map objects, collision detection, movements, window redrawing, and events based on key presses and user interaction. We also used Tiled to build the floor map of the game and a software to draw pixel art, Aseprit, to create the player avatars and interactive objects within the game as well as mini-games objects.

Challenges we ran into

• Figuring out how to check for key presses and evaluate them in context
• Learning new software for creating art and floor plan for game
• How to connect different mini-games together into one overall game
• Character navigation and collision checking with walls and objects

Accomplishments that we're proud of

• Learning a new software in order to design a game, and learning basic functionalities for games and what to consider about them (ex. avatar animation and movement, collision detection, key press mapping)
• Working together with a merged group of teammates who we have not worked together with before, and communicating our plans together as a unified group.

What we learned

None of us were experienced in using Pygame software, so we learned a ton about how to utilize that through this project.

What's next for Climate Change Casa

• Adding more minigames
• More levels