CurioCrusades

Inspiration

In remote learning, teachers assign work for students to do, which are usually individual assignments. However, a predominantly important aspect of education is discussing and socializing with peers while learning. Students are also easily distracted in a home environment, where they are not motivated by the collective initiative of the entirety of the class. Frequently, they are unmotivated to complete schoolwork in a timely fashion.

What it does

We created an online game that allows teachers to implement assignments into an adventure-like experience for students to be more engaged and motivated to complete their work. Students can also collaborate and play the game together, as well as complete assignments as small teams, discussing the work assigned.

How we built it

We used Construct 3 to create the animations for the video game, Piskel to create and animate all of the custom sprites, Soundtrap and Audacity for the game’s soundtrack and audio of the video, Photopea to render animations and create the frames for the introductory animations, and iMovie to create the final product for the video.

Challenges we ran into

Some challenges our team had are internet fluctuations. Unstable internet took a toll on our time and it was frustrating. Additionally, our team members live in different time zones, on opposite sides of the world, so it was sort of difficult communicating and coordinating sometimes.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

To successfully create an entire video game from scratch, down to each sprite and tile artwork, is a big accomplishment. Additionally, coming up with this idea is also something that we are proud of because we believe that it can actually impact students' experiences with remote learning.

What we learned

We learned more python and java to code our video game. We also had to learn how to use Construct 3 from scratch.

What's next for CurioCrusades

Our game prototype does not have features for audio/video discussion, so the next thing we do is to implement that into the game. We aim to create a game with a cohesive narrative that spans the entire school year. Each section would be unlocked upon the completion of tasks such as homework, fueling the students progression. We aim to have a fully functional user interface and artwork to go along with the homework submission system.