The Dumpling Merchant

Start Screen
Dialogue Options
Meet an NPC
Dumpling Minigame Start Screen
Finished Dumpling
NPC Dialogue
End Screen
MC Front and Left Sprite
MC Left Walking Sprites
MC Right Walking Sprites

Inspiration

We were inspired by the Chinese/Lunar New Year and the arrival of the Fire Horse in 2026. The Fire Horse represents transformative energy and the courage to break free and gain independence. We were also inspired by the Great Zodiac Race Chinese mythology as well as our own experiences with family tradition, culture, and the desire to maintain traditions while exploring something new.

What it does

As dumplings are a staple food during the Chinese/Lunar New Year, we thought that it would be fun to incorporate it with an interactive dialogue game; as the main character delves into their uncertainties about following solely one path. The game also includes various fun facts about the Zodiac race mythology and interlinks each Zodiac animal's traits with the advice they give to the main character.

How we built it

We utilized Godot, a free and open-source game engine that can make both 2D and 3D applications. The three of us as a group were inspired by our mentor's workshop about game design a few days prior to the hackathon, and decided to challenge ourselves to learn something that none of us had experience with for the first time. In Godot, we utilized gdscript, plugins, and incorporated free available pixel art to create our game. For our UI/UX, we also drew our own sprites using Pixilart and Canva.

Challenges we ran into

None of us knew how to navigate around in Godot, and since it has its own special language, gdscript, we had to take some time to learn about the documentation and how to implement certain scenes or sprites. It had similarities to Python, though it was also unique to itself so we had to take steps back in order to piece everything together. We had to take some time planning before starting the code. This made us struggle with time management as we were unsure of whether we could implement our ideas in time. In addition, we were also struggling creating sprites for our characters and had to limit the scope of our project.

Furthermore, it was the first time we were collaborating in a short time-frame and we ran into complications with Git. There were various merge conflicts, and despite us creating branches, there were still issues with push/pulling. We asked the peer mentors for help on several occasions and we have learned a little more about what we can do to avoid these situations.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Creating our MVP in the timeframe of the hackathon! For the most part, the basic functionalities are there, such as a start/end screen, NPC scenes, the dumpling minigame, and fleshed out dialogue interactions with the NPCs. We also easily divided tasks amongst ourselves and helped each other resolve issues as soon as possible in order to efficiently control the workflow. Our teamwork was great and we all put in incredible effort in researching and debugging the program. We also learned more about Godot and the different capabilities it has besides creating basic tiles, maps, and so forth.

What we learned

We are now more experienced with Godot and the basics of game design, and how each "node" correlates with one another. Our exposure to Git has also been enhanced and our teamwork has also been strengthened. We had to stay up both nights for the hackathon to complete our work, but since we were motivated, it also showed us that when we work on something we are passionate about, it will turn out more satisfying. This was our first time creating a large-scale project and our passion fueled our commitment to continue building our game.

What's next for The Dumpling Merchant

Since we were unable to completely implement all of the parts that we had planned out, we will return to add animation to our static NPCs and also redesign the environments. Due to the short time we had, we had to make use of free assets beside some things we drew ourselves (main character sprite, the dumpling minigame, start/end scene fonts) but personalizing it would make it more unique. We also wanted to incorporate more ingredients and expand the minigame to become more interactive, and eventually add the whole roster of the 12 Zodiacs into the story.