StreetSafe

Design System
Game Menu (Figma Design)
Game process (Figma Design)

Inspiration

As a team, we collectively were excited to tackle this project theme as it was our first hackathons, and we were all beginner hackers. Thus, when we were deciding on an issue, we found that all of us have at least been harassed once in our lives as young adults navigating through society. Whether it was through getting catcalls or experiencing workplace difficulties, all of us had experienced a form of harassment and did not know how to navigate through such unforeseen situations. Furthermore, we realized there was no avenue or outlet to speak up or learn about harassment, particularly street harassment. Therefore, we decided to align our project with this theme.

What it does

StreetSafe is a powerful tool that educates and empowers young adults about street harassment through immersive and interactive gameplay. Placing players in the shoes of young adults navigating various urban environments presents them with common scenarios related to street harassment. The game's ultimate goal is to equip players with the necessary knowledge and skills to respond effectively to these situations while promoting self-confidence and self-defence. It is a proactive approach to tackle the issue head-on, and we believe it will significantly impact the fight against street harassment.

How we built it

Based on our skill and knowledge of the various platforms and languages we collectively knew, we decided to primarily use Python PyGame, Piskel, and Figma to create our project. For Python, we used PyGame to code the game menu and levels known as episodes. We also focused on utilizing various coding methods, like container functions, to make the game menus look both organized and cohesive. As for our visuals and graphics of the video game, we used a platform called Piskel to make pixelated art as we wanted our game to have a retro theme and feel. Lastly, we used Figma as a primary platform to collate our visuals and present our video game prototype demo by utilizing screens and adding interactions such as clicks and transitions.

Challenges we ran into

Due to the nature of hackathons, we overestimated how time-consuming it was to create a fully-fledged product. Thus, with our ambitious idea of building a video game for the first time and coding it on a platform we had limited experience with, we spent much of our time watching tutorials and learning how to make our project functional yet aesthetically pleasing. Within this, there were many situations where we had to redo some code or change our project idea since we did not know how to code a particular image or function. Aside from coding, there were some challenges in creating the pixelated graphics, as we had to manually colour each picture per pixel, which was pretty time-consuming as well.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

As a team, we were proud of the outcome of our project. With our many time constraints and difficulties, we wanted to present our concept still as it was something we were passionate about. Thus, we kept watching more videos and even asked mentors from Technova for help. We even kept encouraging each other to keep persevering and to finish this project strong, which made all of us proud of ourselves and each other. Notably, we are proud of our prototype and the visuals that went into simulating our video game.

What we learned

Overall, we learnt many skills and new technologies throughout this project. Firstly, we learnt how to code using Pygame and to make a functional video game simulation using the platform. Secondly, we found a new software to create graphics, Piskel, and we had to learn a new interface to make sprites and pixel art. Thirdly, we learned how to work around a time crunch and adapt to new situations and difficulties that arose. As mentioned earlier, we encountered several challenges. While worried about our outcome, we pulled some strings by watching quick tutorials, getting mentor help and even amending our project concept. Thus, we learned how to navigate challenging situations, and instead of giving up, we pushed through to finish our game.

What's next for StreetSafe

Currently, we want to focus on street harassment and the negativities surrounding it. However, we do want to expand into different realms of harassment. This includes but is not limited to sexual assault in relationships, workplace harassment, and even child harassment. Our video game can help educate young adults on sensitive topics like harassment more effectively. With more visuals and codes to include different functions and options, the possibilities of tackling issues that are typically hard to address are endless.