Inspiration
This project was inspired by the growing problem of marine pollution and its impact on ocean animals. We wanted to create something that doesn’t just show information, but helps users experience the problem interactively. Seeing how turtles mistake plastic for food or how noise pollution affects dolphins motivated me to build a learning tool that feels engaging instead of just educational.
What it does
Shows 3 marine animals: turtle, dolphin, shark Each animal moves on the screen You can click different body parts When you click: It shows a popup message explaining pollution impact Turtle - plastic, fishing nets, polluted water Dolphin - noise pollution, plastic, fishing lines Shark - habitat destruction, microplastics Then it moves into a quiz section The quiz tests what you learned It keeps a score Ends with a final result screen
How we built it
The project was built using Python with Pygame and mckPy. A state-based system controls screens: Turtle - Dolphin - Shark - Quiz - End Each marine animal has interactive hitboxes Clicking different body parts shows educational popups A simple quiz system tracks score
Challenges we ran into
Screen transitions Managing multiple pages (intro, quiz, end) was tricky because I had to ensure the game didn’t skip screens accidentally. Click detection accuracy At first, clicks were being detected outside the correct areas, so I had to carefully adjust rectangle boundaries. Game stability Mixing pygame with mckPy required avoiding direct pygame.draw calls and using consistent rendering functions.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We successfully built an interactive marine life learning game that combines animation, click based learning, and a quiz system. We implemented multiple game scenes, accurate hitbox interactions, scoring, and popup educational messages. We also overcame challenges in screen transitions, collision detection, and audio integration, turning an idea about ocean awareness into a fully working educational game.
What we learned
While building this project, I learned: How to structure a full interactive game using Pygame How to handle mouse events and collision detection How to manage multiple screens (states/pages) in a game How environmental issues can be translated into simple visual learning experiences I also improved my understanding of how small interactions (like clicking a body part) can make learning more memorable.
What's next for Ocean Guard: Marine Life Explore
We plan to add more marine animals, improve animations and visuals, include sound effects, and expand the quiz with more levels. In the future, we also want to make it a web based game and add more real-world ocean pollution facts.We also want to add a donation link to help Marine Research.
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