Ecoverse

Inspiration

Our team was inspired to bring accessible education into a game format after noticing how many young students were not aware or did not have access to knowledge about the technology industry. At the same time, in order to promote social good, we wanted to incorporate an environmental aspect as it is a rising concern for their future. Thus, combining the two, we created an accessible, interactive powerpoint game for young students ages 6-13!

What it does

Ecoverse has the user play as a prompt engineer, where they move around locations and explore how our environment is affected everyday, ranging from commonly known concerns like pollution, to something that may be overlooked like overpopulation or deforestation. Each level teaches a tech and environmental concept in a fun, guided format. Through problem-solving and story-telling, this game teaches young students how to think like an engineer and be an environmental advocate.

How we built it

We built this game first in canva, then in powerpoint. Through canva, we were able to design the scenery, format the text and situations, and get elements needed for the setting. After transferring it to powerpoint, we then set up the transitions, animations, and clickable hyperlinks to maneuver around the powerpoint! Simple, but thoughtfully developed.

Challenges we ran into

Our first challenge came quickly as we are both inexperienced coders who have no idea how to make an app or even a simple website! Thus, the idea of a powerpoint came up. It does not limit our creativity nor does it require in-depth knowledge about coding.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are very proud to have built our first game and completed our first hackathon! Because we are a no-code team, it was difficult to come up with an idea that could be implemented without coding. Thus, the mere completion of this project is an accomplishment we are extremely proud of.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we learned many things. The biggest thing would be learning how to design and structure a game. Although it has fewer components compared to a website or an app-created game, we still learned the basic sequencing of video games and how people can interact with and play them.

What's next for Ecoverse

Simply being a demo and limited to a two minute video, Ecoverse has not been able to be seen at its full potential. We plan on creating an app with customizable characters and more scenarios! Using it as an activity in science class or a STEM club would prove valuable to both the child's and the planet's future. While seemingly simple, we think this is a great way to expand young minds and have them think about technology in an eco-friendly and positive way!

Built With

• canva
• powerpoint