Penniless Pete

Inspiration

The inspiration for Penniless Pete came from the daily struggles of college students juggling tight budgets, busy schedules, and the growing need to be environmentally conscious. We wanted to create a fun and relatable way to highlight these challenges while encouraging students to adopt sustainable habits in a way that doesn’t feel preachy or boring.

How we built it

We built Penniless Pete using the Twine interactive storytelling tool, which allowed us to create branching narratives and mini-games that mimic real-life scenarios. The game incorporates a mix of clever writing, randomized challenges, and dynamic decision-making mechanics to simulate Pete’s daily dilemmas. We also developed separate modules for different aspects of sustainability, like water usage, energy-saving, recycling, and furniture management, ensuring each area of eco-consciousness is covered.

Challenges we ran into

One of our biggest challenges was balancing humor with education. We wanted to keep the game lighthearted and funny while ensuring it delivered meaningful insights about sustainable living. Another hurdle was designing realistic yet challenging scenarios that felt relatable to college students. Additionally, we worked on refining the game’s mechanics to ensure every decision Pete makes has visible consequences, whether it’s impacting his happiness, dining dollars, or eco-footprint. Finding the perfect mix of randomness and player control was another tricky aspect.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We’re incredibly proud of how Penniless Pete brings sustainability to life in a way that’s both entertaining and impactful. The humor, the relatability of Pete’s struggles, and the interactive design all came together to create an experience that students can enjoy while learning valuable lessons. We’re also proud of how we incorporated diverse aspects of sustainability.

What we learned

Building Penniless Pete taught us the importance of gamification in making complex issues accessible and engaging. We learned how small, relatable scenarios can spark meaningful conversations about sustainability and personal responsibility. Not just that, we learned to collaborate together as a team, balance through our differences and work hard together.

What's next for Penniless Pete

The next steps for Penniless Pete include expanding the gameplay with additional mini-games and challenges to cover even more areas of sustainability, like transportation and food choices. We also plan to enhance the user experience by adding visual elements, leaderboards, and multiplayer options to make the game even more competitive and social. Finally, we’re looking at integrating real-world data, like local recycling guidelines or energy-saving tips, to make the game’s lessons even more actionable for players in different regions.

What it does

Penniless Pete is an interactive, text-based game where players guide Pete, a broke college student, through his day-to-day life while trying to balance his happiness, dining dollars, and environmental impact. Players make decisions for Pete in areas like recycling, water usage, energy saving, and even managing furniture and books, with every choice impacting Pete’s overall well-being and finances.