Inspiration
The Philippines Office of Civil Defense was looking for a mobile game that would educate Filipino citizens about emergency preparedness in the event of a natural hazard. All artwork featured in the game is Philippines-inspired with nods toward Filipino culture.
What it does
The player explores a house to secure furniture and collect items for an emergency go-bag. There are three phases to the game. The preparation phase, the disaster phase, and the seeking shelter phase. The preparation phase is where the player earns points by collecting and securing. The disaster phase occurs via a randomized cutscene sequence, which is then followed by the seeking shelter phase. Locating the shelter concludes the game and provides a score summary to the player, which also gives pointers on how to better the player's score. Aside from the gameplay, there is an information page that expands on the natural hazards featured in the game.
How I built it
I built the game within Unity using C# scripting. All of the artwork was created using a software called Medibang Paint and was imported and animated in Unity. I worked with a program analyst from Prestige Analytics, Inc. to ensure I had the proper emergency preparedness information reflected in the game.
Challenges I ran into
I really wanted to display a map of the area when the map item was picked up, but that involved the need to change the script of the map separately from the other go-bag items. They all depended on the same go-bag script, so I did not want to interfere with the map's function.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
I figured out how to implement a dialogue system between two or more people! I found code online that only let one person talk. However, the main character in my game was supposed to be able to converse with her family members, so I had a difficult time at first trying to change the dialogue object to accommodate more than one person. After a late-night epiphany, I figured out that I needed to create a new dialogue object but as an array this time. This helped keep track of names that I added to a queue so that a player can click through dialogue and know that different characters are speaking. This even accounted for a nameless narrator.
I also managed to create a cutscene system that I implemented as a slideshow. The queue data structure was very helpful in this case.
What I learned
This was my first time using the Unity software. I taught myself how to use it with the help of Unity Learn, and I saw how Unity is a strong ally to mobile game development. Aside from the development of the game, I learned plenty about emergency preparedness thanks to the help of Prestige Analytics, Inc. I will be using some of the tactics that I learned in my own home, such as placing emergency items in a go-bag in case of a natural hazard.
What's next for Prepare Yourselves!
Prepare Yourselves will now be utilized by the Philippines Office of Civil Defense in their future, national earthquake drills. The game will be downloaded by the Office along with Filipino residents that attend the drills.
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