Reef Defenders

• 

  Reef Defender Gameplay Screenshot

Inspiration

I grew up in Hong Kong surrounded by ocean for 12 years. I watched coral bleach and marine life disappear from places I used to swim. But every documentary, poster, and stat I saw about ocean pollution never changed anyone's behavior, including mine. I wanted to build something that made people actually feel the consequences, not just read about them.

What it does

Reef Defender is an AI-powered webcam game where players physically defend coral reefs from ocean trash using hand tracking. AI tracks your hand through your webcam in real time. You shoot falling trash to protect living coral below. Miss the trash, and your coral dies, you watch it happen. A fish mechanic adds strategic depth: shoot a fish by mistake and you lose health, forcing players to distinguish threats from marine life under pressure.

How we built it

Built solo using JavaScript and Google MediaPipe for real-time hand tracking, with Claude AI for code assistance. The entire game design, direction, and creative vision is my own. Runs in any browser with zero downloads, just a webcam.

Challenges we ran into

Getting hand tracking to feel responsive and accurate enough for fast-paced gameplay was the biggest technical challenge. Balancing difficulty so the game is fun but still creates real emotional stakes when coral dies took multiple iterations. Designing the fish mechanic to feel strategic rather than frustrating required careful tuning of spawn rates and penalty systems.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Won 1st place at the Games for Change Student Game Jam Hong Kong 2026, judged at the University of Hong Kong. Submitted to the G4C International competition. Built and shipped the entire game solo at age 15.

What we learned

Research shows experiential learning drives behavior change where passive education fails. Game-based learning produces significantly greater attitude shifts than traditional methods. Building Reef Defender taught me that the hardest part isn't coding, it's making people care enough to change.

What's next for Reef Defender

Adding storyline mode and expanding the fish mechanic for deeper strategic gameplay. Piloting with 3-5 schools in Hong Kong and Vancouver by Q3 2026. Partnering with marine education organizations for curriculum integration. Building multiplayer mode with a global leaderboard.

Built With

• claude
• google-mediapipe
• html5
• javascript