VexEco

Join 'Vexeco,' team up with Vex to clean up trash across three levels. Unlock special powers by collecting waste, confronting climate worries in this engaging adventure. Make a difference!

Comment

Inspiration

Our inspiration for VexEco stemmed from two sources:

  • The growing phenomenon of climate anxiety: Witnessing the increasing concern about climate change, particularly among young people, and the emotional toll it takes, we felt a strong desire to create a tool that would empower them. We wanted to address the issue of climate anxiety by offering a sense of agency and positive change.

  • Nathan Méténier who is a climate justice activist said: His message, "Remember that small is beautiful," resonated deeply with us. It encapsulated that even small, individual actions can contribute to a larger, positive outcome. We want to translate this message into an interactive experience, demonstrating the collective power of individual efforts in environmental cleanup. link

What it does

Meet VexEco! VexEco stars Vex, a passionate young environmentalist on a mission to clean up the beautiful landscape! Players take control of Vex as they navigate diverse environments, collecting trash and tackling challenges.

Gameplay: Players guide Vex through an endless beach cleanup, collecting plastic pollution for Gold. They interact with Recycling Centers for rewards and unlock superpowers like DipVex for water traversal and SupVex for enhanced speed to tackle environmental challenges.

  • Trash Types & Rewards: Various types of trash, ranging from plastic bottles to apple cores, offer different rewards, including the gold that unlocks superpowers for Vex.

  • Enemies :We have two types of enemies: one representing climate anxiety and the other representing hopelessness, reflecting the struggles many youths who have climate anxiety experience in the real world.

  • Recycling Centers: Throughout the journey, recycling centers appear. By interacting with them, Vex earns gold and unlocks superpowers:

    • DipVex: Allows Vex to swim under the water.
    • SupVex: Grants Vex a permanent speed boost to overcome challenging terrain.

  • Level Progression: As Vex collects plastic bottles and apple cores, they unlock new areas with challenges, such as faster gameplay and increased amounts of trash.

Target Audience:

VexEco is aimed at children and young adults, specifically those struggling with climate anxiety

How we built it

From Sketch to Screen: A Collaborative Effort Design Process: Talented designers meticulously planned UI/UX in Figma. The collaborative platform allowed for seamless iteration and feedback. One designer created the main character, Vex, using Adobe Illustrator. The rest of the design team crafted interface elements within Figma. Development Journey: This project represents the developer's first venture into video game development. Embraced the challenge using Flutter and the Dart programming language. Single-language approach aided in learning and communication. Crafting a responsive interface for mobile and web presented initial challenges. The developer tackled these challenges and honed skills in adapting layouts for different screen sizes. This project resulted in a polished game and valuable knowledge for future projects.

Challenges we ran into

Challenges Encountered While Creating "VexEco":

Balancing Gameplay: Ensuring that the gameplay remains engaging and challenging while also being educational and environmentally conscious. Educational Content Integration: Considering the challenge you've presented, seamlessly integrating Recycling Centers into gameplay while reinforcing educational messages about plastic pollution and environmental impact ensures an engaging and educational gaming experience

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Developed a compelling gameplay loop: Successfully created an engaging and fun endless walking mechanic that balances challenge and reward. Defined a strong visual identity: Implemented a vibrant and contrasting art style that effectively showcases the positive impact of players' actions, adding an extra layer of engagement to the gaming experience. Integrated environmental education: Effectively woven educational messages about climate change and plastic pollution into the gameplay experience, raising awareness while maintaining entertainment value. Established a clear call to action: Implemented the "How You Can Make a Big Impact" button and in-game educational messages to provide players with a clear pathway to take real-world action against environmental challenges.

What we learned

Gamification is a powerful tool for promoting environmental awareness and education.

What's next for VexEco

Ability Progression: Design and implement additional abilities for later levels. Develop new environments beyond the beach, introducing diverse landscapes with unique challenges.

Plastic Pollution Variety: Integrate various types of plastic pollution for Vex to collect, raising awareness about the different forms of plastic waste.

Educational Value: Future updates will include information about the impact of plastic pollution on specific marine animals, like "You save turtles by removing trash!" emphasizing the real-world consequences of the game's actions.

Character Development: Design and implement new characters with unique abilities for later levels, adding diversity and strategic gameplay elements.

Interaction Expansion: ⁠Create interactions between Vex and new characters, offering players varied experiences and storylines within the game.

Built With

Share this project:

Updates