The Evolution of Trade

Inspiration

Our game, Evolution of Trade is inspired by the rich history of how trading has evolved over different eras. Using a time machine to travel back, players navigate pivotal trade decisions across eras, creating a story of evolution and economic change. Each choice reflects the real-world consequences of our actions, allowing players to think critically about how our economy worked in the past, how it is currently working, and how it may work in the future.

What it does

Evolution of Trade is an interactive narrative choice game where players use a time machine to explore the history of finance and trade. The game presents players with decisions that open up new parts of our intricate story and unlock different paths that guide the narrative forward. They may also encounter bonus choices that offer deeper engagement and multiple outcomes. The story evolves based on the player’s decisions where their decisions will gain them or lose them points. Through this system, players not only influence the character’s journey but also learn about the impact of decisions on trade, growth, and society over time.

How we built it

We built Evolution of Trade primarily using Ren’Py. None of us had prior experience with Ren’Py, so we spent time understanding its features, experimenting with its capabilities, and learning how to translate our ideas into a functional game. Our process began with writing the script and constructing a captivating storyline. Then, we translated the script into code, bringing the branching paths and decision points to life. To enhance the player experience, we created visuals using Photoshop and Figma.

Challenges we ran into

Understanding and correctly implementing the Ren’Py scripting language.
Ensuring our front-end elements and designs connected to the logic and data flow.
Designing and developing a responsive layout for text and images that adjusted dynamically during gameplay.
Debugging issues with character movements, transitions, and dialogues.
Creating and testing custom Python functions, such as checkScore and analyzeResponse, using Ren’Py.

Accomplishments that we're proud of and what we learned

As beginner coders, we took this opportunity to get messy and learn Ren’Py. Some of us worked on the front end of our game, focusing on UI/UX design, GUI modification, and to ensure a user-friendly and responsive experience. Others worked on the back end, implementing logic, managing data flow, and ensuring smooth interactions between game elements. Together, we combined our efforts to create an engaging game while learning how to code as a team.

What's next for The Evolution of Trade

We are eager to refine Evolution of Trade to create a more immersive and educational experience for players while advancing its technical depth and storyline, while keeping it educational. Moving forward, we plan to:

Implement a database using SQL or Firebase to refine and allow for player progress, scores, and choices to become further intricate.
Incorporate advanced animations and transitions to allow smoother gameplay.
Leverage AI-driven decision trees to generate unique dialogue and challenges based on player input.