Ups And Downs

• 

  Up and Down

• 

  Amazon Q

• 

  Amazon Amplify

Inspiration

Life is a journey of full of surprises, setbacks and successes. The game "Ups and Downs" is inspired by the classic game "Snakes and Ladders". "Ups and Downs" let the player have an experience of life, decisions, and circumstances.

What it does?

The game is a life simulation game where players roll a die and climb the stairs of life. Each step represents a life event outside their control. The steps on which player land on, presents a life question. There are some steps that are randomly selected before the game which are the "Snakes/Ladders" questions, meaning the answer to this question may give success or setback to the player in the life simulation. The outcome of these questions depends on the player's background and decisions, determining whether they face setbacks (snakes) or successes (ladders). Upon reaching the 100th step, players receive an analysis of their journey and can chat with an AI modeled bot about the life they've lived.

How it was built?

Frontend: Built using Vite-React and Three.js for an immersive 3D experience with immense help of Amazon Q.

Server: Built with Hypermode Modus for high performance and seamless integration. Deployed the server with Hypermode.

Database: Used Neo4j to build a graph-based understanding of the player’s decisions and life journey, enabling dynamic and meaningful analysis of their game experience. Amazon Q helped to write Cypher code.

Deployment: Amazon Amplify used to build and deploy the React-Vite frontend project.

Challenges I conquered

• I did not receive $20 promotional code. So after completing 1000 code per month quota in a day, I majorly chatted with Amazon Q to complete my project. Makes me happy that nothing stopped me to complete the game.

• I had a big problem finding what to do when Q was working on my code. It would take time to get used to the work environment of finding other work when an AI is working on my code. 😄

• I had to keep pasting the updated code again and again in the chat for its context. If Q chat could see 2-3 files in chat, that would have made it a little easier.

• It generates a lot of code in a fraction of time, so assessing if the code is written optimally is an issue. As I did not have enough time to check if all the code generated is absolutely needed.

My accomplishments

• I learnt to ideate different ways a project/game can be implemented. I found a way that I could do best.
• I pulled a big project in a short time due to Amazon Q. I could not have written this much code in the short time I could provide.

What's next for Ups And Downs?

The full vision for this project is broad and immensely valuable, with countless possibilities to explore. Here are the key aspects I aim to implement:

• Expand Scenarios: Life is complex, so the game should reflect that by introducing broader scenarios with richer relationships and dynamics, such as gender-specific or profession-specific challenges.
• Personalized Gameplay: Enable players to create games tailored to their own experiences. For example, parents could use the game to teach children life lessons through interactive simulations.
• Impactful Consequences: Introduce meaningful consequences for the actions and decisions players make, reinforcing the significance of their choices.
• Learn from the Successful: Allow players to experience the life decisions faced by successful individuals, offering insight into their psychological and emotional journeys.
• Therapeutic Applications: Provide therapists or psychologists with a tool to help individuals explore and understand their behaviors through gameplay.

The use cases are endless as life is constantly evolving - even if body isn't.

Built With

• amazon-amplify
• amazon-q
• assembly-script
• modus
• neo4j
• react-vite