Widget's Whims

Title screen
Bathing Widget
Minigame 1
Minigame 2
Sprites for the minigames
Background for both minigames
Background of general game

Inspiration

We were inspired by the mascot of Rochester Institute of Technology’s Women in Computing community and wanted to make something silly, cute, and whimsical centered around their mascot, Widget.

What it does

The game is a virtual simulation where players can interact with Widget by talking to her, playing small activities, and exploring a cute, cozy environment. It’s meant to be a lighthearted, relaxing experience that celebrates the WIC community.

How we built it

We built the game using Godot and programmed the game logic using GDScript.

Challenges we ran into

Since this was everyone’s first time using Godot, we had to learn the engine and its scripting language from scratch. One of our members was also new to game development in general, so there was a learning curve in understanding game architecture, scene management, and debugging. We also worked on connecting the project repository to GitHub for version control and collaboration.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The game actually works! We were able to implement playable interactions, and we’re really happy with how cute and polished the UI looks.

What we learned

We learned a lot about Godot’s workflow, scene system, and GDScript programming. We also learned how to properly set up and upload a Godot project to GitHub for version control and collaboration.

What's next for Widget's Whims

We hope to add more mini-games and expand the world with more characters. Maybe even a dating-sim-style feature… coming soon?

Built With

gdscript
godot

Submitted to

WiCHacks '26

Created by

I collaborated with Emma on the second mini game and designed nearly all the UI that was not provided by Godot itself. While I was not designing UI, sprites, or other graphics, I was helping Emma and Jaila with troubleshooting or providing ideas for code organization, or what we may want to add. I did my best to make the UI as intuitive and accessible without making it bulky, or take up too much of the users attention. Throughout this process, I was able to learn Gd Script, how to navigate Godot, and some new tools and effects in Clip Studio Paint.

Nicole Lewis
I designed and implemented the first mini game in GDScript, using Godot’s scene system to structure the project. I also collaborated with Nicole on the second mini game, helping add features and polish it.
As this was my first time using Godot, I gained hands-on experience with game architecture, scenes, debugging, and collaborating through GitHub.

Emma Zheng
I worked on the UI of the main game, including the mini activities of feeding, bathing, petting, and putting Widget to sleep. I also built a shop and inventory system with Godot to keep track of coins and spending through the store. I learned how to use GDScript to manipulate and keep track of nodes and variables across multiple scenes and how to navigate Godot's sprite and animation systems.

Jaila O'Connor