When I was first assigned this project, I wasn't quite sure where to begin. I knew that I was going to have to create a plan for an educational game, but was overwhelmed: It seemed like such a large project. I began to consider what academic topic I might try to teach through my game. I decided that chemistry would be a good choice, as it is often viewed as confusing, and has a lot of opportunity for education. I then decided on what type of game it would be. I have always had an interest in Flash games, and decided that a platformer-style game with chemistry related subjects mixed in could turn out quite well.
Plan
At this stage, I began to work on the plan for the game itself. I wasn't creating anything yet, I was just crafting the theory. I googled how to make a good flash game, and took note of all of the different aspects. I copied down a list of elements found in successful flash games on a sheet of paper. I played a few games too in order to see what made a game fun to play. I looked up common issues people had with chemistry and and saw that the periodic table and the information it provided on the electron shells, mass, and chemical symbols was often confused. I got out a sheet of paper and sketched a few images of what a particular level of my game would look like. As I made revisions to the game, the sheet got messier and more informative, and the idea developed more and more. In the end, I ended up with a game where you control a character who jumps from platform to platform trying to enter the door marked with the correct chemical symbol, element name, and mass that corresponds to the level you are on. You have to avoid falling into the lava while also avoiding various enemies such as a type of rocket that homes in on you. If you can collect the electrons hanging around the map, you will get bonus points. There is a jackpot bonus if the player is able to fill up their outer shell. The player also has a certain amount of time to complete each level.
Create
Finished with the planning phase of the project, I began on the creation of the three required illustrations. I decided on using Photoshop for them, as that one was freshest in my mind. My original intention for the first image was a main menu screen. The more I added to it, the less it looked like a menu, so I simply converted that first work into the gameplay mockup itself. This was my favorite image, and also the one I spent the most time on. I used the shape tool a lot, and eventually started wishing that I had used Illustrator, as that one has an easier to use tool. When I thought I had added enough, I realized that the image still looked a little flat. With this in mind, I changed the "style" of most of the shapes to make them flashier and more fun to look at. I made the user-interface image in the form of a main menu screen. I was sure to keep the same theme as I did in the mock-up illustration. I played around with font styles and effects in order to keep the screen appealing. I also decided to add a door in the background to further increase the similarities between the game idea, main menu, and mock-up. Lastly, I needed to create an illustration of a person playing this game. This one seemed to be the least important. Even the blog confirmed this, so I decided to try something new. Using Photoshop as with the first two illustrations, I began to get images online to try and combine them into one image in the hopes of creating a coherent, appealing image of a person playing a computer. I haven't really done anything like this, so I had trouble with it. In the end, it turned out far better than I could have hoped for.
Evaluate
I am satisfied with how the final products of this project turned out. I have an expansive, creative, educational, and enjoyable idea for a game. I also have not one, not two, but three detailed illustrations full of effort that show how different aspects of the game would look like, from the outside (person playing game) to the main menu to even the very gameplay itself. No detail was neglected. It was a fairly fun project. I appreciated the amount of free reign I given when it came to coming up with an idea for a game. The potential was almost limitless, and the human mind works best under such conditions. The step I enjoyed the least was the creation of the illustration of a person playing the game itself. For a physically involved game, this seems logical. For a computer game, not so much. Nevertheless, I made sure to give this step my all.
Image of my written plan
Image of person playing Periodic Sojourn
Bibliography
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