Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Game Development
- How To Play
- Gameplay Sample
- Game Link
- Reflection
- Conclusion
Introduction
I chose to include a typing element to my parkour game to teach the players how to type, or to improve their speed/accuracy. I chose typing as my educational element because growing up, typing games were always the most fun, as well as incredibly helpful. My parkour-typing game uses themes of neighborhoods, sewers, and school. I chose to combine parkour and typing with the player objective of making the school bus on time as they run through their neighborhood and eventually make their way down a storm drain and through the sewers to finally reach the bus on time. I thought this would be fitting for an educational game as it includes a topic that would be recognizable to the target demographic.
Game Development
Theme:
My theme of running through a residential road and then through the sewers was what I decided on because an exaggeration of a scenario many people have been in (trying to make the bus in time) sets a good background for a child-friendly, educational game.
Visual/Narrative Aspects:
My setting for the initial neighborhood level is set in more of a city location, so that there are more opportunities for interesting obstacles in the road surround by compact houses/apartments. The obstacles include various road blocks, cars, etc. Rubble will be used to block gaps where the player cannot pass. The sewer level will have darker lighting and will contain more wreckage/garbage/rubble than the previous level. The player will enter this level by going down a storm drain in the road.
Goals and Gameplay:
The narrative goal of the player is to make the bus on time, but the ultimate goal of the game is to assist the player in learning to type. The theme of school obviously relates to this as an educational game, as typing is a necessary skill for school. The time constraint of having to make the bus also ties in with typing, because the end goal is to type both quicker and more accurately. The typing portions of the game will occur after certain obstacles. For example, you successfully jump to a new platform, once you reach that platform, the typing ui will pop up and once you type the word(s) correctly the game continues as before.
Key Features:
The typing aspect tied in with the parkour make the game more interesting than just typing the words that appear on a screen consecutively, because you are able to have the experience of playing a parkour game, while at the same time having to type the words that may appear on screen after passing certain obstacles.
Target Audience:
The target audience is younger children, around the 1st grade level. This is because this is around the age a lot of people begin to improve their typing skills, as it will be a necessary skill in their futures.
Technical Details:
This game was developed in Unity, and using free assets from the Unity Asset Store. You must make it to the bus within the time allotted, meaning you must make it through the parkour obstacles and type accurately and fast enough to complete the game. If you run out of time you must restart from the beginning.
Concept Art:
My theme of running through a residential road and then through the sewers was what I decided on because an exaggeration of a scenario many people have been in (trying to make the bus in time) sets a good background for a child-friendly, educational game.
Visual/Narrative Aspects:
My setting for the initial neighborhood level is set in more of a city location, so that there are more opportunities for interesting obstacles in the road surround by compact houses/apartments. The obstacles include various road blocks, cars, etc. Rubble will be used to block gaps where the player cannot pass. The sewer level will have darker lighting and will contain more wreckage/garbage/rubble than the previous level. The player will enter this level by going down a storm drain in the road.
Goals and Gameplay:
The narrative goal of the player is to make the bus on time, but the ultimate goal of the game is to assist the player in learning to type. The theme of school obviously relates to this as an educational game, as typing is a necessary skill for school. The time constraint of having to make the bus also ties in with typing, because the end goal is to type both quicker and more accurately. The typing portions of the game will occur after certain obstacles. For example, you successfully jump to a new platform, once you reach that platform, the typing ui will pop up and once you type the word(s) correctly the game continues as before.
Key Features:
The typing aspect tied in with the parkour make the game more interesting than just typing the words that appear on a screen consecutively, because you are able to have the experience of playing a parkour game, while at the same time having to type the words that may appear on screen after passing certain obstacles.
Target Audience:
The target audience is younger children, around the 1st grade level. This is because this is around the age a lot of people begin to improve their typing skills, as it will be a necessary skill in their futures.
Technical Details:
This game was developed in Unity, and using free assets from the Unity Asset Store. You must make it to the bus within the time allotted, meaning you must make it through the parkour obstacles and type accurately and fast enough to complete the game. If you run out of time you must restart from the beginning.
Concept Art:
How To Play
The basic parkour controls are wasd to move, space bar to jump, ctrl to crouch, and shift to sprint. When a typing screen appears you must type all the letters in to complete the word(s) on screen. You must complete both levels within the timer on screen or else you will have to restart. This means keep in mind pace for both the parkour and typing. To complete the levels you must jump over obstacles, crouch under them, or jump from platform to platform. Keep in mind the timer and your ability to sprint. Sprinting does cause stamina depletion so keep in mind how long you sprint for and when/where you sprint.