As part of learning through Harvard's CS50G "Introduction to Game Development" course, I created this Ed-dy Run game using Unity and Blender.
Unity 2020.2.0b7 || Blender 2.90.1
I am from a CS background but I currently work in Education and teach programming to middle grade students in public schools of Nepal. Being from an Ed-Tech sector, the project idea hanging in my mind from the initial days (when I started the course) was that I wanted to make a game for small kids that teaches them some subject ideas or concepts.
I didn't want it to very complex such that it takes a lot of time to code an develop the assets. I wanted it to be simple but complete enough to learn some subject matter from the game.
My initial was a Math runner kind of game. Taking the idea of a runner game (like Subway Surfer), I wanted the game to be similar where the player runs through an environment and picks up numbers. There would be different arithmetic operations (Add, subtract, multiplication and division). A target would be given. The player has to pick numbers and the operation symbols so as to reach that target.
Later as I was close to finishing the Math runner game, I thought of adding English too. So, I changed the name of the game to Ed-dy Run. Here Ed in Ed-dy stands for Education. So it's an education game for kids. I also intentionally used the female character so as to attract more girls into gaming.
In the English option, the gameplay is similar. The player runs and picks up alphabets. A target is given, which is a simple word. The player has to pick exact alphabets and build up that word like in a scrabble.
I think it is distinct from the projects that we had done in the course in the sense that it is a scrolling game but from a First person perspective. Also the fact that it is a game directed towards educating kids makes it unique.
The complexity of the game lies in the level generation and spawn management where the numbers/operator symbols/alphabets are spawned based on the level.
Player can use LEFT/RIGHT arrow keys to move left and right to avoid the obstacle or pick up numbers/operator symbols/alphabets.
A target is given. And the player has to reach that target by picking up required numbers/operator symbols/alphabets. The player scores when the target is met. Also the speed increases after reaching a certain score limit.
The player has 4 health points. Health is decreased by one point if the player collides with enemy obstacles. The game is over when the health become zero.
After a certain score, the level increases and the game play becomes difficult by the random spawning of required numbers/operator symbols/alphabets.
Saver cheat keys
- Player can hit C key to clear the current result.
- Player can hit SPACE key to jump in extreme conditions.
- Player can use DOWN key to come down after the jump.
- When the game starts, two game options are shown to the player: MATHS and ENGLISH.
There are two options of the play state.
- A target number is given. For example: 12
- The numbers are spawned randomly. The player has to use the arithmetic operator and numbers to reach that target.
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Level 1 : Only ADD operator is spawned. So the player has to use numbers in such a way that they add up to the given target.
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Level 2 : ADD and SUBTRACT operators are spawned. The player has to think and pick numbers and operators such that the result is equal to the given target.
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Level 3 : ADD, SUBTRACT and MULTIPLY operators are spawned. The player has to think and pick numbers and operators such that the result is equal to the given target.
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Level 4 : ADD, SUBTRACT, MULTIPLY and DIVIDE operators are spawned. The player has to think and pick numbers and operators such that the result is equal to the given target.
- A target word is given. Currently there are 26 words, one each from A through Z.
- Let's say the target word is DOG. The goal for the player is to pick up alphabets such that they become the target word.
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Level 1 : This is a very guided level. In this level, only the alphabets that are in the target word are spawned. So for DOG, first only D is spawned. When the player picks D, then O is spawned. And then G is spawned.
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Level 2 : This is a semi guided level. In this level, similar to level 1, only the alphabets that are in the target word are spawned. But they are randomly spawned. So only D, O and G are spawned but randomly.
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Level 3 : This is a free level. The alphabets are randomly spawned.
Score increases when the Maths number result or English word result is equal to the target given. After certain score limit, the speed of the game increases. Also the level increases.
The player has 4 health points. Health is decreased by one point if the player collides with enemy obstacles. Health is increased by one point when level is increased. The game is over when the health become zero.
The player can press C key to clear the current result and start fresh.
- The game is over when the health of the player become zero.
- The player can use the restart button to restart the game and play again.
The environment assets (road, skydome, mountainbox) and character were downloaded from Unity's official Create with Code tutorials, which were provided for free to learn.
The numbers, operations and alphabet models were modeled using TinkerCAD.
Assets for the healthbar were downloaded and use from Brackeys Project
- running animation
- jump animation when space key pressed
- death animation when player collides with an obstacle
- dirt particle effect below the leg when the player is running
- explosion effect when player collides with an obstacle
- background music continuously playing
- sound effects when player picks up numbers/alphabets/operators or collides with obstacle
- More subject options like Science
- Different levels for Maths and English like Grammar, storymaking etc.
- Choice of Character
- Different environment based on level