In 2018, I programmed two educational iPad games for the Wildbase Recovery Centre (using RenPy, a Python-based engine). This project gave me a lot of control over the actual mechanics and functionality of each game. Due to engine limitations, I created all the moving elements from still images by manually programming their layering, positions, speed and rotation.
A Day in the Life of a Kiwi Ranger
This game lets players spend a day as a DOC ranger, tracking kiwi through the bush. There are four different kiwi with separate appearance and behaviors, as well as randomly-generated elements that make each playthrough different. Will the kiwi run away, or hide in a burrow? Will it be healthy, or ill? What other animals will you encounter? There is even a chance the kiwi will have been killed by a predator, but a "detective" mini-game prevents it from feeling unrewarding.
This game lets players spend a day as a DOC ranger, tracking kiwi through the bush. There are four different kiwi with separate appearance and behaviors, as well as randomly-generated elements that make each playthrough different. Will the kiwi run away, or hide in a burrow? Will it be healthy, or ill? What other animals will you encounter? There is even a chance the kiwi will have been killed by a predator, but a "detective" mini-game prevents it from feeling unrewarding.
Diagnose Me!
This game is a vet simulator, challenging you to diagnose injured native birds at the Wildbase hospital. Players can select from one of six different birds, each having different symptoms, tests and final diagnoses. Diagnose Me! uses a variety of different touch controls to make the tests feel more interesting and immersive. Designing the user interface also presented its own challenges, since there was so much medical information that I had to display.
This game is a vet simulator, challenging you to diagnose injured native birds at the Wildbase hospital. Players can select from one of six different birds, each having different symptoms, tests and final diagnoses. Diagnose Me! uses a variety of different touch controls to make the tests feel more interesting and immersive. Designing the user interface also presented its own challenges, since there was so much medical information that I had to display.