Driving Question: How can we create and design a mobile game that is marketed as fun but also portrays themes of entrepreneurship and science?

Full Project Link: https://sites.google.com/view/independentstudymodule/home

Project Overview: Throughout this module, we designed, coded, and built a tycoon clicker-based game that educates users on concepts of business and biology whilst maintaining a fun marketing campaign.

First, we studied game design by recreating an arcade game of our choice including code and user interface. The next step was to continue the development of our game, which we created the base concept and plan for in China. We built the wireframe, sound design, and rest of the graphics for the game throughout the Blockchain module.

Game Concept Summary: Our game is an idle clicker/tycoon game. The main concept behind this genre is that you collect money in order to spend money on making money faster. The genre follows this loop consistently, but we have put our own little twist on it. In the game, the player starts off by getting their own restaurant. In this restaurant the player has to keep upgrading to keep bringing in more customers, selling better food and making more money. This restaurant is a special one that uses Genetically Modified Food (GMOs) to make the restaurant more efficient.

Formative 1: Recoded Arcade Game To practice creating and finishing a product, we wanted to recode an arcade game. We chose space invaders, and simplified it to its core mechanics. We coded this and drew the visual assets over the process of around 3 days.

Formative 2: Hi-Fi Wireframe In order to plan our game effectively, we needed to create a wireframe. This helps us to test the UI and how users will move around the game. This began with a Lo-Fi wireframe but developed into our Hi-Fi Wireframe.

Formative 3: Sample of Soundtrack We looked into the process of creating a video game soundtrack in order to begin designing our own one. We ended up creating a quick sample of a soundtrack for our game.

Formative 4: Marketing Plan We investigated how to market video games, and the best methods to do so. We also investigated to work out the best target demographic for our game. Eventually we used this research to create a marketing plan.

Driving Question: How can I use fictional/non-fictional storytelling to create a meaningful experience about Greek society (ancient/ contemporary)?

Project Description: During the online COVID term, our module focused on fictional/non-fictional storytelling to create a meaningful experience about society, and we were given the option to write a script or a podcast. For those of us who chose to write a script, we were given free rein regarding the topic; however, we had to stick to a ten-minute timeline.

The topics that people came up with were quite varied. Some of us chose to write about the current COVID-19 situation, some of us decided to talk about other aspects of society such as poaching or the LGBT+ community. Below you can read scripts by CM2 students Bella and Giulia, who highlight the effects of social media and a young girl’s battle with cystic fibrosis and COVID-19.

Bella

If you’ve ever thought about what Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and TikTok would be like as people, you’ll love reading this. In my own work, I’ve combined elements of fiction with exaggerated reflections of reality by personifying social media apps.

The inspiration for this piece came from the Nosedive episode from Black Mirror. The episode is set in a world where people’s entire lives depend on their “rating” based on social interactions. The setting shapes a tragically social media-obsessed society—no doubt a critique of how people interact with each other online. I wanted to reflect a similar message but in a more light-hearted, comedic way. In my play, I wanted to demonstrate our modern dependence on social media and the negative impacts it can have on our well being and relationships. My hope is that the audience learns to examine their own relationship with social media, and decide for themselves if they could benefit from a break like my main character, Logan.

Giulia

My work shows a young girl’s battle with cystic fibrosis and COVID-19. It is meant to give you a glimpse of what people with pre-existing illnesses are going through at this time.

The inspiration for this came from my own surroundings back at home in Denmark. I was noticing that not all people were sticking to the rules effectively putting those of us who are at risk. I think that some people don’t realise the danger they could be putting someone else in, especially as you don’t know what other people are dealing with at the moment. My hope is that the audience starts looking a little more closely at how careful they are being in these tough times.

Driving Question: How can we help the students at the Hagunoy East Central School internalize the importance of healthy food choices?

Project Description: For this project, I wanted to answer the question, “How can we help the students at the Hagunoy East Central School internalize the importance of healthy food choices?” My sister (fellow TGS student Gigi) and I organized a garden planting event at the Hagunoy Elementary School. We also created an illustrated story book centered around the theme of healthy eating. The second part of the book featured simple recipes to show the students how to incorporate fresh veggies and fruits into their meals.