Uncover
Uncover is an innovative and educational video game, created for Innovators for Purpose, designed to introduce middle school students to a variety of career paths through an engaging and interactive experience. Initially conceived and pitched at the MIT Reality Hack in 2022 by myself and a colleague, this game has since evolved significantly, with a complete story makeover and enhanced design under my leadership. The game integrates storytelling, fun characters, and interactive mini games to create an immersive environment that captivates young players while educating them about potential futures.
Uncover tells the story of a group of disengaged, disconnected young teenagers that are met with a mystery that only they can solve. Somebody is putting a sedative in their classmates’ water. Through a series of mini games they become friends, discover the strength in their uniqueness, and come together to gain the knowledge necessary to defeat the person responsible and make the school’s water clean again. The game is targeted at middle schoolers and allows them to explore potential career paths with the knowledge they’re exposed to in the mini games.
Uncover combines the thrill of solving a mystery with the exploration of diverse careers, making it both entertaining and informative. The central story focuses on students mysteriously becoming sedated and conformable, to represent how the “one size fits all” education approach does not work for all. I structured the game around a series of six levels, each featuring a unique minigame that represents a different skillset. As players progress through the game, they will uncover clues, solve puzzles, and develop skills, all while working to solve a central mystery that ties the narrative together.
While the programming team had been working on Uncover, a lot of the game was going to be made in 3D. When I looked at the story, I felt that with our student's interests, most of the game should be moved to a 2D format. I provided color and art direction on character and background design. We will have a 2D story telling dialogue style, and incorporate 3D assets during the open world, where the player can move freely to find the next destination in the game.
Fluorescent Lighting + Muted Colors
From Design to Code:
While my team has been creating all the 2D assets and dialogue, I made a FigJam to make the handover process from the design team to programming team as clear as possible. This includes a key so we all understand what each element is doing.
