Welcome to TownCityVille
Greencastle, IN
2020, Senior, Interactive & Multimedia
Project Description: “Welcome to TownCityVille” is an 80’s inspired arcade-style game made using GameMaker Studio 2. Like most video games, “Welcome to TownCityVille” combines visual art with writing and music. I animated every pixel of this game with an overall goal of showing how our actions affect our environment. I also wrote all the in-game text, which shows up in the introduction and the news updates, to emphasize how ordinary people, especially young people, can easily help save our environment. I made sure that when you have a hard time combatting the in-game pollution, the game’s community helps out enforcing the importance of teamwork. Finally, I designed all the sound effects and downloaded the music from an online database. I made sounds to guide players and chose upbeat music to keep players hopeful.
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Reflection
Reflection
Last year, my architecture teacher showed a documentary about the effects of climate change. I was shocked to learn how many ecosystems and human lives were in danger. The Ocean Awareness Contest struck me as an opportunity to combine my passions for combatting pollution and game programming. I researched ways to help aquatic ecosystems, and decided my game would emphasize both proper waste disposal and energy responsibility while looking and sounding like it popped out of the 1980s. There's something special about classic arcade games. Pac-Man isn't complicated; it doesn't have bells and whistles; every level is the same. However, Pac-Man is iconic because of its simple fun gameplay. This contest was a good time to try and capture that arcade magic. This game took four months and over 160 hours of work. My programming skills have grown significantly. I hope this game encourages others to work together to reverse the effects of our pollution on the environment and create sustainable lifestyles.