Overview
Mission Control is an educational puzzle game, aimed at teaching elementary students about astrophysics and coding. The game challenges players create a series of coding instructions to successfully navigate a rocket through an asteroid field-like maze.
Role: artist, coder
Contributions: character design, level design, UI/UX development
Program: Unity (C#)
Rocket Design
In collaboration with the team, we aimed for a modular rocket that would allow future customization in upcoming levels. By using rectangular and triangular shapes, I ensured that each part could be combined and reconfigured. This modular designed also allowed us to add a fun, interactive component to the gameplay (i.e. when the rocket crashed, the pieces break apart).
cHARACTER dESIGNS
I created the following characters: the Frogonaut, a lost astronaut frog in space, Trevor, the main character frog who lost control of the rocket and needs our help to get back home, and Dixie, the friendly helpful scientist who appears in the tutorials to guide players. I wanted to create characters with a simple and approachable design that would appeal to younger audiences.
ui/ux Design Process
The UI/UX design was focused on delivering a clean, tech-inspired interface that feels like a mission control center. We wanted the user experience to feel intuitive, so while observing play-testing, we fine-tuned the button layout and interactions based on player feedback. Below are prototypes and sketches of the UI before the final design.
Level Design
The levels in Mission Control are carefully crafted to help students gradually build coding skills. One notable level I designed was focused on debugging, where players are given pre-written code that they must fix to progress. Other levels introduce key coding concepts such as angle rotations and for loops, gradually increasing in complexity as players master each skill. The progression of challenges ensures that students stay engaged while learning the foundational concepts of coding, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
Gameplay Stills
Spring 2024
