Code
As members of the code team, we have built the game from the ground up with only our graphic design experience, using a system called visual coding. Through iterative prototyping, we were tasked with presenting “low scope” patterns in French and, while doing so, created low scope patterns in code and design.
The game itself is currently in a series of prototyping phases as we continue to test our most viable product [MVP]. Through our game-based-learning application, our audience of elementary-level French students will gain language-learning skills and intercultural empathy.
Working in an innovative studio environment has allowed us to grow in the domains of: collaboration, project management, programming, and asset production and management.
Visual Coding
Visual coding is a nodal-based system in which code is broken into isolated functions that can then be “strung” together to create logical networks. This system takes the lines of math and keywords, then presents them into manageable pieces to someone who may not have a reliable knowledge base of C++.
Learning Moments
Arguably, our most important role has been creating the “learning moments” by developing a specific gaming mechanic that reinforces the language curriculum needs. We researched common language exercises within French textbooks. We paid special attention to moments of “student input,” where students are responsible for supplying information and what information the textbook provided in order to create an interactive experience.
“Low Scope” Patterns
Low scope patterns in language are small chunks of known information, such as “nouns go before verbs,” which can then be broken apart and reformed into more complex phrases/concepts. This concept was paralleled in how we used the nodes within the code engine, using small strings that we understood to implement more complex logic networks.
