Internship
The game is meant for autistic children to practice traffic rules safely inside the classroom. Learning from books or on the real road is often difficult, and in-person practice is often not feasible for teachers to provide. This is where the game allows children to learn to ride a bike in a safe environment.
The game project was done for multiple VR modules. The internship was five months. I had done hybrid work of two days remote and three days in the office.
Game "𝗩𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗙𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘀"
My role for the project was game designer. I was the first game designer in the office, and my goal was to define the game and create guidelines for development.
I did;
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First Game Design Document
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Moodboards of content, problems on the road, and environment
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Defining the game concept and controls
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Level prototypes in the existing engine and game level
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Research on how autistic kids struggle on the road and learn traffic rules.
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Testing in person with kids and doing observations of gameplay.
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Communication with the team, receiving feedback, and updating on progress
Level Design
Level design was inspired by the environment of the Netherlands and my commute to the office. Interviews with teachers and using personal experience are how I planned the curriculum for the levels for players. This helped me shape the level design and objectives in the level. Prioritization of certain elements of surprise and the most difficult parts to replicate in real life (like corners on the road and hidden cars) for children to practice to be more spatially aware of their surroundings from the beginning.
Research and Testing
Researching and interviewing were done to have the most accurate information and to see what teachers would like to teach in the game that cannot be done in real life. Testing helped the most with controls and how to replicate the feeling of driving a bike in VR. After testing, it improved the feeling of riding a bike and the placement of some environmental props(getting stuck or lost).
I did testing at real locations with the team. They were;
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Kranenburg Practical education
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Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health
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Frion
