Project Abstract

The motivation behind this project was to make a game for individuals to learn about evolution by using mangrove killifish as an example. Players have to choose between self-fertilising or out-crossing which affects the genetic diversity of the species. By being a game, players are provided an engaging and accessible learning-experience which hopefully motivates them to continue playing the game and learning. The Godot game engine was used which uses the programming language ‘GDScript’ a language comparable to python. The project has a human-computer interaction element, and a primary struggle is attempting to not to sacrifice likeable gameplay-elements (in the risks of lowering engagement) because they do not entirely align with the educational aspects (being correct scientifically). Another concern was programming the biological equation for when the player cross-breeds, resulting in more genetically diverse children being born. Each fish has a genre which is for specific immunities against specific pathogens. They have two alleles: babies from self-fertilising will have an identical copy of the gene from the parent, babies from out-crossing will have a random combination of the potential four from either parent. For the findings of the project, it is difficult to simplify such a complex biological equation wholly accurately in a game-environment. However, individuals could still learn from the simplified equation and benefit from the game as it still demonstrates the fundamental points regarding the topic, “Is it better to self-fertilise or outcross?” as a mangrove killifish.

Keywords: 2D Game, Human Computer Interaction, Educational

 Conference Details

Session: A

Location: Sir Stanley Clarke Auditorium at 11:00 13:00

Markers: Monika Seisenberger, Deepak Sahoo

Course: BSc Computer Science 3yr FT

Future Plans: I’m undecided