Recyclops
In one of my favorite classes, Ethics of Design, we spent the whole semester choosing an ethical issue we were passionate about and finding ways that design could help be a solution.
Something that I have always been passionate about is Recycling, and how poor America handles the issue. Throughout my semester-long research, I studied ways that we could improve America’s recycling.
I found that children are our future and if we can teach them the importance of it and how to properly do it, that can carry across a lifetime and into future generations. I also, through real-life trial and error, found that kids learn best when they don’t know they’re learning. This led me to create Recylcops: A fun game that teaches kids how to properly recycle.
Through my research, I found that in many cases, kids learn best when they don't know they're learning, usually through fun and competitive ways of learning such as games. Recyclops is a game designed for all ages, made to be a fun yet educational way for kids to learn the do’s and don'ts of recycling. Powered by Recycle Revamp, a made-up organization I started for this project, Recyclops is designed to be fun and addicting with an underlying educational benefit that kids can apply to real life.
The home screen allows you to use coins that are earned through 'eating' recyclable items to purchase different colored little cyclops', along with a place to choose the difficulty setting of the game. There is also a section for telling the player what they should and should not eat, which is really what is and is not recyclable. This not only helps the player succeed within the game but also teaches them real-life skills for recycling around the house and community.
A random combination of recyclables and garbage fall from the sky at a faster and faster rate, and the player attempts to only eat the recyclable items. When the player correctly eats something that is recyclable, they earn ten coins, and a fun and catchy quote pops up that can help younger kids remember what's supposed to be recycled.
If the player eats something that is garbage and not recyclable, they will lose one of three hearts that round and a red saying will pop up to help the player remember that this is bad and should be avoided in the future. The player only gets three hearts, and then the game is over.
Once all three hearts are lost, the game is over and the players 'impact' will pop up and tell them how many of each recyclable item they collected or 'ate' that round, along with a fun little recycling fact for the player to read and learn.
