For my Creative Coding final project, I plan to create a side-scrolling game. As it stands, this game will use the MTA as a reference. Having grown up without a mass transit system and lived in a few different cities before landing in NYC, the concept of the MTA has intrigued me since I was a child. Even as someone in their mid-30s, I am still fascinated by the train system under this massive, vibrant, energetic city. I want to replicate that feeling in a game using mechanics that speak to decision-making in tense moments.

Development Plan

Now that I have the initial concept, I want to take the task of building it out into chunks:

• Phase 1 - Ideate: Define the overall goal and mechanics of the game

• Phase 2 - Prototype: Build out a lo-fi version of a side-scrolling game; get an understanding of how to tactically setup my code

• Phase 3 - Design: Illustrate and design the staging, player assets (sprite) and prep layers in a way that can be easily ingested by p5.js

• Phase 4 - Execute: Implement final illustrations into the code itself

• Phase 5 - Test: Do quality assurance and game mechanics testing by play-testing with cohort members

• Phase 6 - Finalize: Make updates according to testing phase and prep for release!

A link to my current prototype can be found here.

Making it Real

I’m toying with the idea of combining this side-scrolling game idea with my project for Interface Lab. Instead of it being a sketch in a browser, I want it be a game that users will be able to play from an actual tabletop arcade game-like device, and I’m excited to explore how to bring bring this concept into physical form. I've never done any fabrication or physical computing before, and one of the goals I laid out for myself in Exploratory Making is to stretch myself into new areas and mediums.