After a long summer break, the semester has officially begun. This time, all of our project members are second-year students. With the experience we gained last semester, we are in a great position to make great progress.
Meeting our Instructors!
The team met with our instructors, Charles and Heather, on Tuesday to discuss the project details. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to work with such great instructors this semester. We also shared why we chose this project, and it’s clear that we’re all enthusiastic about the chance to work on something that could make an impact on the other side of the world.
Meeting our Client!
Later in the week, we had a meeting with our client, the World Shoe Fund. We met with Dr. Courtney Cash, the director, and Cameron Kays, the associate director. The World Shoe Fund is a social enterprise dedicated to improving global health by providing shoes to those in need. They believe that better shoes lay the foundation for better health. Last year, they donated their 10 millionth pair of shoes.
During the meeting, they shared what they’re currently working on and how they would like us to contribute. Currently, the World Shoe Fund runs the “Wash and Wear” program in areas where access to clean water for hand and foot washing, as well as shoes, is limited. While the shoes and the program offer physical solutions, they are looking for a digital tool to support hygiene education.
This is where our project team comes in. We are tasked with creating a transformational game designed to educate young people on proper hygiene practices and provide guidance on how to achieve them.
Getting into work
The team has started researching Rwanda, where we plan to conduct playtesting later this semester. We’re researching our target audience to create an experience that is both engaging and effective.
We also participated in the “Playtest to Explore” workshop as a team. Before attending, we worked together to create a composition box. This activity helped us brainstorm and align our ideas for the project, which proved to be a very helpful exercise. Since our goal is to develop “a transformational game that teaches 6- to 14-year-old students in Rwanda proper hygiene practices,” we aim for the players to feel both “transformational” and “refreshing.” We’ve drawn inspiration from our experiences and the project’s needs, and now the team has set an ambitious goal—we’re going to change the world!