Burn | Devpost

Game Design cover
Aurora, our main character
Aurora with her buddy, Byte

Burn!

Wildfires... is a term that has been appearing on our screens, in the news, and in newspapers very often recently. And most of them are caused by our greed for extra fuel, land, and lots more. With more and more environmental disasters happening among us, why are we not paying more attention to them? When is the 'right time' for us to step up and finally stop this disaster?

'Burn!' is a game that aims to spread awareness of the seriousness and consequences of rapid wildfires in hopes of warning us of the devastating consequences if we decide to turn a blind eye to the continuous nature that has been giving us.

In the game, the main character, Aurora, and her buddy, Byte, are casually walking in a serene forest when suddenly, there is a wildfire!! Aurora and Byte then ran towards the end, to a disastrous forest, a dead forest once filled with life and joy...

After that, Aurora could either choose to ignore her surroundings or choose to take the proper precautions to prevent another forest fire from happening.

How we built it

We started by asking AI for an idea of code that could be used in a simple walking game, also using it along the way to help solve bugs and issues when we weren't sure about how to fix them on our own. For the most part, we started with the moving background, using test sprites in place of our final art to try and get an idea of what we could accomplish in Python in such a short period of time. From this simple base, we first added the menus, which created many issues throughout the project but eventually came together. There is also basic level progression based on the choice players make, as well as music and links to our GitHub page. We decided to make a Github page to provide more context on the game and the topic as a whole in case people want to learn more.

Challenges we ran into & What we learn

In terms of technical execution, we learned new documentation for game development that we had not been exposed to before. Making a game is complex: from ideation to controlling the left and right movement of the character, trying to find different methods that satisfy the gameplay like flipping the background and directions of the sprite. Despite all, through proper teamwork and organization, the process did not have to be as difficult.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

From strangers to teammates, coming from all different schools, countries and coding experience, we were able to divide the responsibilities among ourselves and find what is the most suitable for each person to take on to make progress towards the final product. Combining the front-end and the back-end components, we were ecstatic to see the game come to life. Additionally, we are glad that we've connected as a group of friends.

What's next for Burn

Since Burn is still in its beginning stages, we see a lot of potential for it to grow and educate people on the consequences of environmental protection. For starters, we envision this as an educational game for all ages; we see Burn developing beyond issues like wildfires and covering all sorts of environmental impacts, such as drought, climate change, and more.

Moreover, we see a future where Burn expands its scope to 3D game development, where users can immerse themselves in the game's graphics and experience the devastating effects of environmental disasters while having fun.

Burn is a game that promotes inclusivity, suitable for everyone regardless of age or educational background. We believe that everyone living on this earth is responsible for protecting it and doing their best to preserve and respect the resources that nature has provided us. Hence, we also plan to reach out beyond Game development and partner with other non-profit organizations and environmental organizations to spread awareness and education a wider spectrum of audiences, and stakeholders on the importance of environmental protection.