CyberQuest

Inspiration

CyberQuest draws inspiration from iconic pixel-art games like Undertale, Stardew Valley, and Terraria, blending nostalgia with modern storytelling. We wanted to bring that charm into an educational cybersecurity experience that feels fun, inviting, and full of personality.

What it does

CyberQuest teaches cybersecurity fundamentals through interactive, story-driven minigames. Each minigame focuses on a real-world cyber threat, such as phishing, password security, malware, and is designed to be approachable for all ages, from beginners to tech-savvy players. Our goal: make learning cybersecurity engaging, memorable, and accessible.

How we built it

We are a team of five students from different computer-related majors. Over 48 hours, we combined our diverse skills, game development, UI/UX design, software logic, and storytelling. We also utilized Generative AI as a creative assistant, helping us iterate faster, polish assets, and stay on track during crunch time.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest obstacle was time management. We had ambitious ideas, detailed lore, and multiple mechanics planned, but limited time (realistically around 18 usable hours once scheduling, fatigue, and coordination were factored in). Balancing creativity with feasibility was a challenge, yet also one of our most valuable lessons.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We successfully built: -3 fully playable cybersecurity minigames -Each with unique themes, gameplay styles, and learning goals -A functional pixel-art visual novel engine -A connected storyline that makes cybersecurity feel like an adventure -We’re especially proud of creating a complete, cohesive experience under pressure.

What we learned

Throughout this project, we learned: -How to optimize and organize multiple programs into one unified system -Effective teamwork under tight deadlines -How to bridge design, gameplay logic, and technical implementation -That rapid prototyping + iteration is key in hackathons -Real-world experience in building a structured, multi-file project -This experience strengthened both our technical and collaboration skills, skills we’ll carry into future careers.

What's next for CyberQuest

We plan to expand CyberQuest far beyond its current prototype. Our goal is to transform it into a fully featured pixel-art adventure game with a cohesive storyline that immerses players in a fantasy-cyber world. As the player progresses, each chapter will introduce a new cybersecurity challenge, such as phishing, passwords, social engineering, malware, privacy, and present it through engaging puzzles, interactive dialogues, and scenario-based decision making. -Moving forward, we aim to: -Develop more chapters with deeper narrative arcs and recurring characters -Add new minigames that simulate real-world cyber threats in fun, age-appropriate ways -Improve the visual style using polished pixel-art animation, environments, and sprites -Expand gameplay with branching dialogue, dynamic choices, and multiple endings -Implement sound effects, background music, and visual transitions for better immersion -Publish the project as a web-playable game, accessible on any device -Build an adaptive difficulty system for different age groups -Integrate achievements, progress tracking, and educational summaries Ultimately, we envision CyberQuest becoming an accessible, story-driven cybersecurity learning tool, one that teachers, parents, and students can rely on to make digital safety engaging and memorable.

Built With

• api
• chatgpt
• copilot
• css
• html5
• javascript
• node.js
• npm
• typescript
• vscode