Herspective

Inspiration

As leaders and members from both the Women in Computer Science and Game Development Clubs, we were inspired to address a pressing social issue through interactive storytelling. We wanted to bring the hidden struggles women face throughout their lives into the spotlight. Herspective (derived from "her perspective") merges the Social Impact and Entertainment tracks, creating a meaningful experience that drives awareness.

What it does

Herspective is a short, interactive narrative game playable directly on the web. It follows one main character through three distinct stages of life—Child, Teen, and Adult—with each stage designed to portray common, yet often unacknowledged, systemic challenges faced by women. Players will encounter and navigate issues such as unrealistic beauty standards, objectification, and harassment. The goal is to provide an empathetic and eye-opening journey.

How we built it

The core game logic and interactive elements were built using the Unity Game Engine and scripted entirely in C#. We utilized Unity's WebGL export feature to embed it within a clean, standalone website constructed using HTML and CSS, enabling anyone to play instantly without needing to download any files.

Challenges we ran into

Setting up the GitHub repository was tricky because we had to connect it to both the Unity project folder and the website folder. Also, most of our members are new to Unity as a game engine, so it was a challenge learning its interface.

Our biggest challenges were GitHub and the learning curve. Setting up the GitHub repository was challenging, as we had to correctly connect both the Unity project folder and the separate website folder. Furthermore, a majority of our team members were new to the Unity engine, requiring us to learn the interface and game development concepts under a tight deadline.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Developing a fully functioning product after learning how to use Unity in a short amount of time was a major accomplishment of ours. We're also proud of our assets, as they were all hand-drawn, which helped tie everything together.

What we learned

We learned the basics of Unity and how to create scripts, objects, scene organization, and more. We also learned a lot about workflow management within a team, especially since some of us are first-time hackers.

What's next for Herspective

In the future, we'd like to add more levels, diving deeper into the harsh reality women face. There is also potential for more dialogue and interactions within each level, allowing the game to become more detailed and even more impactful on the player.