CampusLore WPI

Map of another section of the campus that was not included.
Insider info about dorms
Untold phenomenon of the growing student population.
Welcome page

Installation

Tour online here

MacOS

On Mac, the web version may take some time to load.

As an alternative, download the MacOS app

When opening, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Open Anyway.

Inspiration

Don't campus tours fail to spark your enthusiasm for the school?

Don’t we all love retro games?

Combining nostalgic elements of 2D JRPG and the desire to make campus tours less boring, we created CampusLore.

What it does

CampusLore showcases the rich history, hidden gems, and interesting lores of WPI (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, in case you didn’t know) in a unique virtual tour. Players will engage with the University's history, legends, and anecdotes through a nostalgic and captivating experience.

How we built it

We used the Godot game engine and the Tiled tile-mapping software. We coded the game with Godot's custom language GDScript. We used Krita to edit assets and Reaper to write our own OST!

Challenges we ran into

We started by using Phaser 3 (HTML5 game framework) but quickly found it had limitations. Phaser does not allow for multiple tilesets, which didn’t match up with our asset-making efforts.

And even for a game of this scope, developing without a game engine is very complex. We switched to the Godot engine halfway through and were able to implement our ideas much easier.

Also, mapmaking is laborious.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Learned and utilized a game engine
Map out the campus in 2D
Writing up campus lores from memory and scouring through Reddit and Fandom
Made our own theme song
…all under 24 hours!

What we learned

Throughout the development process, we gained valuable experience in game design, pixel art creation, and storytelling.

Besides the technical tools used to develop the game, we also learned the importance of brainstorming, taking feedback, effective communication, and collaboration within the team to bring together diverse skill sets and create a cohesive gaming experience.

What's next for CampusLore

In the short run, we plan to complete our own campus by adding all the maps we designed and didn’t have the time to add.

In the long run, some potential additions we will consider include:

Add NPC's, animations, and rich dialogues.
Integrate deep learning models to allow other students to add maps of their own campus simply by uploading pictures.
Introduce multiplayer options, allowing friends to explore the campus world together.
Build additional gameplay features ranging from time-limited challenges to inner building features to further enhance the player experience.