"Don't get Caught By COVID!" - City and GameMaking

"Don't get caught by COVID!" is a game developed a creative way to visualize downtown Lincoln, NE during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following in a reflection on the 'building' process and mechanics of this game, but feel free to us the link to the companion site, HourofCode, and play the game for your own interpretation. 

I wanted to focus on the way that the virus can spread in an enclosed space, which is why the background is a ship, with the horizontal hallway-like map to mimic the 'City' - which was the subject of DH Publication Two. The Stormtroopers represent infected people without masks. They move quickly, like the virus. Each time that R2-D2 hits one of them, he gets -10 points, with increased chances of being infected (in a mythical world where droids can be infected). A new Stormtrooper appears each time he gets one, representing the way the virus spreads – for everyone one person infected, another appears. An alarm sound also plays when you get a Stormtrooper. I wanted to set up so that you lose if you get -150 points, you lose overall, but there didn’t seem to be any code blocks available to make that possible.

While the Stormtroopers believe that COVID-19 is a hoax, the Rebel Pilots don’t. There are three Rebel Pilots in all. Each of them represents a something to protect yourself from COVID-19 – wearing masks, social distancing, and washing your hands. R2-D2 makes a pleasant sound when he gets a Rebel Polit. You win the game (because you are taking steps to avoid COVID-19) when you get all three Rebel Pilots.