When I began this journey in September, I wanted to create an educational game that didn’t feel like one — something that would teach about AI’s environmental impact through experience rather than lectures. My goal was to create something fun to explore while still conveying the message naturally.
Now, several months and countless late nights later, here’s what I’ve learned.
What Worked Well
The Core Mechanic: Manual vs. AI
The “choose between manual work or AI assistance” mechanic successfully embodies procedural rhetoric. By making AI the easier option with hidden consequences, the game’s rules themselves argue about convenience versus sustainability.
Observation: Playing through the game myself, I found that the AI option felt deceptively appealing — and the guilt of discovering its consequences landed exactly as intended.
Visual Design & Atmosphere
The pixel art aesthetic struck the right balance between approachability and professionalism. Stylized visuals prevented the office setting from feeling “dull or uncomfortably close to real-life work” (Risley et al., 2025).
Technical Integration
Building both the game prototype and this development log as a unified web project was ambitious, but successful. It demonstrates proficiency with Godot, Astro, React, and Tailwind while creating a cohesive portfolio piece.
What Needed Improvement
Tutorial & Onboarding
My professor noted confusion around controls and how to access minigames. As the developer, I knew the controls instinctively and failed to recognise that first-time use needed explicit guidance. Lesson: user testing early and often is crucial. I’ve documented plans for visual interaction prompts and contextual tooltips.
Environmental Theme Connection
The professor identified a gap between the environmental themes and the word-sorting minigame mechanic. I prioritised getting a working minigame over ensuring it aligned with the game’s message. Lesson: in serious games, mechanics must embody the message — technical feasibility shouldn’t override thematic alignment. A wind farm assessment minigame is planned to tie evaluation directly to environmental stakes.
Difficulty Scaling
The current minigame lacks a clear progression of challenge. I focused on getting one version working before thinking about variation and escalation. Lesson: replayability should be considered from the start. A multi-dimensional scaling approach is part of the planned work ahead.
Unexpected Challenges
The “Tutorial Loop” Frustration
I spent weeks stuck on basic Godot problems, watching the same tutorials repeatedly before solutions clicked. This cycle taught me that persistence matters more than immediate understanding, that taking breaks provides fresh perspective, and that sometimes the answer was there all along — I just wasn’t ready to see it.
The Scope Management Challenge
I initially envisioned multiple endings, complex NPC relationship systems, and elaborate basement revelations. Reality constrained these ambitions.
Key Insight: A polished, cohesive prototype is more valuable than an ambitious but incomplete project. The core mechanic matters more than feature quantity.
