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OverviewImagine a world in which you were transported to Korea, except nobody spoke any English, there were no bilingual signs, and no classroom to help you. What if that world was also fun and immersive to explore? Using powerful game design and precisely tuned pedagogy, Stranger uses modern computer graphics within the Unreal 5 engine to deliver the Dark Souls of educational gaming: challenging, demanding, beautiful, and fun. Comprehension is survival!
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Beta Release Kickoff Presentation
BackgroundThis project started in March of 2023 as a proposal for a small Computer Graphic Technology and School of Language and Cultures collaboration grant at Purdue University. After getting the grant and an overwhelmingly positive response from the school, Professor Rob Howard brought on a number of undergraduate CGT students to work on this project over the course of a summer. Those students include myself(Gameplay Scripter, Environment Artist, 3D Artist), Juhee Lee(Producer, Concept Artist, 3D Artist), Alex Silalahi(Narrative Designer, Gameplay Scripter), Charles Wang(Gameplayer Scripter), and Sydney Hobart(Concept Artist)
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Minigames
The main gameplay loop revolves around completing minigames scattered around the map. These minigames are all meant to utilize a specific concept of the korean language or show off an element of korean culture. They also need to be fun and immersive for the player in order to keep them engaged and provide an entertaining experience.
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Mindless ShopperA shopper accidentally bought some items online that they did not need. They gave you the list of items and said you could have them so long as you grabbed them all yourself. Grab all the right items and you will have something to eat, grab the wrong items and you could risk getting kicked out of the store.
This minigame focuses on loanwords, which are Korean words that are taken from english or other languages. This is a basic concept in Korean, thus this minigame takes place in chapter 1. Additionally, it has implicit pedagogical qualities and players can associate the shown hangul with the objects they are collecting, which they are likely familiar with. Scores are decided by the number of correct and incorrect picks. |
KinderKinder is an in universe app to meet people in your area. You're shown a variety of different profiles with your goal being to the get the best possible response. You can pick from several suggested introduction lines for every profile. Some suggestions might be nonsense, some may be wholesome, and some may make you sound like a weirdo.
This minigame focuses on basic conversational skills. This is more complicated than loan words but still very simple and shouldn't pose much challenge for those with a passing knowledge of korean. Thus it takes place in chapter 2. It is also how the player meets their best friend, a key character in the narrative. Scores are decided by the quality of your introduction lines. |
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Jamanchu CafeJamanchu is Korean slang for meeting people naturally. This minigame involves the player camping out in a cafe while other patrons come up and start conversations with them. Depending on your conversation skills, they may leave upset, you may have a new friend, or perhaps a romantic interest. Or maybe you’ll just get a free cup of coffee.
This minigame also takes place in chapter 2 and focuses on basic conversational skills. It shares some similarities with kinder but takes things to the next level by forcing the player to continue a conversation rather than just sending an opening response. It has a focus on having a continuous, polite conversation. Scores are decided by how well you follow the flow of the conversation and how advanced your choices are. |
Convenience ClerkUpon entering the convenience store the clerk asks you to cover the register while they use the restroom. You then have to press the corresponding buttons to the items presented. It also displays the prices of these items. You have to add up the prices and enter the correct total. Prices are in increments of 500 so as to make it a korean challenge rather than a math one.
This minigame uses common store items that beginner to intermediate level Korean speakers would likely know and focuses on the Sino Number System. This is more advanced than previous topics and thus takes place in chapter 3. Scores are decided based on if you pick the right items and if you enter the right total, with a greater bias being put on picking the right items |
Additional Responsibilities
Alongside minigame creation, I had a variety of other responsibilities. The responsibilities included design work, facilitating a consistent, appealing art style, or building the world of Stranger itself.
Environment ArtMy main responsibility outside of gameplay programming was to do all the environment art for the gameworld. Meaning i was responsible for filling in the whitebox with house models, creating custom buildings and interiors from modular assets, filling in the environment with fitting decor as well as performing lighting passes. All of this had to be done not only in a way that supports the gameplay and themes but also with respect to Korea and Korean Culture. I was working with a number of people living in Korea, so I conferred with them often to validate that the work I was doing was a sound adaptation of an ubran Korean environment
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3D ModelingWhile most of our 3D art came from a number of asset packs, there was still a significant amount of custom art that needed to be created, both to fill in the world, and for anything that our minigames might require. This involved the entire hard surface modeling pipeline from 3D modeling, UV unwrapping, and Texturing, to shader creation in engine. Assets I worked on include most grocery /convenience store items, some city structural items, as well as most outdoor / park assets.
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Design DoccumentationOf course, with any design role there is going to be a fair amount of design documentation, both to make sure that proposed features fit into the scope and purpose of the game, but also to ensure that everybody on the team is on the same page.
My main responsibilities for this task include: -Write ups regarding minigame proposals, including narrative beats, functionality, chapter location, and Korean concepts covered -Map design, including authentic Korean locations, locations for story beats / minigames, and a realistic scale |
Game Design Document
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