“The Ice-Cream Truck’s Here!”
In today’s society, there are many teenagers who face the mental illness, depression. Due to factors like family disputes and educational stress, it is hard for them to avoid feeling depressed or anxious. Many times, happy memories can produce temporary happiness or hope for their future. Therefore, this project aims to bring back a joyful childhood memory with the emotion of nostalgia.
The project will be based around the idea of running to get ice-cream from the ice-cream truck, which is also an extension of Tina and I’s midterm project. Rather than making a motion sensored swing, we decided that we will switch the concept into a digital game the audience can play with. The project will modify a digital maze with the concept behind the etch-a-sketch recitation activity. We plan to produce a cartoon map on a digital screen in which the user can use the turning controls to reach each light up point. Once they reach a memory point on the way to the final destination, the ice-cream truck, the led lights around the digital screen will light up. The code for this game will be based off of the modification of the etch-a-sketch code along with “if statements” for the LED lights to turn on. The concept of controlling the path of the maze is like the controls on the etch-a-sketch, therefore, it brings back a familiar sense of childhood. The intended audience is teenagers so it would also be easy for them to navigate the game. In terms of the project timeline, Tina and I plan to start the coding on our laptops this weekend. We plan to have the game coded by next week and have it transferred to the digital screen before the user testing recitation day. After that, we plan on using the feedback to improve our game and build the cardboard structure around the digital screen as well as the LED lights.
I did research regarding depression and how some patients feel more uplifted and found that nostalgia is a good factor. Therefore, the ice-cream truck can bring more happiness in their lives. Additionally with the practice from recitation and class, the coding research was done efficiently. This project is based on the existing etch-a-sketch and maze exploring games. The structure of our project is unique as it is in a shape of an ice-cream truck. Additionally, the game addresses nostalgic feelings and happiness with cute cartoons and interactive gaming. This game is intended for depression teenagers or adults. I hope they make this into a more interactive game by making it into an actual maze.