Since opening in September 2020, one of the main attractions at the renovated Stanley Milner Library in downtown Edmonton has been its massive, interactive LED wall. Two stories high and 40 feet wide, the touchscreens offer six engaging student-created games for library enthusiasts of all ages.
Four of the six games were created by MacEwan Computer Science students as part of a capstone project in partnership with the Edmonton Public Library (EPL). In the past, students had developed interactive games for much smaller multimedia tables at the Mill Woods library, but “The Wall” took the possibilities to new heights.
“We wanted to divide up our game into three panels, but the default wall package lets you control the entire screen,” explained Steven Hua, who worked on a game titled Where Did the Dinos Go? “Figuring out how to section each wall into playable sections, every screen was a little bit challenging to figure out. But we ended up figuring it out and that’s something we’re pretty proud of.”
“One person can work on all three screens – or if we had kids who all wanted to jump in, they could all just interact with the screen and it would become a collaborative experience,” added team member Ryan Azul.
In Where Did the Dinos Go?, players operate a slingshot to shoot down meteors, playing as dinosaurs seeking revenge for their extinction.
As part of the capstone project, students must pitch ideas to EPL representatives, providing a valuable learning experience.
“Through this project they have additional learning about how to deal with the client,” said Dr. Candy Pang, assistant professor, Computer Science.
“They have to present the proposal to the client effectively, so they learn how to sell the idea, make the client like the game.”
“It was exciting to work with a larger organization,” says Richard Zhu, the developer of a game called Astro Dodge. “In some of our classes we are given community partners to work with, but this was a full-on project that we got to submit and is still deployable. I’ve gone to the library a couple times and have seen people playing my game. It gives us a nice sense of pride.”
Astro Dodge allows players to take control of a MacEwan astronaut and dodge incoming aliens, lasers and falling asteroids.
Students involved in the project say that they have applied the lessons they learned to the real world.
“Although I haven’t started working yet, I’ve done a couple of interviews where they’ve asked questions like ‘what are the hardest, biggest challenges you’ve had to face?’” said Nancy Dinh, who worked on a game called Bug Snatch. “And I always, always, tie back to the EPL experience. So, I think professionally it definitely pushed me a lot.”
In Bug Snatch, as bugs rush onto the screen, the player’s goal is to capture each one to accumulate points and facts about the insects.
Yron Gerona, who also worked on the game, found satisfaction in seeing it in action.
“This project is very meaningful because we designed the games for kids to play. If kids are going into the library and playing our game, that’s enough for me to feel successful in a way.”
This term, two new groups are preparing games, and Dr. Pang hopes to expand the project in the future.