Maple and the Magic of Acorn Wood was an educational Unreal Engine 4 game prototype developed during my MSc. It was designed to aid in children's literacy learning while being fun and user friendly.
A short video detailing some of the gameplay. Players must find their way through the levels by using their magic to change the world around them. When the player casts a spell on an object, they have to successfully spell a related word. This core system was mixed with platforming, fetch quests, speech recognition speaking tests and more. Carers are able to specify words that need to be focused on and have them appear in a randomised level called 'The Word Field'. Players are rewarded for completing levels and optional spelling puzzles with currency, which they can use to purchase decorations and furniture and customise their cottage.
Special attention had to be given to making sure the game was accessible to a wide range of computer literacy (for the carers sake, as much as the children!), and so frequent playtesting with the target audience was vital. Developing this over the course of my one masters degree was all made worth it when the parent of one of the seven year old playtesters told me his daughter "kept asking when she could play more Maple" :)
As well as designing and programming, I also produced all of the art for the game, which you can see in the video above!