Following the theme of “Medieval,” our game was inspired by a couple of different things. First, the parallel between medieval plagues and modern day pandemics. Although the Middle Ages were centuries ago, we still combat similar challenges in public health today. Second, the central role of healthcare workers in society. In Plague Clinic, the player has the chance to step into the shoes of a doctor who is the sole healthcare provider in a village. Finally, the importance of access to the right medical resources and tools is emphasized in the game.
In Plague Clinic, the player treats patients suffering from common diseases in the Middle Ages. The player uses a special box controller - "The Doctor's Kit" - that indicates the time countdown for the task with colored lights and allows the user to use potions, acupuncture, and other elements.
As for the development process, the game engine and programming language that were used were Unity and C#, respectively. The primary hardware used was Arduino, and also features Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Tags, LCD display, buttons, rotary encoders, potentiometers, and LEDs. All of the assets were made either utilizing open source images or hand-drawn in pixel style.
We encountered issues with GitHub integration in Unity. Unity does not have built-in support for serial communication with devices such as Arduinos, so we had to build our own custom driver.
We're proud of creating a way for people today to virtually experience challenges in a medieval clinic, emphasizing how crucial healthcare workers are and always have been.
We learned about how important it is to communicate effectively on a team. We also learned about how each of our unique backgrounds and skills can contribute something special to our project.
Our game can be expanded in a lot of ways! For one, more diseases that were common during the Middle Ages can be included, such as diphtheria and malaria. The game could also delve into the doctor's backstory.
Questions can be directed to Julian Berrio on Discord at Jaberrio#0423