The Pack is a delightful, open world strategy game that engages players in computational thinking concepts. Originally inspired by Design I/O’s Connected Worlds exhibit, The Pack began as a series of prototypes exploring the use of games as a medium to teach computational thinking.
Our core idea for developing the gameplay for The Pack was to separate the idea of computational thinking from code or syntax and in doing so hopefully reaching a younger and more diverse audience that might be alienated from other STEM approaches.
Our thought was:
“could we make a puzzle solving mechanic that allows players to intuitively develop computational thinking skills, subtly learning how to break ideas down into smaller problems and where order, sequence and troubleshooting are core parts of the game?”
The resulting game is set in the imagined world of Algos, a dynamically generated world which has become out of balance. The goal is to find the missing seeds of Algos and to restore its lost habitats, bringing balance back to the world. Aiding you on your journey are the unique creatures of Algos, each one with a power to change the world around them.
By befriending the creatures you can get them to work together as algorithms, allowing you to navigate the land, channel water sources, and search for missing seeds to restore the biodiversity of Algos. As you collect seeds and progress through the game, new habitats, food, and Pack creatures emerge, introducing new obstacles, and encouraging more complex algorithms. Learning and mastering how to use these algorithms is the key to finding all of the seeds and restoring harmony to Algos.
The Pack is available for free downloaded for Windows and Mac OSX, as well as Apple devices through the App Store, where it was recently featured as the ‘App of The Day’.
The prototyping process and final game were supported by the New York Hall of Science and the National Science Foundation.
CREDITS
Design, prototyping and final game by Design I/O in collaboration with the New York Hall of Science
Additional Design: Josh Goodrich & James Paterson
Sound Design: Anna Cataldo
