NatureGirl and HunterBoy

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What is this game about?

This is a two-player game that involves using the same keyboard. Both players work together to pick up trash and place into the correct bins, while overcoming the obstacle course. Players will be timed how quickly they can overcome the levels. When players complete a level, they can travel to different countries of the world (or levels), making the Earth a cleaner place to live. We used Unity game engine to create this 3D game.

How did we come up with this idea?

Our game idea is based off of the iconic FireBoy and WaterGirl. We like that this particular game is a two-player obstacle course game, which allows both players to interact and have a great time. To us, having a clean, healthy Earth is essential, thus we wanted to bring awareness to the damages us humans have caused. To incorporate this important movement, we decided to have players practice knowing what goes into the trash, compost, or recycling bins. Both players will have the chance to advance to many countries on this Earth to discard trash into their rightful bins.


Image of recycling, compost, and trash bins.

Facts about trash

  1. Examples of trashable items include disposable coffee cups, sheets of stickers or address labels, frozen-food boxes, most styrofoam, disposable diapers, candy wrappers, potato chip bags, plastic wrap, and food-related paper products (because of the food residue on these products, pizza boxes, take-out containers, napkins, and paper towels have to be trashed).
  2. The world generates at least 3.5 million tons of plastic and other solid waste a day, 10 times the amount a century ago, according to World Bank researchers. The U.S. is the king of trash, producing a world-leading 250 million tons a year roughly 4.4 pounds of trash per person per day.
  3. Rubbish and waste can cause air and water pollution. Rotting garbage is also known to produce harmful gases that mix with the air and can cause breathing problems in people.
  4. Plastic that ends up on the ground or in the sea breaks down into tiny pieces very, very slowly. This can take hundreds or thousands of years. Even really tiny bits of plastic (microplastics) can cause harm.

Facts about compost

  1. If it can be eaten or grown in a field or garden, it can be composted. Items such as red meat, bones and small amounts of paper are acceptable, but they take longer to decompose. Examples of compostable items include fruits, vegetables, dairy products, grains, bread, unbleached paper napkins, coffee filters, eggshells, meats, newspaper, paper towels, coffee grounds and filters, cotton and wool rags, dryer and vacuum cleaner lint, crushed eggshells (but not eggs), fireplace ashes, grass clippings, yard trimmings, hair and fur, hay and straw, houseplants, leaves, nut shells, and seaweed (rinse off saltwater).
  2. Food scraps and yard waste together currently make up more than 28 percent of what we throw away, and should be composted instead. Making compost keeps these materials out of landfills where they take up space and release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
  3. Composting can reduce methane emissions from landfills and lower your carbon footprint.
  4. In addition, composting can save money not only for a household, but it can also help to balance a city's and eventually a country's - budget. For example, simply by composting, a household can trim down its budget by growing chemical-free fruits and vegetables, while eliminating the need to spend money on chemical fertilizers. Less garbage being sent to landfill also means a reduction in waste management costs for your city, and eventually for the entire country.

Facts about recycling

  1. Examples of recyclable items include recycle newspaper, office paper, junk mail, magazines, brown bags, regular or corrugated cardboard, aluminum, steel, tin (soda cans, food cans, foil, and baking pans can be recycled, but be sure to clean off food residue), glass, plastic containers, and cartons.
  2. Recycling reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing raw materials all of which create substantial air and water pollution. As recycling saves energy it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to tackle climate change. Current UK recycling is estimated to save more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 a year – the equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road.
  3. When we recycle, recyclable materials are reprocessed into new products, and as a result the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites reduces. There are over 1,500 landfill sites in the UK, and in 2001, these sites produced a quarter of the UK’s emissions of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
  4. Habitat destruction and global warming are some the affects caused by deforestation. Recycling reduces the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved.


Picture of question marks

What can you do to help the environment?

Some of the ways you can help reduce landfill waste includes donating clothes, not wasting tons of food and eat what you buy, volunteer for cleanups in your community (you can get involved in protecting your watershed too), choose non-toxic chemical products, bike more and drive less, and so much more. A really important thing to remember is that the Earth gets dirty because of the actions of humans! Focus on not overusing materials when it isn't needed, avoid single use foods or items, buy bigger bulks which requires less plastic packaging, and you can bring your own resuable shopping bags to the grocery stores so you don't have to use the stores' plastic bags. The most important note to remember is to trash, recycle, and compost garbage into their rightful bins!

Sources

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