Andrew Parkinson
The Scale of Imagination
A Foddyan-style 3D Platformer
Project Description
The Scale of Imagination is an educational game that uses Foddyan-style platforming (ex: Getting Over It) to scale the universe and learn about its elements. The platforming game uses the Scale of the Universe educational tool to teach the player fun facts and scale from the smallest elements in the universe to the largest. The game takes on a light-hearted tone with witty narration and fun sound effects. The theming is meant to invoke a sense of nostalgia, showing elements from our childhoods and keeping to a period accurate representation of late 2000s to early 2010s classrooms.
The game is simple in its concept, but I believe that it shines in its ability to capture childhood nostalgia and teach the player at the same time. Each object that you land on will have the option to pop-up with a fun fact about that particular object. These facts are optional to interact with, however our save system uses checkpoints that are only activated after answering a question about one of the objects that you jumped on previously. So in this game, it works in your favor to pay attention in class.
The game also has a collectible A+ items to be found throughout the game, these are optional, but can be tracked in the pause menu.
Platformer
Educational
Climber
Technical Implementation
Key Features:
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Fact pop-up system
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Collectible system that checks if each collectible should spawn based on current save
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Checkpoint-based save system
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Character selection system
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Low-gravity section of gameplay
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Skyboxes change based on player height
Challenges:
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It was a challenge to learn how to create a functioning save system in Unreal, but this knowledge has proven very valuable in my future projects.
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This was the first real game project that I had worked on with a team, so collaborating using GitHub for the first time on a real project was an adjustment.
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Learning how to change the skyboxes and save those changes to a save-system was a challenge, but we did figure it out in the end.
Role: Programmer / UI Designer
Software used: Unreal Engine, GitHub
Language: UE5 Blueprints
Duration: 15-20 Minutes
Target Platform: PC
Genre: Platformer
Year made: 2025
Published: Yes
Development Reflection
What I have learned:
I learned a lot about developing a game in a team setting and what it takes to ship a title in its most basic form. I also learned a lot of technical skills like save systems, character selection mechanics, collection systems, and platforming.
What I would do differently:
I think this game game out well in the end and I feel that the process was relatively smooth. I think that we could have refined animations a little more and cleaned up certain areas of the game.
Future Development Ideas:
This game feels relatively finished to me and I am satisfied to not develop this further. It serves its purpose and I believe that it does not require any additional content.
Gameplay Walkthrough
