Word Wizard (GRE edition)

CONTROLS

1. Just clicking and moving the mouse

SYNOPSYS     

Have you ever aspired to become a master of language, capable of summoning the perfect word for any occasion or sentiment? Look no further—this app exists to transform you into a true Wordsmith! Embark on a gamified journey of learning, designed to hone your linguistic prowess and elevate you to the rank of Word Wizard!

ABOUT

   I found my old GRE study guide during a recent move, and I was inspired to learn some words again. So, I thought, why not see if I can make a game out of the learning process with Godot. Also, after my last two games I realized my UI has been awful, so this was meant to help grow my UI design. Furthermore, it used windows, like pop-up windows, which is a built-in feature of Godot that seemed fun to play around with. 

    This app used a large set words. I started by having an actual sheet of paper from the study guide with the words on them. So I first devised a way to read a json file formatted like a dictionary with the key:value pair being the word and the definition. That was easy enough, so then I set up a google docs sheet with the columns being Word and Definition, and started to fill it in. But shortly after writing out about a dozen I determined I'd be spending more time copy and pasting definitions from dictionary.com than developing the app. And that's when it dawned on me -- I could program a web scraper to fill out the sheet for me!

    I fired up the old Python IDE and got to work. By the end of the day, I made my first web scrapper. It takes a txt file of all the words I want to use, and turns that into an array, then it uses BeautifulSoup to check merriam-webster.com for the word's definition, and then adds the word and definition to a dictionary, and repeat until finished. Finally, the dictionary with the words and definitions is saved as a json into the resources folder for the Godot project, which is then used in the app. This method worked like a charm and was fun to make!

    Next was to make the app itself. The gameplay is simple enough -- you have a time-restriction to match a definition to the correct word. Each second that passes you'll receive fewer points, but get it correct in less than 10 seconds and you'll earn points, as well as add a point to your streak, which increases your combo! Get a high combo streak going and you can earn Big Points!

     However, if you get incorrectly answer, you take damage and can lose all your progress. There is no penalty for running the time out, so playing slow isn't really negatively charged. But if you want to play it fast and go for more points and streaks, then you run the risk of losing everything.  

    I like the system. It's simple but adds just enough tension and rules to the experience that it feels like a game. 

    As far as designing the UI, I workshopped it a bit and was given the advice to use Margins. Margins are simple way to make UI look intentional and professional. They clearly delineate and structure the sections of the UI. Subtle details like fading colors and greying out unusable windows added a touch of control as well. Overall I think the UI turned out pretty good. 

TAKE AWAYS      

    As far as an exercise in UI design, I learned that it takes a lot of effort and clear design to make the experience flow well and present understandably itself. I also learned how to web scrape with python, which opened my mind to potentially using Python or other languages as an aid in Godot development.  The game itself is pretty fun and evokes a bit of feeling, but ultimately, it's not greatly engaging, and I don't think it helps too much as an actual tool to instill new words into someone's vocabulary. So, to simply gamify something might not be that tough, but to do it well with really engaging mechanics is difficult. I expect if there were a few more games/exercises, let's say every 10 or 20 words to recap the words you've been through, then maybe it could help to teach, but as it is now, there isn't enough repetition or critical application.