Game design students in Camborne help zoology colleagues with virtual jungle field trip
Students from Cornwall College in Camborne have created a virtual jungle to help their colleagues studying zoology
A group of games design students have overcome the current travel restrictions in an ingenious way, having come up with a virtual field trip game for fellow students in conservation.
Created by the students studying the Games Design for Industry degree at Cornwall College’s campus in Camborne, Cornwall the game acts as a learning tool to help search for and identify snakes and frogs in environments simulating the cloud forest of Honduras.
The game is being used by students at the college’s sister campus in Newquay, Cornwall, who would normally enjoy a wide variety of international field trips.
Zoology lecturer Dr Stephen Green said: “The game mimics areas of Cusuco National Park, that my students would usually encounter when on expedition in Honduras.
“It provides a novel way of teaching students about biodiversity, survey techniques and issues of detectability.
"I am really excited about this collaboration and am blown away by the incredible quality of the work the Games Design students are producing.”
With the current restrictions on travel, the range of international field trips offered to the Newquay students have been put on hold, including the annual research project exploring the exotic wildlife of Honduras.
Stephen added: “We train volunteers to collect data in the field, and this game provides a fantastic teaching tool for integration into our courses.
"I hope it is also something that Operation Wallacea may be very interested in, possibly resulting in the students’ work being shared with schools, colleges and universities all over the world.
“Ultimately, I think this project is a fantastic example which demonstrates not only the strengths of each of our individual departments within Cornwall College, but what we can achieve through this type of interdisciplinary collaboration.
"I am really excited to see the final product and to start using it in our teaching.”
The one-year Games Design for Industry degree top-up programme has been designed to allow students from a relevant HND or foundation degree to progress to a full honours degree.
Graduates from the course have gone on to work in games studios such as Splash Damage and Anti Matter Games or set up their own independent studios.
Games design lecturer Stephen Howard from Cornwall College Camborne, said the project was a fantastic opportunity for students to work with a real client and demonstrate their skills to a possible worldwide audience.
He said: “The nature of the brief meant that the look and feel of the game had to mimic realistic settings, creatures and procedures providing an excellent challenge to develop skills and abilities needed in this competitive and fast developing industry.
“The students have gone above and beyond to produce an impressive final product, which will have a real impact on the way that conservationists study practical techniques before actually going on expedition to do it for real.”
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