A team of MSU engineering students presented its video game for a final test run to its most critical judges: a class of third-graders.
After evaluating and critiquing the game for months, the students in Marcia Dyksen’s class at Lansing Christian School had some final comments to share last week about their user experience.
The game, “Movers Who Care,” was created for Two Men and a Truck as a senior capstone project that will be on display at the MSU College of Engineering’s 2017 Spring Design Day on April 28.
The mobile game was designed to entertain children while their families make preparations on moving day. The objective of the game: Deliver as many boxes to a house as possible by driving a moving truck through five levels with varying difficulties.
Nine-year-old Grace Buchalski called the video game "amazing."
"It's great for kids,” she said. “They don't have games where you can drive a truck."
Computer science seniors Connor McDermott, Travis Nichols, Curtis Notarantonio, Kai Wang and Jordan Ng developed the game and will be presenting among the hundreds of undergraduate student projects on display at Friday’s event.
Spring Design Day will incorporate the 10 degree programs in the MSU College of Engineering, along with 16 courses, 246 teams and 1,076 students.
Working in teams for the 15-week senior level capstone, students are challenged to solve real-world problems for big and small companies. At the end of each semester, Design Day serves as the culmination of this course where students present their designs and showcase the skills they have developed.
“Design Day continues to grow each semester – a reflection of the growth of our undergraduate student numbers in the MSU College of Engineering,” said Wayne Dyksen, executive director of Design Day and professor of computer science and engineering. “Design Day presents an amazing opportunity to see the innovation and creative work of our students and showcases their readiness to enter the engineering profession.”
The event is scheduled from 8 a.m. to noon in the engineering building followed by an award ceremony at 1:15 p.m. in room 1281 of Anthony Hall. The event is free and open to the public.