CSE 340 and Pinpoint 2.0

For my final project in CSE 340 Interaction Programming, I decided to create a fun choose your own adventure game in just one week. The game is based on a topic we learned about in the course: reactive frameworks. These are frameworks that automatically update the user interface based on the changes to the data or state. Most game engines are not reactive, meaning they require manual updates and rendering. However, I implement a reactive framework in the game engine Godot, which made the development of other parts of the game much easier. The game is a choose your-own-adventure style game where the player controls a stick figure that goes through a story with different choices and outcomes. I also used some concepts I learned in the animation courses over the summer to make the game more engaging and dynamic.

This project perfectly exemplifies my learning philosophy of “learning by doing” through practical application. I strategically scheduled this course knowing that reactive UI principles would directly enhance the user interface experience for Pinpoint, my neuroscience research project. Rather than learning these concepts in isolation, I immediately applied them to both this game project and my ongoing research work. The reactive framework concepts I explored here became instrumental in creating more intuitive, responsive interfaces for the surgical automation tools I was developing for neuroscientists. This interdisciplinary approach—combining game development techniques with research applications—demonstrates how I actively seek opportunities to apply coursework practically, ensuring that each learning experience builds toward my broader research goals and strengthens my capabilities as both scientist and developer.

The game is hosted on itch.io.