During midterm exam period, Universidad del Pacífico students turn the library and study rooms into recurring locations. To pass these exams, they borrow books from the library, but under the midterm exams pressure, they forget to return them. This idea gave birth to "Book Chase UP", the videogame created by Universidad del Pacífico students, where we will walk around the university campus in search of these lost books.
The idea for the video game was born in 2019, in the midst of many conversations in the CODEUP club, says Alessandra Apari, a member of Universidad del Pacifico's programming club and a student of the Business Engineering program.
"In the middle of 2019, CODE UP wanted to implement a scrum methodology. The previous Ccat videogame had been well received and many students asked for the next one. One of the many projects we had in mind was the idea of new video games. We made a sketch, but we didn't get to complete it,” Alessandra tells us.
In early 2020, Alessandra took over as head of design. She came to the club with lots of ideas and a desire to revive the game project. To do so, she had to study, in a self-taught way, the Construct program.
"After becoming familiar with the program, I started to have a lot more ideas for a new concept of the video game. I definitely wanted to interact with the UP facilities. The first sketch was to recreate a student arriving late for an exam, and running through the university, avoiding obstacles and people. I presented the idea to the other people in charge and they liked it."
In order to make the video game a reality, Alessandra contacted Adriana Raygada, a designer and International Business student. Together they rethought the game from scratch.
"We had Pokemon and Among Us as inspirational scenarios. It was an easy way to interact with the facilities and with an already known format."
From design to reality
After 6 months of development, the game was ready. It was finally released on July 19, 2021.
Rafaela Sierra, an Information Engineering student, was in charge of programming the video game. Her love of programming began in high school and was consolidated during her first semesters at the university.
"I started learning block programming in high school in the IT course. When I entered university, I took a Python programming course in the first semester. That's when I really got interested in programming. I have done a lot of research and learned a lot since that course. Especially in university courses related to text data and the creation of data science programs," Rafaela tells us.
What is the video game about?
The video game shows us the University' ground floor: the library, study rooms, Building F, the chapel, the parking lot and the Founder's Hall (Sala de Fundadores). The player's goal is to find as many books as possible to help the library staff collect them. While walking around the UP facilities, you cannot bump into the cleaning staff or security personnel, as it will slow down your progress. You can also find hidden markers that will open the doors to a special room and coffee cups to extend your time.
Who was involved in the development of the game?
The students who developed the game are members of CODEUP, Universidad del Pacífico's programming club. Diego Aguirre, Ángel Oscanoa and Rafaela Sierra as programmers. Alessandra Apari and Adriana Raygada as designers. As well as, Johann Lázaro, economics student, as music and special sounds developer.
Want to play it?
FB: @ clubcodeup
IG: clubcodeup