After winning the Silver Award of the 2022 China Excellent Industrial Design Award for the "FireEye" laboratory jointly developed by BGI and Tongji University, BGI and Tongji University have once again joined forces to explore the integration and innovation of hardcore scientific knowledge and games. This is also a new attempt by BGI in the popularization of life science education.
This collaborative course is co-guided by scientists from various fields of BGI Group and Professor Liu Zhejun from the School of Design and Innovation of Tongji University. As the world's leading frontier institution in life sciences, BGI has accumulated many influential scientific research achievements over the years, in this course, students designed functional games with the five scientific research directions of "growth of all things, universal grafting, evolution of fish, penguin evolution, and endangered animals", and completed the development of game prototypes based on the Unity engine.
In the process of co-creation with UW scientists, the students not only enhanced their understanding of life sciences, gradually cultivated the concept of respecting life, respecting nature, and sustainable development, but also exercised their professional ability, and finally designed highly imaginative and interesting game results
Direction 1: All things grow
CORE
Team members: Liu Yichi, Liu Junyu, Jin Yi, Zhang Wenqi
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Tan Cong (BGI)
Due to the depletion of energy from its parent planet "J'zerl", the planet sent its first scientists to the alien planet "CORE", which can produce energy from plants, to find a way out, but they have recently suddenly disappeared.
Players will take on the role of the second group of post-apocalyptic scientists sent by "J'zerl" to "CORE" to study local plants and find out the truth about the disappearance of former scientists. Learn the basics of plant growth and gene editing during the game.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
LostGene
Team members: Yu Xuehan, Duan Muzi, Yue Yingying, Li Xinyao
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Tan Cong (BGI)
Due to climate changes, lettuce species were missing on what should be a verdant Aegean island, so the island sent a signal to the institute for help.
Players take on the role of Mira, a research intern who, after receiving a letter of help from the Aegean Sea, embarks on a series of adventures on an Aegean island. During the adventure, players meet friends such as "spirits" and rabbits, and also learn about genetic knowledge related to lettuce and fungi in the process of collecting plants and genetic fragments for synthesis.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Direction two: universal grafting
SAVIOUR THE SAVIOR
Team members: Lin Youxiang, Lei Ziyi, Lin Yu, Liang Xinyi
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Dong Yiwei (BGI)
To improve grafting compatibility, scientists cultivated a plant with special cells. Such cells are able to break through barriers and play a key role in grafting.
The game simulates the microscopic scene of passing through the necrosis layer, callus division and bonding, and catheter differentiation in grafting, players will play as this special small cell, explore the microscopic world in each stage of plant grafting, complete various tasks, eliminate various obstacles, and promote the grafting process, and also check the current level progress in the booklet to understand the scientific knowledge corresponding to each scene and object.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Scion
Team members: Gong Xinjia, Cheng Yuyu, Tong Rui, Chen Jiayi, Li Delin
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Dong Yiwei (BGI)
Scion is a pixel-style platformer that combines additional elements such as puzzles and mazes. It tells the story of the protagonist who travels around with the help of the "holy branch" in order to save the holy flower that is about to wither, and finally allows the holy flower to reopen.
At the beginning of the game, the player will receive the sacred branch from the mountain immortal and collect various branches as they travel. After each journey, the player passes three unique "grafting skills" to give the branches high-quality traits, and after the trial of the branch, the shoots of the sacred flower are harvested and the sacred flower is given new life in the form of grafting.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Direction 3: Penguin evolution
look for
Team members: Dai Ruoyu, Zhao Xiaoyu, Tian Ziang, Ju Jingyan
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Zhou Chengran (BGI)
The game is set in the future after the extinction of penguins, and humans build mechanical penguins for observational research and fish fishing. Mechanical penguins have the same self-awareness and social behavior as real penguins that once existed.
The protagonist, as a failed experiment, does not know that he is a mechanical penguin, and along with his curiosity about his own group, he embarks on a journey to find his identity. Players need to find out their identity by meeting different penguins, and uncover the truth of the world they live in step by step while understanding the characteristics of different penguins.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Encounters
Team members: Lin Cifeng, Mao Yidi, Liu Kexin, Li Shurui
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Zhou Chengran (BGI)
In the 30th century, the penguin species went extinct. In order to find out the reason for the extinction of penguins, players enter the Penguin Space-Time Laboratory as a researcher at the Institute of Biology and travel to the ancient New Zealand continent 65 million years ago.
With communication with the base interrupted, players will conduct a series of genetic studies on different species of penguins with the help of the soul of the world's last penguin. Then step in to the 21st century to explore a range of existential threats facing penguins. In the end, players will return to the institute with the collected data and information, let the world understand the struggle for penguin survival, and reveal the truth of penguin extinction to the world.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Penguin Museum
Team members: Li Sanni, Shi Yichen, Xiang Yulin, Chen Honggang
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Zhou Chengran (BGI)
Penguin Museum is a side-scrolling puzzle game set in Antarctica between December and March.
The player will take on the role of the caretaker of the Penguin Museum who crosses, but the golden eggs necessary for crossing are obtained by the Adélie penguins. These penguins steal their companions' stones, push them into the water, and drive emperor penguin cubs larger than themselves into the sea, just to facilitate their own breeding. In order to return to their own world, players need to use the habits of the Adélie penguins and collect the stones that the Adélie penguins need in exchange.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Direction 4: Evolution of fish
Sead
Team members: Li Yunqi, Li Jiahe, Gao Jingde, Bai Yuhang
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Song Yue (BGI)
Sead is a popular science platforming RPG based on the evolution of fish.
The game is set in an overhead world, an ecological disaster is slowly coming, and humans want to accelerate the evolution of life through technological means, until a new generation of humans is enough to enter the Garden of Eden that leaves everything that shines in the Golden Age, and the old humans will shorten the Dark Age to 3,000 years, a process called "history repeating", codenamed "Sead".
Players will follow the game to learn about the evolution of fish and try to repeat the evolution process with their own choices.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Time travel fish
Team members: Li Yuhan, Jiang Yutong, Sun Rui, Wang Zitong
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Song Yue (BGI)
Time Travel Fish is a mobile game based on the collection of fish evolutionary genealogy maps. In the game, players will grab the materials needed for the clownfish trip in the coral paradise and place the corresponding props in the backpack to help the clownfish start traveling.
Clownfish will send back photos of the corresponding period when traveling. Photos are likely to be incomplete, and players need to "fix" photos through four different mini-games and include them in the family tree. As the game progresses and the number of trips increases, the photos will make up a complete family tree of fish evolution.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Direction 5: Endangered animals
Save bald eagles
Team members: Gao Shangyuan, Liu Ruoyi, Guo Xiangru
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Lan Tianming (BGI)
Rescue the Bald Eagle is a computer pixel style story-oriented puzzle game. The player takes on the role of a volunteer who has participated in endangered animal rescue activities in the last century, so Biogenetics "Frequency" contacts the protagonist and allows him to participate in the new "Save the Bald Eagle" operation.
During the game, players need to collect research experience in rescue activities in their own devices, help "frequency" save endangered bald eagles, and restore their memories according to relevant clues.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Life Clock
Team members: Ma Xiaosong, Qi Jiajun, Wu Yixiao, Zhang Yichang, Cheng Yansong
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Lan Tianming (BGI)
Life Clock is a game based on the theme of twelve animals that have become extinct due to overhunting, designed with twelve levels, corresponding to the twelve scales of the "clock", players need to control the protagonist to travel through the maze, find the key to rescue the animals, and bring the animals back to their habitat, while avoiding the pursuit of monster robots.
The game pays attention to popular science, restores the corresponding environment of the corresponding animal as much as possible in the environment, and attaches the introduction of the corresponding animal after clearing the level selection interface, which is entertaining and educational.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Amoyes
Team members: Xu Yiting, Chen Yunqi, Mu Siyu, Zhao Tongxuan
Instructor: Liu Zhejun, Lan Tianming (BGI)
The game is set in a future where the South China tiger is completely extinct. The player plays as Amayes, a South China tiger that has been restored and bred by humans and returned to nature, and activates different memories on different occasions by communicating with ancient memories in the bloodline to complete the rewilding process.
At the same time, players will follow the progress of the game to gradually uncover the truth of the extinction of the South China tiger. In the end, after completing all the rewilding processes, the player will find the same restored South China tiger under the guidance of the bloodline, so as to continue the population.
Excerpt from the game's promotional video
Did the creativity of your classmates open your mind? Games help us have immersive experiences and are one of the most integrated and complex forms of digital media.
After fully communicating with UW scientists, the students independently completed the system engineering with artistic and technical challenges such as story script writing, gameplay mechanism design, concept setting drawing, art resource production, program code writing, and game engine application in small groups, and highly integrated the charm of games with serious life science knowledge!
This cooperation is also a new attempt by BGI, and in the future, BGI Group will continue to explore the road of science popularization in the field of life sciences through more creative ways and methods.