Building My Ethical Decision-Making Game Prototype in Construct 3

Introduction

For my final project in Designing Games for Learning, I created a functional game prototype called Echoes of Tomorrow using Construct 3. This prototype explores how technology, ethics, and environmental decisions ripple forward through time. My goal was to design a learning experience where players see the consequences of their choices through visible score changes and different future outcomes.

The game follows a simple core loop:

Discovery → Decision → Reflection

Each level is intentionally designed to teach and reinforce this loop. 

Play the Game

https://rmichael.itch.io/echoes-of-tomorrow

Learning Objectives

• Players will understand how technological, ethical, and environmental decisions influence long term outcomes.

• Players will learn to weigh tradeoffs between quick progress and sustainable community focused decision making.

• Players will experience how small decisions compound and shape larger systems across time.

How to Play

• Move with A and D keys or the Arrow keys

• Press E to interact with data nodes and decision stations

• Click on screen buttons to continue between screens

• Follow the on screen tutorial to understand the influence of each choice

Title Screen & Stylized Introduction

Before players begin interacting with the game world, they encounter a clean, stylized Title Screen followed by an introductory story page that explains the purpose of the game and the three major categories affected by player choice: Technology, Ethics, and Environment.

These screens help set the tone: reflective, futuristic, and focused on the impact of innovation.

Tutorial Level: The Foundry (Discovery and First Choices)

The first playable level, the Foundry, introduces movement, interaction, and the concept of gathering information before making decisions.

What I implemented

• A movement tutorial that appears when the layout loads

• A data node that represents the Discovery phase

• Two ethical decision stations:

  • Efficiency, which provides fast progress at a cost

  • Sustainability, which protects resources but slows progress

• A persistent HUD showing the three score categories

• Score adjustments that respond immediately to the player's choices

• An exit that leads to the next level

The Foundry level introduces the core loop in a guided, low-pressure environment. Players begin to understand that each action has consequences.

City Level: Applying Choices in the Present

The next level, City, builds directly on the choices made earlier and shows players how those choices echo into a more complex environment.

What I implemented

• Two new decision points:

  • Luxury Project, which increases technology but lowers ethics and environment

  • Public Transit Upgrade, which supports ethics and environment

• A HUD that continues to display evolving scores

• A short introduction explaining the purpose of the level

• An exit that transitions the player toward their final outcome

This level reinforces the idea that the present is shaped by the past, and the player is shaping the city through their choices.

Environment Level: Reflection and Future Outcome

The final level, Environment, brings all previous decisions together. When this level loads, the system evaluates the final values of Technology, Ethics, and Environment to determine one of three possible endings:

• Balanced Future, where all three scores are high

• Dystopian Future, where ethics or environment are too low

• Mixed Future, where outcomes are blended

Each ending includes:

• A unique background

• A narrative message that reflects the consequences

• The final scores displayed through the HUD

This level completes the Reflection phase of the loop. It shows players how their decisions shaped tomorrow.

Design Updates Since Level 3

• Added an Intro Story page to clearly explain the purpose and structure of the game

• Added on screen instructions for movement and interaction to improve onboarding

• Improved the scoring system so decisions consistently update global values

• Added a more detailed ending system that evaluates three score categories to determine one of three futures

• Updated UI styling across levels for a cohesive and polished look

• Enhanced the HUD so that players always see how their choices are affecting outcomes

• Improved event sheet structure and layout flow after testing in Level 3

Reflection on Iterative Design and Construct 3

What worked or did not work in my experimentation with Construct 3

Working in Construct 3 helped me quickly test ideas, but it also revealed several issues that only became clear through hands-on experimentation. The scoring system originally did not update correctly, and some of my events were not firing because layouts were not connected to the correct event sheets. These issues pushed me to understand how Construct handles global and local logic. On the positive side, the rapid test cycle in Construct 3 made it easy to adjust events and immediately see the results. The visual event system made debugging more intuitive once I learned how event order and conditions interact.

What I learned about early prototyping in a new game engine

Building an early prototype taught me that prototyping is about discovering what the game really needs. Even simple mechanics, like pressing a key to choose an option, require careful attention to collision setup, UI feedback, and variable tracking. Each test made it clear that breaking a design into small, testable parts leads to better results. I also learned how closely design and development are connected. As soon as I clarified a mechanic in my design, the event logic became easier to script.

How Construct 3 influenced the way I think about my design overall

Construct 3 changed the way I think about player experience. Seeing the game in action made me realize how important clarity is in instructions, visual cues, and pacing. The need for immediate feedback helped me design a stronger HUD and a more structured tutorial. Construct 3 also influenced my thinking about feasibility. Some ideas sounded simple but were more complex to implement. This encouraged me to value simplicity, clarity, and strong structure in my design choices. Overall, Construct 3 helped me understand how gameplay, learning goals, and user experience must work together.

Conclusion

Echoes of Tomorrow became more than a prototype. It became an exploration of how players understand consequences across time. By combining simple movement controls with a decision based scoring system, the game helps players reflect on sustainability, ethics, and technological advancement.

This project expanded my understanding of Construct 3 and strengthened my appreciation for how thoughtful design and clear feedback support learning.