Coco Crunchers
A multi-year experimental game exploring learning, immersion, and AI-assisted gameplay
The Pitch
Coco Crunchers is a 2D Python educational game that evolved over three years as a comprehensive research platform, demonstrating the intersection of game-based learning, data collection, and artificial intelligence. More than just a game—it's a research platform exploring the effectiveness of game-based learning and AI-assisted education.
What I Built
3 skill-based levels: wall jumping, enemy combat, and platform navigation
Mathematical challenges integrated seamlessly into gameplay
Statistically significant learning improvement (83% → 92.5%, p = 0.02459)
32 participants tested across ages 8-77 over three years
GPT-4o-powered AI hintbot for educational assistance (Year 3)
Web-deployed via Pygbag after iterative technical problem-solving
Built with pygame-ce and Tiled level editor
The Story
The Beginning
What started as a simple educational game concept in 2022 evolved into a three-year research journey exploring how games can teach, how AI can assist learning, and how technical challenges shape development.
The Journey
Through three distinct research phases and 32 participants, Coco Crunchers demonstrated measurable learning outcomes while evolving from tkinter to pygame to web deployment. Year 1 proved games could improve math scores. Year 2 studied immersion across age groups. Year 3 integrated AI assistance, showing 35.8% faster completion times with GPT-4o-powered hints. The technical journey alone—overcoming deployment challenges from Flask to Django to Pygbag—represents persistent problem-solving.
Where It Stands
Today, Coco Crunchers stands as both an educational tool and a research artifact. Every level tells a story about learning design, every data point reveals user behavior patterns, and the entire three-year timeline demonstrates how iterative development and research can intersect to create meaningful impact.