What is This?

This is a game made by the Office of Sustainability at the University of San Francisco. It is designed to teach the player the basics of sorting waste in San Francisco, based on the current recycling and composting guidelines.

Keep in mind that, while this game is a useful educational tool for learning how to sort waste into the three primary bins, there are other types of waste (electronic waste, bio-hazardous waste, etc) that are not represented in the game. If you are unsure about where to put an item, a quick online search or email to the Office of Sustainability can easily remedy the situation.

It is also worth noting that many items are better reused than recycled. Always look for ways to use old items for a new purpose, or (if the item is in good condition) donate it to a charity.

 

How to Play

Controls:

Once in the Main Game scene, you can sort items either by dragging the image of an item into its corresponding bin or pressing the numbers ‘1’, ‘2’, or ‘3’ which correspond to compost, landfill, and recycling respectively.

After completing a game, don’t forget to submit your score!

 

Button Explanation:

The game should start loading automatically. If not, click the start button to begin the loading process.

The in game button for returning to the Main Menu.

Above is the “Back” button, which return from one scene back to the menu.

The buttons which can toggle music and sound effects in game

Above are the music and sound effect buttons,which allow you to toggle the audio to suit your preferences.

Above is the “Play” button, which switches from the Main Menu into the Game Scene.

The in game high score button, which allows you to view the high scores.

Above is the “High Scores” button, which toggles the high scores screen which shows which players have the highest scores.

 

Here is an example of the Main Game scene, which is where the sorting takes place.

The in game Main Game scene.

 

 

the in game view of the image, image text, and timer.

Above is a highlight of the in game User Interface, which provides an image of the object, the text representing the object, and a timer for how long the user has been looking at the object.

 

An example of the three primary waste bins, with the text "compost", "landfill", and "recycling" under each bin.

Above is an example of what happens when you sort incorrectly. A red ‘X’ appears over the bin which you used incorrectly, and a green “Check” appears over the bin that the item should have gone into.

 

The graphic which appears when you get a sort correct.

Above is an example of the graphic that appears when you get a sort correct. The green “Check” appears by the waste image box.

 

The in game menu which depicts the user's score and remaining lives, with each life being depicted as a tiny planet earth.

Above is another highlight of the User Interface, which represents your current score and remaining attempts. Each time you sort incorrectly, an attempt is used up and a tiny Earth is lost. After four failed attempts, the game is over.

The in game submit score interface which allows users to submit their high score with a 3 character long name.

Above is the “Submit Score” Interface, which allows a user to submit their score and a corresponding 3 character name to the high score chart.