Zeus the Mighty Platformer Game
National Geographic Kids
Behold! Zeus the Mighty! Join your hamster friend Zeus on an html based platformer adventure game to reach the peak of Mount Olympus while tested on greek mythology by Athena. Play it here
Role
Project LeadCreative & Art Direction
UX & Design
Content Strategy
Audio Design
Created under the direction of NeoPangea
In a grecian themed pet shop, the hamster Zeus the Mighty and the cat Athena fancy themselves as greek gods among other pet shop creatures. With this companion game to the book by the same name, Zeus the Mighty is on a mission to reach the top of Olympus.
Left, right and up arrows are your friends as you try to beat the platform descent by leaping upwards from platform to platform amid ancient ruins. Collect coins as you jump but watch out for those ancient greek artifacts laying around, lest you bump into one and loose your collected coins.
Get to the next level, and you encounter your dear friend Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom. Here, she will pose a question about mythology. Answer correctly and you gain points and advance to the next level. Answer incorrectly and you’re doomed to stay at your current level until Athena allows you to pass.
Interactive prototypes were key as we tested the content strategy, point system, platform difficulty, and game mechanics at each stage of the project. I prototyped the user flow through wireframes, created the game design, and adapted the design as user testing feedback was collected.
Paired with key sfx and a suspenseful audio loop (with a nod to Zelda), the game was a delight to create as I collaborated with the Nat Geo and NeoPangea teams on the strategy, design, animation, and game mechanics.