Portfolio: Creative/Interactive.
Tropical Savannas CRC/Charles Darwin University and partners
Savanna Walkabout.
Tropical Savannas CRC/Charles Darwin University and partners came to Universal Head to design Savanna Walkabout, an extensive educational project whose purpose was to provide teachers with a comprehensive learning tool on the subject of Australia’s tropical savanna environments. It was a new experience for both the client and Universal Head, neither of which had tackled such an extensive Flash-based project before.
Working closely with the client project leaders, Universal Head designed the look and layout of the piece and collaborated on creating interactive games and puzzles that would most effectively teach the material to students—not only teach, but inspire. A huge amount of information needed to be entertainingly communicated. Some of the ideas included creating cartoon characters (eg ‘Terry the Termite’) to lead students through sections; a fully interactive ‘Researcher’s desk’ where students could get a feel of what it was like to be a scientific researcher (and even drain the coffee cup on the desk!); several drag-and-drop puzzles and many feedback-filled questionnaires. The presentation uses animation, video and sound coupled with extensive photographic imagery to make the subject come alive.
The finished piece is available for use on the web and has also been sent to numerous schools on CD, and has been declared a great success. Universal Head is already hard at work on a similar project for the same client.
Experience the entire Savanna Walkabout educational module (Flash 8+ required).