Life Among Lions

An educational game for young children to learn about the Maasai and their Lion Guardians.

Life Among Lions is a single-player click and drag game where the player is a Maasai lion guardian whose job is to protect the lives of both animal and human.

The game features art that draws inspiration from traditional Maasai art and is combined with elements of mobile art to deliver a sense of authenticity.

Players accomplish this goal by clicking on Maasai herders and redirecting them away from lions roaming in the area.

In the same vein, players also have to protect the lions by catching poachers. Who will try to hunt and kill the lions.

The player wins if they managed to keep their life count from reaching zero and lasting through the set time.

If you would like to learn more about the Lion Guardians, click on the button below.

Development

This project was one of the earliest projects of my Champlain College career.

I was assigned to a team with several other individuals to create an educational game that informs the players about an approved, specific aspect of a contemporary, under-represented group or culture. The target demographic for the game was 1st-3rd graders within the age range of 6-9 years old.

During our initial meetings, we batted around several ideas before eventually coming around the Maasai and the Lion Guardians. After discovering their efforts to promote positive values, we knew we all came to the conclusion that this was a group that more could stand to learn about.

The ultimate goal of Life Among Lions was to educate the player about the organization and the Maasai culture. Life Among Lions was made to help educate children. If we have pursued this project further, it would have been marketed towards schools and parents looking to expand their children's worldly views.

My part in this project revolved mostly around research and documentation, to make sure we were getting the most accurate picture of Maasai culture and society. I also helped with quality-assurance testing and collecting free source sound effects and music.

Meet the team behind Life Among Lions.