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Karl’s Personal Reflection:

Working on this narrative game was a really interesting experience for me. One of the biggest changes we made was rewriting the whole game so it fits life in Egypt. I changed the currency, adjusted the prices, and made the situations feel more real and familiar. This made the game more natural and easier for players to connect with.

Mohamed helped me a lot throughout the project. He gave me ideas, shared feedback, and helped me see what needed to be improved. His input made the scenarios stronger and the final game more polished.

If I had more time, I would add more choices and make the game more advanced so players could explore different paths and outcomes.

I also learned how to use AI to build an interactive game. It taught me how choices, consequences, and storytelling come together to create an experience that teaches something in a fun way. Overall, I enjoyed the process and learned more than I expected.

Mohamed’s Personal Reflection:

This project was the missing puzzle for me that I was looking for. As a business major in AUC and lives in Egypt I became aware of how people in Egypt face huge illiteracy regarding their financial decisions, therefore I wanted to help. At the same time I started to minor in Information System and dive more in the technology side of my field, including programming, building databases and analyzing data.

Ever since, I wanted to create an interactive game that teaches basic financial literacy concept, there was always something that is missing, I was able to build concepts and scenarios, code the program and store any responses, but what was actually missing is the user interface or the interactive part. How I will be able to make people play this game, colors? font? visuals? I was completely lost thinking that I will have to learn a new field. When Dr Maha introduced to us how it is easy to code using AI and HTML I immediately realized this was my missing piece to make my personal project functioning. When the game ran for the first time without any errors and everything was clickable and actually navigated through each scenario with the required instructions I WAS SO HAPPY. Additionally, through this project I learned how to build a powerful prompt using another AI tool to actually craft this prompt with me with the required details in order to give me the maximum output from the first try.

If I had more time to actually work on this project I will try to make the scenarios consequences to affect and build on the top of each other, also will make the user interface of the game more interactive, like it can have a cash balance that gets affected by each scenario. All in All, this project was really beneficial for me, since it made me realize the potential for AI in the hand of anyone who just know the minimum amount of information about something.

How I Modified the Game Since the First Draft

Our game evolved substantially from the first draft, especially after receiving feedback from peers and Dr Maha. One of the most impactful changes we made was shifting the entire game’s currency to Egyptian Pounds. At first, the game used dollars, which created a disconnect between the scenarios and the everyday experiences of players in Egypt. By adapting the currency, the game immediately felt more relatable.

Alongside the currency update, we redesigned the scenarios to fit real-life conditions in Egypt. This included rewriting prices, daily expenses, transportation, financial habits, and cultural behaviors so that the player’s choices reflected realistic circumstances. The original scenarios were broad and somewhat general; the updated ones included Egyptian contexts such as inflation, local salaries, family expectations, common financial struggles, and familiar locations.

This localization made the game much stronger. It increased emotional engagement because players recognize situations they genuinely encounter. Earlier blog posts  show the initial version, which was more universal and less impactful. The revised version is more immersive, more meaningful, and more educational because it reflects actual financial decision-making in Egypt.

What I Would Have Done Differently With More Time

If we had more time, we would have expanded the game’s complexity. For example, adding more choices per scenario would create richer branching paths and allow players to see a wider range of outcomes. Right now, the structure is strong but fairly linear: every scenario has two choices. With additional work, each decision could open multiple new sub-paths, making the experience feel more like a dynamic decision tree.

We also would have advanced the mechanics of the game. This could include a cash balance that gets affected by the choices of the players, emotional status bars, player reputation, or consequences that carry over from one scenario to another. These advanced features would make the game feel more like a full narrative system rather than stand-alone scenarios.

Finally, with extra time, we would explore adding visuals, icons, animations, and interactive UI elements to enhance immersion and improve usability. These enhancements would elevate the game from a narrative prototype into a more complete, polished interactive experience.

What I Learned While Making This Game

While developing this narrative game, we learned a great deal about interactive storytelling, financial literacy design, and the practical uses of AI. One of the biggest lessons was how to build an interactive game using AI tools, including generating scenarios, structuring choices, and refining text based on iterative feedback.

We also learned how narrative games blend psychology with education. Each choice needed to reflect realistic human behavior, temptation, pressure, responsibility, fear of missing out, while still teaching financial principles. This helped us understand how player emotions and motivations influence decision-making.

Additionally, we gained experience in designing consequences that feel meaningful, fair, and connected to the player’s actions. Balancing realism with engagement was one of the most valuable skills we developed. We learned how to make financial literacy more interesting by turning real-life challenges into narrative experiences players can explore and learn from.