Carcraft: a Minecraft simulation game in Automotive Engineering
Intercollege’s Automotive Engineering study programme is participating in the innovative CarCraft project, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ programme, which aims to develop new approaches to Vocational Education and Training.
What is CarCraft
Minecraft is a popular sandbox video game that allows players to create and explore virtual worlds made of blocks. With its infinite possibilities, it has become a platform for many different types of games and simulations, including educational ones. One such simulation game is CarCraft, a Minecraft game that teaches learners of automotive engineering about the inner workings of a car.
Initial concept and the design methodology of CarCraft
The idea for CarCraft was born out of the challenges created by the impact of the pandemic and the enforcement of lockdowns, through a group of educators who raised the need of interactive learning tools, especially in the field of vocational education and training.
This group set out to create an educational game that would teach learners the basic concepts and principles of automotive engineering. Their vision was to create a 3D interactive and educational experience that would transport users to a unique environment. Thus, the game takes place in a huge, abandoned factory in the city of Kython, with the gameplay happening on the 13th floor of the factory.
The project’s team of educators, first developed a series of targeted learning outcomes and the corresponding training material to be integrated into the game. The training material includes ten different challenges that require players to use various aspects of the Minecraft engine, such as NPCs (Non-Player Characters), redstone mechanics, and personalized 3D models.
These challenges were designed to teach players about the four-stroke engine, the transmission system, the suspension system, and other key concepts of car mechanics. The development team made sure that the game is fun and interactive by incorporating puzzles and obstacles that players would need to overcome to progress through the game.
The result is an immersive educational experience that teaches players about car mechanics in a fun and interactive way.
The CarCraft partners piloted the game with instructors and learners in 4 partner countries (Cyprus, Greece, Hungary and UK) to ensure that it worked as intended. The feedback from the pilot helped the development team to make final adjustments and improvements to enhance the overall effectiveness of the game as a useful training tool.
Project partners
The Carcraft consortium consists of an international network of partners from 5 different countries: Middlesex University (UK), Intercollege (Cyprus), Trebag (Hungary), IEK Delta (Greece), IDEK (Greece), Atermon (The Netherlands).
For more information about the CarCraft game and how you can use it visit https://carcraft-project.eu/
This project has been funded with the support of the European Commission. This article reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein
