Project Time Scale: 2 years

Team Size: 4

Role: Software Engineer/Designer

I was the sole software engineer and contributing game designer on this innovative biosecurity simulation tool. It was built at Bondi Labs in collaboration with a world-leading engineering company working on a multi-billion-dollar project in Western Australia. I worked closely with one artist and two other designers on the project.

Platforms: Windows 7/8, OS X, iPad

Devices: Mouse/Keyboard, Touch Screen

Tools: Unity, 3ds max, MySQL, Amazon RDS, .NET Framework, PHP

The first phase of the simulation was built in six months. We consulted with SMEs (subject matter experts) in the field of biosecurity, and recorded observations of PQIs (project quarantine inspectors) at work. This drove the game design of the first module, crafted around a simulation of a PQI’s shift, inspecting passenger items at the airport.

Gameplay was designed, approved for subject accuracy by the client, then prototyped and demoed to the customer for feedback and iteration. This process was so successful that it was used for the development of all subsequent modules. On site visits and face-to-face client reviews were performed every few months.

The core mechanic for the simulation was QRM identification and remediation. The user was scored on how many QRM they found per item and whether they chose the correct category for each QRM. In addition, they were marked on interacting with all “hotspots” (moveable parts) on each item, as they should in their real job.

A later module involved inspected large, stationary object that the user walked around with a torch, and sometimes needed to prop up on a stand. To maintain compatibility and consistency with PC and tablets, in addition to catering for non-computer literate users (which we identified during user testing), we provided an easy-to-use movement system on splines. This avoided the user having to use complicated WSAD or virtual joysticks.

Detailed feedback on each inspected item was provided in the results screen. This included an X-ray showing where QRM were missed and what they were.

Another useful tool for assessing employee inspection technique was to analyse the method in which they inspected each item. A timestamped interaction timeline was recorded and saved to the database, which could later be recalled by supervisors via the analytics screens. This allowed supervisors to give personalised feedback to their employees to improve their technique, without having to watch each session in detail, which would have consumed a lot of their time.

In order to further facilitate training and knowledge outside of the game levels, an encyclopedia was added. This contained detailed information about all QRM that could spawn randomly in the game, including their impact on the environment.

Going above and beyond the initial pre-production design and contractual requirements of the first six-month phase, I suggested and built an analytics system, so that supervisors could look at historical user data. This effectively meant that they never had to watch users playing the simulation live, since all data could be aggregated and graphed for them, allowing for much more efficient viewing.

This required a user login system that recorded detailed results from all inspections to an online database. To this end, within the short deadline looming, I dusted off my SQL skills that I hadn’t used since university, and spent many bus trips to and from work reading books on SQL and PHP. The system was built in conjunction with Amazon RDS, C# and the .NET Framework.

The analytics system was provided for two purposes: (1) provide high score tables to encourage competition amongst employees within a company; and (2) for supervisors to assess the skills and progress of their employees over time.

Naturally, recording detailed inspection results per employee required a secure login system. This was built using a RESTful API in PHP and MySQL on the server side, communicating with C# .NET inside Unity on the client side. Data was packed, transferred and unpacked in JSON format. User passwords were encrypted with SHA-512 and individually salted for extra security. Passwords could be reset via an automated email confirmation system that included a unique token that would expire after seven days. Communication to and from the webserver was encrypted using an SSL certificate, and was hosted on Amazon RDS.

Multiple levels of user access were built in and manageable by the client, giving users only basic access, with team leads and supervisors having more access privileges. Companies could also be administered for reporting purposes.

Even though the detailed analytics graphs and tables provided all the information they needed, supervisors and team leaders requested an even faster way to summarise all the data into a monthly report. To this end, we suggested an email summary that would compile a report on the current month - or even request any past range of months - at the click of a button. We provided a simple interface in which to access the dates required, which was restricted to team leads and supervisors only.

This report queried the database for a summary of hours logged, leaderboards and progress for each user in the given company. Superusers could all request a single email report that summarised all companies in the database. Since the report came in the form of an email, the requestor could add notes and forwarded it on to other employees as they saw fit. The client was extremely pleased with the results.

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