AR / VR Game · Informal STEM Education

Molecule Mythos

A tabletop AR game that teaches chemistry and environmental science through scenarios, so what students learn in one world carries to the next, and to the real one.

Time
Oct – Dec 2024
Role
100% independent: 3D modeling, game development, learning design
Instructor
Han Tu
Technology
Unity, C#, Vuforia · iPhone / iPad

The problem

Chemistry learned as formulas stays on the page

Students can balance an equation for methane or recite what oxidation means, then fail to recognize the same chemistry in a news story about melting ice or a methane leak. Knowledge learned without a context rarely travels to a new one.

The approach

Put the concept inside a situation

Molecule Mythos drops players into worlds in trouble: a planet choking on methane, a cave starved of oxygen, a glacier melting under the sun. To save each one they have to choose the right chemistry and act on it with physical cards. The goal is understanding that carries beyond the game, to new problems and to the real world.

Learning design

Scenario first, formula second

The game is built on context- and scenario-based learning. Every concept arrives as the answer to a problem the player is already trying to solve, and reappears in a different world so it has to be recognized, not just recalled. That repetition across contexts is what builds far transfer.

Wrong pairing → hint, choose again
  1. ContextMeet a world in troubleEach level opens with a problem and real numbers: CH4 at 2–3 ppm, oxygen down to 10–12%, 30% of polar bear habitat lost in 50 years.
  2. DecideChoose the chemistryPlayers pick which card fits the situation. A wrong pairing sends them back with a hint, so they reason about the problem instead of guessing.
  3. ActRun the reactionThe right combination triggers the reaction in the scene. Cause and effect are visible: methane breaks down, oxygen rises, the ice holds.
  4. TransferCarry it somewhere newEach level closes by linking the reaction to a real issue: greenhouse gas policy, soil and water, arctic wildlife. The concept leaves the game with the player.

The whole loop

Learning Loopwrong pairing → hint, choose again1ContextA world in trouble,with real numbers2DecidePick the card thatfits the problem3ActRun the reaction,watch the world change4TransferLink it to areal climate issuehow far it travels5Near transferNext challenge inthe same world6Across contextsSame principles inthree different worlds7Far transferReal problems: methaneemissions, glacier melt→ beyond the game
  1. Near transferSame worldApply a reaction to the next challenge in the level.
  2. Across contextsThree worldsRecognize the same principles (energy, redox, gas balance) in very different environments.
  3. Far transferThe real worldExplain real climate problems, like methane emissions or glacier melt, with the chemistry they practiced.

The deck

Six cards, one controller

Each card is a Vuforia image target. Scanning one brings a molecule, a machine or a material into the scene. Holding the concept in your hand turns it into something you use, not just something you read.

Interaction scene

The table is the world

AR·Standby

Level & game design

From flowchart to device

Level design board: for each of the three levels, a game flowchart, a learning flowchart, a terrain sketch with the AR phone view, key numbers and an in-game render. Game design storyboard of 22 in-game screens across three levels, linked by arrows, with the card scanned at each AR step. Photos of hands holding cards and an iPhone running the game across the alien planet, glacier and mineral levels.

The outcome

The final prototype connected physical cards, AR feedback, and scenario‑based learning into one playable system.