Over the last few months, I’ve been iterating on my digital learning game, Circuit Breaker, transforming it from a concept document into a working Construct 3 prototype. What started as a simple safety-themed puzzle has evolved into a multi-level experience about sequencing, decision-making, and procedural awareness in a lab environment.
🧩 Game Overview
In Circuit Breaker, players take the role of a lab technician responsible for fixing electrical hazards safely. Each level presents a small environment filled with broken outlets, sparking fixtures, and the occasional overloaded breaker.
The player must assess the situation, toggle breakers when needed, and repair hazards to restore safety points. The challenge lies not in speed, but in following the proper sequence — an approach directly inspired by instructional models of procedural learning.
Goal: Restore power safely to the digital media lab by repairing hazardous equipment, toggling breakers correctly, and following proper safety procedures.
Learning Objective:
- Identify safe vs. unsafe electrical repair states.
- Apply a correct sequence of actions (disable breaker → collect tools → repair).
- Interpret environmental cues (sparks, lights, UI messages) as indicators of hazard.
- Strengthen procedural reasoning through Observe → Decide → Act → Feedback loops
How to Play:
- Move:
Arrow Keys
- Left Mouse Click: Menu Button Interaction
- Toolbox:
Must be collected before safe repair
- Goal:
Repair all hazards to complete the level
Unsafe actions reduce Safety Points and trigger penalty effects (sparks or smoke). On Level 2, there will be more hazards to fix. On Level 3, in addition to hazards, you have to reactivate the server in the correct sequence. - Hazards: You will find the following hazards across three levels:
- Outlets: Red means it is not fixed. It turns green once it is fixed.
- Light Fixtures: Same as outlets, will change color once it is fixed.
- Server: The server needs to be reset on Level 3. The three server nodes must have power and be activated in the correct order.
- Safe
A.I.: If you are ever stuck,
please consult your friendly A.I. on each floor.
🧠Iterative Design & Development
The journey from Level 1 to the final prototype was full of small but meaningful adjustments:
-
Added a breaker dependency system so outlets can only be repaired if their breaker is off.
-
Designed three distinct labs — Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert — to scale complexity.
-
Implemented UI feedback for toasts, scores, and hazards repaired.
-
Built Level Complete and Game Over screens to clarify progress and reinforce learning.
Each iteration in Construct 3 revealed new insights about both design and development. For example, I quickly learned that even simple rule systems (like “turn off the breaker first”) require careful event logic and testing. That iterative cycle — design, test, adjust, repeat — mirrored the instructional design process I’ve studied throughout this course.
💡 Reflection
Building Circuit Breaker in Construct 3 changed how I think about game design and learning design alike. The visual logic system made me rethink clarity: how every rule, cue, and condition translates into player understanding. I also realized how much iteration matters; small usability tweaks often made a bigger difference than large-scale mechanical changes.
Ultimately, this project wasn’t just about getting a working game — it was about designing a playable lesson that teaches through interaction. In that way, Circuit Breaker became both a prototype and a metaphor for safe design thinking: turn off the noise, troubleshoot, and build smarter.
🧾 Attribution
Construct 3 (engine), free license pixel assets, and original sound design by Joseph Sabo.
🕹️ Related Quest Log Entries
To see the full journey behind Circuit Breaker and my learning process, check out these earlier posts:
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