The University of Toronto at Mississauga (UTM) is launching a mobile game to help new students transition to university life.
The game, called “Guardians of UTM,” is a quest-based adventure revolving around a “mystery intruder” who is selling the school’s secrets to other schools, according to UTM’s website. Players must find the intruder and stop the leaks by joining a secret society which includes UTM mascots JimmiUTM, The Blind Duck, Hartley the Deer, and the UTM Eagle.
The game takes visual inspiration from classic video games such as The Legend of Zelda and Pokemon, according to the game’s developers on the UTM website. It encourages students to tour campus to find clues and tokens in order to beat the game.
Jackie Goodman, UTM student transition manager, said the development team has been working on the app for two years. She said the game was created by students, and was designed to help new students transition to school.
“We were trying to think outside the box because we know transition support is so important and helpful to get students on the right track from the moment they arrive,” Goodman said. “It’s delivering content that helps students learn without actually knowing you’re actually learning. Each quest is different and I would like to say it’s creative and witty.”
Goodman said the game is currently only available on iOS on Android devices, but will be open to other devices later on.
Jeremy Brzozowski, the manager of the Student Experience Office (SEO) at Carleton University, said he believes UTM’s mobile game will be helpful, since students are interacting more with universities through online and in-app channels. However, Brzozowski doesn’t think Carleton will be coming out with their own mobile game anytime in the near future.
“Carleton doesn’t have any immediate plans to roll-out a student app for transitioning to university,” Brzozowski said.
But Brzozowski said Carleton “will be rolling out a comprehensive and interactive transition guide to help guide students to and through university. This will be integrated into our mobile app and accessible to students.”
The SEO also helps students transition by hosting a mentorship program, which pairs first-year students with upper years.
