Copy Paste To Browser For Full-screen Experience: https://editor.p5js.org/AsmaAlMurr/full/i15QXvk3g
Overall Concept
My project, Majlis Madness, is an interactive game that introduces players to Emirati cultural traditions through play and memory. The game is set inside a majlis, a traditional gathering space where families and friends share hospitality, food, and conversation. Instead of just learning about this culture through text, the game engages the player with a memory sequence challenge where they must remember the order in which Emirati snacks “glow” and then repeat the sequence. The concept combines cultural storytelling and information with a fun, simple game design so that players learn something new while having an enjoyable experience.
Originally, my idea was to design the game around plants in a garden, where players would memorize the sequence of flowers. While this concept was visually appealing, it didn’t feel personal enough to me. I realized that using snacks in a majlis would be more meaningful, since it directly connects to my own cultural experiences and memories. Instead, I used its basic bones as a shell to create a better version of this game. This shift made the game feel more authentic and gave it a stronger connection to my Emirati traditions.
My Original Game Idea (Prototype):
Inspiration:
The design of Majlis Madness aims to blend visuals, sounds, and interactivity: background images depict the majlis, oud music plays in the background to create atmosphere, and traditional snacks like Vimto, laban, chips, and ice pops become the central objects of the memory challenge. This makes the project both playful and informative, highlighting how cultural spaces like the majlis combine hospitality, tradition, and fun.
On a personal level, I feel a deep connection to the majlis because it has always been at the center of family and community life for me. Growing up, it was the place where I learned the value of gathering, listening, and sharing food. By recreating it in my game, I wanted to honor this space and give players a sense of its warmth, cultural meaning, and social importance. For me, the project is not only about coding a game but also about carrying forward traditions that shaped my own experiences.
For the background of the game, I was inspired by the traditional majlis setting, with its patterned carpets, red cushions, and lanterns that create a warm, communal atmosphere. This space felt like the perfect environment to represent Emirati culture, since the majlis is where people come together to share food, stories, and hospitality. For the basket element, I drew inspiration from traditional Emirati handwoven baskets, like the ones I saw being crafted by Emirati women around the UAE. These baskets symbolize both craftsmanship and cultural continuity, and including them in the game was my way of honoring the artistry and traditions passed down through generations.
For the sound design, I wanted it to feel authentic and true to the spirit of the majlis. After struggling to find the right audio online, I decided to ask a few local friends for inspiration. Their suggestions helped me discover tracks that carried the warmth and cultural depth I was aiming for, which made the game atmosphere feel much more genuine. I decided to stick to the classic tradition of the oud instrument as that is what both my friends and I associate with the majlis setting .
Screenshot on whatsapp where I asked for help for selecting the sound:
Here is an image of a Oud instrument for those who have never seen one:
How It Works: (Game mechanics)
When the player loads the game, they first see a cover screen with a logo for the game (Majlis Madness) and two options. Pressing ‘Enter’ takes them to a welcome page that introduces the Emirati majlis and explains its cultural importance. There is also an instructions page that gives step-by-step directions on how to play. Once the player starts, they watch a glowing sequence of snacks and then try to click them back in the same order. Each correct click is rewarded with a glow effect and a positive sound, while mistakes trigger an error sound, a red X, and eventually a gameover screen. If the player completes a sequence, they level up and face a longer, more challenging sequence.
Technically, the game uses a state machine to move between phases such as “cover”, “welcome”, “instructions”, “waiting”, “show”, “play”, “win”, and “gameover”. Images and audio files are preloaded, and the layout is made responsive so the game can adapt to fullscreen sizes.
Planning and Design
(CHAT GPT WAS USED FOR SPECIFIC ARTISTIC ELEMENTS)
Before I wrote a single line of code, I began designing the game on paper. Sketching out screens and flows helped me plan the user experience in a structured way. I connected this process with UI concepts we had learned in class, like keeping instructions simple, providing clear feedback, and creating intuitive navigation between states. Having this roadmap made the actual coding process smoother, since I already had a clear vision of how each part of the game should look and feel.
Initial Planning Sheet:
Whiteboard In Class:
For the visual elements, I combined resources from different places. I gathered some reference images from Google (like snacks and majlis items) and then used ChatGPT to generate cartoon versions of these objects, then further tweaked them on procreate. This gave the game a playful and consistent art style while still grounding it in recognizable Emirati cultural elements. I liked how this workflow let me balance authenticity with creativity, bringing everyday cultural objects into a polished, game-ready format. For assets that were more specific like the glow feature in the game I used procreate on my iPad to draw a glowy circle because that was too difficult to find on google images, so it was better to create that on my own.
I am especially proud of the way my project mixes cultural storytelling with technical interactivity. Adding atmospheric oud music, using Arabic text (“مرحبا”) alongside English, and visually highlighting Emirati snacks that most locals relate with their childhood makes the game feel culturally rich. From a technical perspective, organizing the code into states and using a class for snacks makes the project more readable and user-friendly, while still handling animation, audio, and user feedback effectively.
Code Snippet:
I am particularly proud of the code that handles snack animations and misclick feedback, because it brings the game to life and makes the experience feel way more polished. The way it checks for shaking when a player clicks the wrong snack, enlarging when a snack is chosen, and glowing during active play, adds personality to each object and makes the interactions more satisfying. I also like how the red X sign briefly appears on a misclick before moving to the gameover state, it gives the player clear feedback without being overwhelming. For me, this section shows how I was able to combine logic and creativity: not just making the game functional, but adding expressive details that make it feel engaging and fun.
// Draw snacks with active animations
for (let i = 0; i < snacks.length; i++) {
const shaking = wrongIndex === i && wrongShakeFrames > 0;
const enlarging = clickedSnack === i;
const glowOnTop = enlarging && state === "play";
snacks[i].draw(shaking, enlarging, glowOnTop);
}
if (wrongShakeFrames > 0) wrongShakeFrames--;
// when showing a misclick, display the red X sign briefly then go to gameover
if (state === "misclick") {
if (wrongIndex >= 0 && xImg) {
const s = snacks[wrongIndex];
image(xImg, s.x + s.w / 2 - 30, s.y - 40, 60, 60);
}
misclickHold--;
if (misclickHold <= 0) state = "gameover";
return;
}
Debugging 🙁
Debugging turned out to be one of the most challenging but also most important/ rewarding parts of this project. There were times when I stared at the same piece of code for hours and couldn’t see what was wrong, and I realized I needed fresh eyes, either by stepping away and taking breaks or by asking someone else to look at it with me. That process often helped me notice small mistakes I had been overlooking. The class we had last week on debugging strategies ended up being way more useful than I expected for a project of this size. It gave me practical techniques, like breaking problems into smaller parts and testing sections of the code separately, which saved me a lot of time and frustration.
Me when I find the bug after looking for hours, just to realize I had spelt the word “function” wrong:
Challenges and Areas for Improvement
One of the biggest challenges I ran into was learning how to use states (this made me want to cry), since I had never worked with them before. At first, it was confusing to manage the different phases of the game and make sure each part made sense (like the cover screen, instructions, and gameplay) and transitioned smoothly. Over time, I began to understand how states could structure the flow and make the game easier to organize. Another challenge was finding traditional Emirati audio that felt authentic and added to the mood of the majlis setting. I wanted the sound to truly capture the atmosphere, so it took extra effort to search for the right oud tracks that matched the visuals and theme of the game.
For improvements, I would like to add more cultural depth to the game, such as different levels themed around other parts of Emirati hospitality or new backgrounds showing other Emirati cultural settings. Technically, the game could also benefit from smoother animations, for example, fading glows or a more creative transition between states and more positive feedback when a player levels up. While the core mechanics and atmosphere work well, as I learned in this course there is ALWAYS room to expand our games, wether that’s in terms of storytelling or even polishing the technical aspects. Overall, I’m very happy with how this turned out.