Witch Task

Sonia Lin, College of Engineering (Computer Science) and Emilee Meng, LSA (Computer Science)

Witch Task is a gamified task manager app intended to assist teens and young adults in organizing and managing their tasks, activities, and responsibilities. Our project combines a mix of many different disciplines ranging from game design and programming, art and graphic design, storytelling, UI/UX design, and psychology and behavioral science. These disciplines combined serve as the foundation of our app, designed to aid users in achieving their task objectives and motivate them with immersive content through our endearing characters, engaging stories, and interactive mini-games.

This approach will effectively bridge aesthetics and functionality, creating a seamless and enjoyable user experience. Art plays a huge role in our project as it is the starting point for user engagement. By leveraging artistic elements, we aim to capture the user’s attention which is essential for our app’s success when it is officially launched. Throughout our app, art exists in the environment, characters, UI layout, and more.

Despite us both being computer science majors, our shared passion for art and design is what helps us build balanced and dimensional projects. Our partnership definitely gives us great advantages, including the ability to complement each other’s skill strengths and make well-rounded decision-making perspectives.

Some expected challenges include meeting scheduling conflicts and differing development opinions. However, we view this differing opinion positively as it helps us gain new perspectives and the constructive feedback we receive can lead us to better solutions.

Our general timeline has been planned out with week-to-week tasks sharing responsibilities between both team members. We divide coding tasks and collaborate/pair-program when any one of us faces difficulty. Art-related tasks involve close collaboration, especially in the conception phase. As for 2D asset creation, one member handles sketching while the other focuses on coloring to ensure consistency in art style while reducing the heavy burden.

The expected impact of our project on the local community is undoubtedly positive. In a world heavily influenced by technology, our gamified task manager presents as a new form of the typical motivational tool. Not only do we want to foster a productive environment where everyone is focused on their goals/tasks in-app, we aim to create a productive feel-good community within our local area, bringing together individuals who use Witch Task.

Our app allows for various customizations, including different skin tones, hairstyles, and clothing. This means individuals from diverse backgrounds can design characters that look like them, reinforcing a sense of belonging and representation within the application. Character customization features can also challenge stereotypes, thereby promoting a more inclusive and open-minded community.

Together, we have a total of 4 years of Unity experience, having practiced professional software development during this period. Since childhood, we’ve both experimented with art in many mediums including painting, colored pencils, and digital media. Throughout college, we’ve both taken coursework in entrepreneurship for business launch, and programming classes based on human-centered design and social good. With these skills, we’re confident in our ability to complete this project!