At Vongrid, we love turning ideas into experiences. Recently, we partnered with Legends of Learning to create an educational game called Scales of Whimsy. The challenge? We were given just the learning objectives and learning aims—and from there, we had to design, develop, and deliver a complete game.
You can try the game here:
From Concept to Game Design
Our starting point was a blank canvas with educational goals at the center. We mapped the given objectives into engaging mechanics that wouldn’t just teach, but also entertain. This step became the foundation of our Game Design Document (GDD), which detailed:
Core gameplay loop
Learning integrations
Level flow
Player rewards and feedback systems
The GDD served as our compass, ensuring gameplay aligned with the required outcomes.
Bringing Worlds to Life with Blender & 2D Art
Visual identity matters just as much as mechanics. We began by sculpting characters, environments, and props in Blender, capturing the right style and proportions. These 3D assets were then rendered into 2D sprites that retained depth and personality while keeping file sizes efficient.
This hybrid approach gave us the freedom to experiment with lighting and forms in 3D, while delivering the crisp 2D look we envisioned.
The Challenge of Optimization
Keeping the build size low was one of the toughest parts of development. To achieve this, we:
- Utilized sprite compression algorithms without losing visual clarity
- Used Streaming Assets Loading in run-time for all sounds
- Streamlined particle effects so they looked rich but used minimal resources
- Wrote lightweight, optimized code to ensure smooth performance across devices
This process forced us to be highly creative with every asset and line of code. In the end, Scales of Whimsy stayed under the required limit without compromising quality.
At Vongrid, projects like this are why we love what we do: transforming abstract ideas into interactive worlds that teach, challenge, and inspire.
Try It Yourself
The result is a compact, polished educational game that blends learning with fun, built entirely around the objectives provided by Legends of Learning.