Old as Dirt

The Brief

CoRE Learning Foundation developed Old as Dirt as a classroom Earth Science game for group learning. The teacher runs the session as the presenter, while students join through their browsers in teams and control inputs during the activity.

XGameDev was engaged to help move the existing Unity project from desktop delivery on Windows and Mac to an online WebGL application, then support the surrounding systems needed for classroom use, administration, deployment, and ongoing development.

Our Approach

We ported the Unity game to WebGL, fixed bugs, improved asset handling, and added feature work needed for online delivery. That included converting multiplayer-only activities so they could also run in single-player mode, letting students and teachers familiarise themselves with the games before joining a team session.

The project also needed backend and operations work around the game itself. We built Node.js and Express APIs on Firebase Functions, used Firestore for real-time data storage, added basic authentication for admin access, and moved hosting from the previous Azure setup to Firebase Hosting.

For administration and support, we built an Angular admin web app for user management and analytics, including logins, API key usage, games played, and user interactions. We also set up development, staging, and production environments, CI/CD for API and Unity WebGL builds, Sentry monitoring, Google Analytics, Doxygen documentation, and test-driven development for the backend APIs.

The Outcome

Old as Dirt became an online WebGL classroom product with browser-based student access, backend services, admin tooling, and deployment infrastructure around the Unity application. The project now supports both group and single-player use, with the operational pieces needed to manage users, monitor usage, and keep the product moving through active development.

Client Review

I've had the privilege of collaborating with Jacques and the XGameDev team for nearly twelve months now, and I can't speak highly enough of their services. We, the CoRE Learning Foundation engaged XGameDev to enhance our video games based on user feedback. With their full stack development skills, they were the perfect fit for transitioning our games to WebGL and implementing a range of improvements, some of which we hadn't even considered until the team went above and beyond to implement them. Throughout the project, working with XGameDev has been seamless; project planning and budgeting were effortlessly handled. Thanks to their exceptional work, the CoRE Learning Foundation now has increased confidence in our games and can maximize their value to schools, expanding our impact further. If you're seeking a developer for your project, I highly recommend choosing XGameDev!

Related Services

Moving your own game from desktop or mobile to the browser? Our game porting service covers source assessment, WebGL adaptation and release preparation.

This project sits across our Unity development, full-stack development, training simulation development, and GameDevOps services.

Links

• Old as Dirt website
• CoRE Learning Foundation gamification page
• CoRE Learning Foundation partners and sponsors
• 18 months of gamifying Earth Science learning
• Revolutionising STEM education with XGameDev
• CoRE Learning Foundation on YouTube
• Old as Dirt video