Symbiota

Nov 2021

A game simulating the human gut microbiome, aimed at promoting healthy eating.

Contribution: Web Development, Game Development
Technologies: JavaScript, p5.js, Figma

Try it out!

I developed this game to educate users about the human gut microbiome, an emerging field of study with important health implications. Taking inspiration from the classic tower defense game Plants vs. Zombies, Symbiota simulates an ecosystem of bacteria which users can interact with by introducing different foods. Players have to bring the good and bad bacteria into symbiosis by feeding the microbiome the right foods. I created all of the graphics except for the food images.

I created this game in my Interactive Media Arts class Biodesigning the Future of Food taught by Professor Stefani Bardin, who passed it along to the NYU Food Studies department for its educational potential.