WORLD OF POLLUTION: IMPLEMENTASI MEKANIK SOULSLIKE DAN METROIDVANIA DALAM PENGEM-BANGAN GAME EDUKASI PENCEMARAN LINGKUNGAN

ABSTRACT

Environmental pollution across land, water, and air threatens the global ecosystem due to unsustainable human activities. Most existing educa-tional games are considered rigid and boring for the younger generation. This research aims to design a 2D educational game titled "World of Pol-lution" by integrating Soulslike mechanics and Metroidvania non-linear exploration to enhance player engagement.
The development utilizes the Game Development Life Cycle (GDLC) framework from Initiation to Release using the Unity engine. The game focuses on environmental storytelling and Dark Ambient audio to convey ecological messages organically without excessive textual narrative. Ed-ucational health values are reinforced through disease-representative boss naming: Tetanorid, Pneumovox, and Cholerapod.
The design results demonstrate that the game successfully achieves game-play balancing by implementing a restricted dash mechanic with a 1-second cooldown. Testing proves that the game is functional, challenging, and effective as a fun alternative learning medium to increase environ-mental awareness among the target audience of teenagers aged 13–18.
Keywords: Educational Game, Soulslike, Metroidvania, Environmental Pollution, GDLC, Environmental Storytelling.

Pencemaran lingkungan darat, air, dan udara kini mengancam ekosistem global akibat aktivitas manusia yang tidak berkelanjutan. Mayoritas game edukasi saat ini dinilai kaku dan membosankan bagi generasi muda. Penelitian ini bertujuan merancang game edukasi 2D "World of Pollution" dengan mengintegrasikan mekanik Soulslike dan desain eksplorasi non-linear Metroidvania guna meningkatkan keterlibatan kognitif pemain (player engagement).
Metode pengembangan menggunakan Game Development Life Cycle (GDLC) dari tahap Initiation hingga Release pada engine Unity. Game ini berfokus pada environmental storytelling dan audio Dark Ambient untuk menyampaikan pesan ekologis secara organik tanpa narasi tekstual ber-lebihan. Nilai edukasi kesehatan juga diperkuat melalui penamaan bos representasi penyakit polusi, yaitu Tetanorid, Pneumovox, dan Cholera-pod.
Hasil perancangan menunjukkan game ini berhasil menciptakan keseim-bangan gameplay (balancing) melalui penerapan mekanik pembatasan dash dengan cooldown 1 detik. Pengujian membuktikan game ini fungsional, menantang, serta efektif sebagai media pembelajaran alter-natif yang menyenangkan (fun) dalam meningkatkan kesadaran ling-kungan bagi target audiens remaja usia 13–18 tahun.
Kata Kunci: Game Edukasi, Soulslike, Metroidvania, Pencemaran Ling-kungan, GDLC, Environmental Storytelling