A mobile game teaching AI literacy through gameplay.
course
GRC 429: Mobile User Experience
Role
UX/UI Designer
when
Spring 2026
Duration
10 weeks
Project Overview
Sprout Scouts is a playful mobile learning experience created for a mobile user experience course. My team explored how games could help younger students build AI literacy, recognize AI-generated content, and approach what they see online with curiosity and independent thinking.
I developed the real-versus-AI comparison game and character profile, from early sketches and paper prototypes to the final high-fidelity screens. I also explored Figma Make and Lovable to compare how different vibe-coding platforms interpreted our shared design prompt.
Process
Finding a Purpose for Play
For our mobile user experience course, my team was tasked with creating a mobile solution in the AI space. We focused on a concern we felt was especially relevant to younger students: how do you make sense of what you see online when AI-generated content is becoming harder to recognize? Our “How might we” questions helped us explore a playful approach to AI literacy, with the goal of encouraging curiosity and independent thinking rather than simply telling users what to trust.
Learning from Existing Experiences
We divided up competitor research to explore educational and gamified AI learning experiences. Each teammate examined layouts, navigation, strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities. Bringing those observations together helped us develop our user persona and journey, giving us a shared direction before we each took ownership of a core screen flow.
Sketching the “Real vs. AI” Game
I was responsible for a “which is which” comparison game where players distinguish real images from AI-generated ones. Through Crazy 8 sketches, I explored different screens, game ideas, and ways the experience could unfold. Sketching quickly gave me room to try alternatives before committing to a direction, while our moodboard exploration helped us imagine the personality of Sprout Scouts.
Exploring Vibe Coding
A major part of this project was learning what vibe-coding platforms could bring to our process. We used the same prompt across different tools to compare how closely their outputs matched the experience we had in mind. I explored Figma Make and Lovable, paying attention to how each interpreted our ideas and where the results needed more direction. It was a chance to experiment with AI as a design tool while still making our own decisions about the experience.
Bringing the Game to Paper
Before building our final screens, we created physical paper prototypes of our core flows and had classmates try them. We took notes on their reactions and responses as they moved through the experience. I especially enjoyed this part of the process because it made the game feel tangible and gave us a way to observe how someone else approached our ideas before refining them in Figma.
Building the Final Flow
With our explorations and classroom feedback in hand, we brought the experience together in Figma. I continued developing the comparison game and also designed the character profile, working within our shared design system to keep my screens connected to the rest of the app. Through iteration, I refined my initial ideas into a high-fidelity flow that felt like part of a cohesive, playful learning experience.
Reflection
Sprout Scouts made me much more comfortable with vibe coding, including the learning curves that come with figuring out how different platforms interpret an idea. Just as importantly, it reminded me how much I enjoy making things by hand and sharing them with others. Creating and testing paper prototypes was a highlight, and the project quickly became a game I wanted to play myself and show to my younger cousins and friends. I’m proud of what we created and grateful to my teammates for the ideas, care, and collaboration that made it possible.