Engineering Core: STEM Minigames for RPG Maker MZ

Turn engineering into play. Engineering Core adds a Workshop to your RPG Maker MZ game with six engineering minigames, a Field Manual that players unlock as they earn stars, and quizzes and exams you can put anywhere in your story. Every round ends with a short "why" that works the answer through with that round's own numbers. That's the lesson, and it's why players come out knowing more than when they went in.

Part of the MZ Minigame Collection. This plugin is one of a growing library of themed minigames for RPG Maker MZ, from board games and puzzles to sports, casino and crafting. Mix and match to fill your world with things to do.

👉 See them all: https://itch.io/c/8090415/mz-minigame-collection

It's one plugin file. There's nothing to import: every gear, circuit and bridge is drawn by the plugin itself.

Three learner levels in one plugin

• Junior (ages 8 and up): ideas and pictures. Which way does the last gear turn? Where should the heavy block sit?
• Technician: real formulas with clean numbers, like V = I × R, gear ratios and moments.
• Journeyman: real units, friction losses, resistor wattage, yield strength and factors of safety.

Players can pick their level on the first visit and switch any time. You can also set it from an event, or lock it. Stars and best scores are kept for each level.

The minigames

Minigame	How you play	What it teaches
Circuit Lab	Fix the circuit: pick the resistor, current or voltage	Ohm's law, series and parallel, power ratings
Gear Works	Predict the output, then the motor proves it	Direction, gear ratios, idlers, compound trains, torque
Balance Beam	Slide your weight along the beam and drop it	Levers and moments, ΣM = 0
Pulley Lift	Rig the pulleys, then mash to haul the crate	Mechanical advantage, work, efficiency
Logic Lab	Flip the switches, then send power through	AND, OR, NOT, NAND, NOR, XOR
Bridge Builder	Pick the cheapest safe member, then a truck tests it	Beam shape, stress, factor of safety

Each game has an intro card, a timer with a speed bonus, a pause menu and a results screen with 0 to 3 stars. The puzzles are generated fresh every round, so no two runs are the same.

Field Manual, quizzes and exams

• Field Manual: 18 illustrated entries, three per minigame, each written for all three levels. They unlock as players earn stars, so reading becomes a reward.
• Pop Quiz: a plugin command with a topic, a number of questions, a pass mark and a pass switch. "Answer three questions about gears and I'll open the gate."
• Certification Exam: one per level, covering all six topics. Passing it awards a certificate made out to the party leader, and turns on a switch you choose.
• Your own questions: add them in the Plugin Manager, with an explanation for each.

Built to drop into your project

• No assets needed. Everything is drawn in code, and the sounds come from your database's system sounds. Pick your own BGM if you like.
• Results go where you need them. Win switch, score and star variables, a level variable, a total-stars variable and certificate switches.
• Event-friendly. The event waits while a minigame or quiz is open, so you can branch on the result in the very next command.
• Keyboard, gamepad, mouse and touch everywhere. The layout scales to your game's resolution.
• Optional main menu commands for the Workshop and the Field Manual.
• Classroom friendly: unlock the whole manual from the start, open every game, or lock them until the story gets there.
• Saves with the game. One file, no dependencies, and no core scripts edited.

Setup

1. Put EDU_EngineeringCore.js in your project's js/plugins/ folder.
2. Turn it on in the Plugin Manager.
3. Add the plugin command Open Workshop to an event.

Plugin commands

Open Workshop · Play Minigame · Open Field Manual · Pop Quiz · Take Exam · Set Level · Ask Level · Get Level · Unlock Minigame · Lock Minigame · Unlock Manual Entry · Get Stars · Reset Progress

Script calls

EngineeringCore.tier()                // current level, 0-2
EngineeringCore.stars("gears", 1)     // Gear Works stars at Technician
EngineeringCore.hasCert(2)            // Journeyman certificate earned?
EngineeringCore.lastResult.win        // last minigame won?

Make your own minigame

class Scene_MyGame extends EngineeringCore.Scene_Minigame {
    newRound() { this.prompt = "Press OK!"; this.why = "You pressed OK."; }
    updatePlay() { if (this.trig("ok")) this.answer(1); }
}
EngineeringCore.Minigames.register({
    id: "mash", name: "OK Masher", topic: "Reflexes",
    sceneClass: Scene_MyGame, blurb: ["Press OK.", "Press OK.", "Press OK."]
});

The base class handles the intro, countdown, timer, pause menu, the "why" panel, results, stars and saving. Your game shows up in the Workshop.

Requirements

RPG Maker MZ. Tested against the MZ 1.7.0 core scripts. It does not work in RPG Maker MV.

Terms of use

Free to use in commercial and non-commercial RPG Maker MZ games. Credit is appreciated. Please don't resell or redistribute the plugin file by itself.

Version history

1.0.0: First release.