University of Andorra students build video games rooted in local traditions

The University of Andorra’s bachelor’s programme in Computer Science is asking third‑year students to design video games that explicitly draw on Andorran traditions, legends and recognisable local elements. The initiative aims both to ground projects in national identity and to use game development as a practical learning exercise.

“We propose to students that the ideas for the games be related to Andorra,” said Jan Sau, a lecturer at UdA. Student teams have incorporated local mythological figures such as tamarros, episodes from folklore and historical motifs like the Armari de les Set Claus. Several projects are structured by parish, with levels intended to evoke the landscapes, symbols and cultural features of each territory. “For example, there is a game with a level set in Escaldes‑Engordany where the central element is the thermal water,” Sau explained.

Sau stresses that games are more than entertainment. “They can be a job and they can help us learn, for example, to program,” he said, adding that hands‑on projects tend to motivate students more than conventional exercises such as programming a calculator. The faculty also sees broader pedagogical potential in games: as part of his doctoral research, Sau has developed a game to teach household sustainability and to test whether this learning model can be as effective as traditional methods. “It’s an important topic: our students will soon have to become independent and live on their own, so it is interesting for them to acquire these skills,” he noted.

Asked about the local industry, Sau described the Andorran videogame sector as being “in a moment of many changes” but having “a lot of potential.” He pointed to good connectivity, an attractive location and favourable fiscal conditions as factors that could support growth, and noted that a handful of small game studios are already operating in the Principality on promising projects.