🌿 Nature and Environment
ArcLycée integrates environmental education and natural sciences throughout the entire adventure. Each world presents real ecosystems from the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with endemic species, ecological threats, and conservation actions.
🌊 Caribbean Marine Ecosystem
The Aquatic World and the Manatee Sanctuary recreate the seabeds of the Dominican Caribbean.
🐢 Sea Turtles (4 species)
Hawksbill Turtle
Shell with overlapping color patterns. Essential for coral reef health — feeds on sponges. Threatened by the tortoiseshell trade.
Leatherback Turtle
The largest sea turtle in the world (up to 2m). Leathery shell, not bony. Migrates thousands of kilometers between nesting and feeding grounds.
Loggerhead Turtle
Large head and strong jaws for crushing mollusks and crustaceans. Nests on Dominican Caribbean beaches.
Green Turtle
The only herbivorous sea turtle. Feeds on seagrasses and algae, maintaining the health of underwater meadows.
🐋 Marine Mammals
Caribbean Manatee
Herbivorous marine mammal that can weigh up to 600 kg. In the game, the player frees a mother trapped in a ghost net and reunites her with her calf. Ghost nets (abandoned fishing nets) are one of the greatest threats to manatees.
Humpback Whale
Every winter, thousands of humpback whales migrate to Samaná Bay (DR) to breed. In the game they swim along Bezier paths with procedural whale song.
🐟 Invasive Species
Lionfish
Voracious predator with no natural enemies in the Caribbean. Eats up to 30 native species and destroys reefs. The game's ecological combat teaches real control methods: net capture, controlled fishing, coral protection, and alerting divers. Lionfish meat is edible and nutritious — cooking it is ecological!
🪸 Coral Reefs
The game features 4 types of photographable coral, each with dedicated rendering:
- Brain Coral (Diploria labyrinthiformis) — meandering grooves, 3D gradient
- Elkhorn Coral (Acropora palmata) — antler-like branches, branching structure
- Sea Fan / Gorgonian (Gorgonia ventalina) — woody stalk, branching veins with sub-veins
- Table Coral (Acropora hyacinthus) — horizontal platform
🪼 Jellyfish
Passive hazards with sinusoidal movement. Contact causes damage + slowness effect + avatar shake (0.4s).
⚠️ Ecological Threats in the Game
- Ghost nets — Abandoned fishing nets that trap marine mammals. The player frees the manatee by cutting the net.
- Plastic pollution — Bags, bottles, and cans in the Manatee Sanctuary reef. The player collects them as an ecological action.
- Speedboats — Speedboats that pass through the propeller zone, causing damage to marine fauna and the player.
- Invasive lionfish — Ecological imbalance caused by introducing a species with no natural predators.
🐊 Lake Enriquillo Ecosystem
Lake Enriquillo is the largest lake in the Caribbean and the lowest point of Hispaniola (40m below sea level). Its waters are hypersaline — up to 3 times saltier than the sea. Cabritos Island (Taíno name: Guarizacca) at its center harbors unique biodiversity. In the game, the island is an irregular polygon of 36 points reflecting its real dimensions (12 km × 2.5 km, ~5:1 ratio) with a jagged coastline. The player swims with rotation, kick animation, and water ripples (diagonal angles: ±135° down, ±45° up). All fauna can be photographed (T) and selfied (G) with dedicated per-species sprites.
🐊 Reptiles
American Crocodile
Lake Enriquillo hosts the largest population of American crocodiles in the Caribbean. They can reach 4-5 meters. In the game they patrol the lake with articulated jaws, clawed legs, undulating tail, and perform a death roll when biting. The bite has a custom procedural sound (mordidaCocodrilo) with jaw snap, deep thump, Wilhelm-style descending scream, and guttural growl + player shake.
Rhinoceros Iguana
Endemic to Hispaniola. Recognizable by its snout horns (3 protuberances), which give it its name. Dorsal crest of triangular scales. Yellow eyes. Cabritos Island has one of the largest populations in the world. In the game it always stays on land (land clamping) — it does not enter the water.
Ricord's Iguana
One of the most endangered iguanas in the world. Distinguished by its red eyes and gray-blue coloration (unlike the rhinoceros iguana which is green-gray). Endemic to Hispaniola. In the game it always stays on land (land clamping) — it does not enter the water.
Hispaniola Racer
The largest colubrid snake in the Americas and the longest in the Antilles, reaching up to 2 meters. Non-venomous. In the game it moves sinuously along the shores with a periodic forked tongue. It always stays on land (land clamping) — it does not enter the water.
🦩 Birds
American Flamingo
Common in the shallow waters of Lake Enriquillo. They stand on one leg (classic pose) and walk slowly with periodic movement. When the player approaches within 80 px, they take flight with a flapping wings animation, then return after 3 seconds. Their pink color comes from carotenoids in their diet of crustaceans and algae.
Burrowing Owl
Small diurnal owl that nests in burrows in the ground of Cabritos Island. Fun fact: they don't dig! They use burrows abandoned by other animals — they're owls that "borrow".
🌵 Xerophytic Vegetation of Isla Cabritos
Isla Cabritos — called Guarizacca by the Taínos — features a dry thorny subtropical forest characteristic of arid zones. Some thorny shrubs (guasábara, bayahonda, alpargata) also grow in shallow water near the island shore. Columnar cactus and pitahaya do NOT grow in water. The main species are:
- Pilosocereus polygonus — Columnar cactus, dominant in the island's landscape
- Harrisia nashii (pitahaya) — Cactus with edible red fruit
- Guaiacum officinale (guayacán) — National tree of the DR, blue flowers, extremely hard wood
- Prosopis juliflora (bayahonda) — Thorny tree with flat crown, drought-resistant
- Cylindropuntia caribaea (guasábara) — Cactus with cylindrical segments
- Consolea moniliformis (alpargata) — Pad cactus, endemic to Hispaniola
🗿 Las Caritas
On the northern cliff of the lake are Las Caritas — petroglyphs carved into the limestone by the Taínos 500-1,000 years ago. They are faces with varied expressions (smiling, surprised, serious) representing spirits, ancestors, and deities. In the game there are 7 interactive caritas with an educational dialogue.
⛏️ Cuevas del Pomier
The Cuevas del Pomier (San Cristóbal, DR) contain the highest concentration of cave art in the Caribbean — more than 6,000 Taíno petroglyphs and pictographs.
- Petroglyphs — Symbols carved in rock: the sun, the spiral, the cemí, the frog (fertility), and the dujo (ceremonial seat of the cacique).
- Vandalism graffiti — A real problem: visitors write over the walls, damaging ancient art. In the game there is a warning sign with a no-spray-can symbol.
- Conservation — The player learns that protecting these sites is everyone's responsibility.
♻️ Player Ecological Actions
The game tracks the player's ecological actions, which influence the story's ending.
- Free the manatee — Cut the ghost net trapping the mother manatee (+10 reputation, +1 ecological action)
- Clean the reef — Collect bags, bottles, and cans from the coral reef (+10 reputation, +1 ecological action)
- Ecological combat with lionfish — Use invasive species control methods (capture, fishing, coral protection, alert)
- Photo album — Photograph turtles, corals, manatees, and other species to document biodiversity
The Ecological Ending is unlocked by completing 3+ ecological actions without violent combats. The Caribbean Sea recovers, turtles swim free, and native fish return.
🌎 Conservation and Education
Threatened species and ecosystems featured in the game.
| Species | IUCN Status | World | Main threat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Caribbean Manatee | Vulnerable | Manatee Sanctuary | Ghost nets, speedboats, habitat loss |
| Hawksbill Turtle | Critically Endangered | Aquatic World | Tortoiseshell trade, bycatch |
| Green Turtle | Endangered | Manatee Sanctuary | Hunting, pollution, seagrass loss |
| Leatherback Turtle | Vulnerable | Aquatic World | Plastic ingestion, coastal lighting |
| Loggerhead Turtle | Vulnerable | Aquatic World | Bycatch, pollution |
| Ricord's Iguana | Critically Endangered | Lake Enriquillo | Habitat loss, invasive species |
| Rhinoceros Iguana | Vulnerable | Lake Enriquillo | Hunting, feral dogs and cats |
| American Crocodile | Vulnerable | Lake Enriquillo | Habitat loss, human conflict |
| Coral Reefs | Threatened | Aquatic World | Climate change, acidification, pollution |