What happens when a designer with a love of medieval studies meets a game developer who thrives on creative collaboration? You get Dropcaps: a mobile word game that combines ornate typography, clever gameplay, and a touch of history.
The game, designed by associate professors of practice Kelcey Gray from the Department of Design and Jessie Contour from the Department of Arts and Entertainment Technologies (AET), invites players to spell themed words around illuminated drop caps, the decorative letters once found in medieval manuscripts. Think Scrabble meets Tetris, reimagined through the lens of medieval design.
The partnership between Gray and Contour began over a cup of coffee. “I had been pestering [AET Chair] Michael Baker about teaching a type class in AET,” Gray recalled. “Eventually, I reached out to Jessie and said, ‘Please, please teach this with me. I can’t teach game development, and you can.’” The pair soon realized they shared more than complementary skills: Gray had studied game development as an undergraduate, and Contour had studied typography. With both having expertise in one field and curiosity in the other, Gray said, “It just clicked.”
That coffee meeting sparked what would become both a course—Typography & Games, the first cross-listed class between the Departments of Design and AET—and a game prototype. “We thought, if we’re going to teach a class about typography and games, we should make one ourselves,” said Contour. “It started as a side project but ended up shaping the entire course structure.”
The early concept for Dropcaps was simple: a slow-paced spelling game where tiles fall like in Tetris. The project took on a new life when Gray incorporated her love of medieval art and type. “We realized we could build the game around illuminated letters,” she explained. “Each word begins with a large decorative capital, the drop cap, and continues with smaller tiles. It’s playful, but it also honors this rich visual history.”
The result is a game that marries design and storytelling. Players spell themed words, such as animals, myths and food, and unlock quirky “medieval fun facts” written by Maureen Quigley, Gray’s former professor of Medieval Studies. It’s educational, charming, and a unique representation of both the Design and AET programs here at UT Austin.
When Dropcaps debuted, it resonated with both players and students. “One of our students said that when the game launched, they dressed up in medieval costumes, watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and played the game with friends,” Contour said, laughing. “They even post screenshots in our class Discord. It’s become a little community.”
The enthusiasm carried beyond the classroom. This summer, the duo presented Dropcaps at the International Medieval Congress in England, where they discussed how bespoke games for educational purposes can create unique outcomes in classrooms. Back in Austin, they continued the conversation with a public presentation, “The Making of Dropcaps: From Persuasive Prototyping to Branding and the Surprising Role of ChatGPT.” During this discussion, the UT community was invited to peek behind the curtain of their collaboration.
“Our partnership mirrored what we wanted our students to experience,” Contour reflected. “It’s about learning from each other’s strengths and seeing what happens when design meets technology.”
Dropcaps is available now in the App Store and Google Play.