PlayerHUD – Structured Gamification Engine for Moodle

The PlayerHUD Block is a modular gamification system for Moodle that introduces structured progression mechanics based on XP, Levels, Inventory, and Ranking.

It provides a dynamic HUD (Head-Up Display) inside courses, allowing students to track their progress in real time while teachers configure engagement mechanics aligned with pedagogical objectives.

✨ Features

• 🎮 XP & Level System: Automatic level progression based on earned XP.
• 🏅 Level Tiers: Visual progression system.
• 🎛 Configurable Progression: Teachers define the number of levels and XP required for each level.
• 🎒 Inventory System: Collectible items with configurable Cooldown (Recharge Time) and usage limits.
• 📍 Drop System: Place collectible items across course sections (labels, pages, descriptions).
• 🏆 Ranking System: Leaderboard with tie-breaker logic and visibility controls.
• 🔐 Optional Participation: Students may choose to opt in or opt out of the gamification system.
• ⚡ Real-Time Updates: AJAX-based collection using Moodle’s core API.
• 🤖 AI Item Generator: Optional productivity tool for teachers.
• 📱 Mobile-Ready: Compatible with Moodle web services.

🎓 Educational Purpose

PlayerHUD is designed to encourage active engagement, reinforce mastery-based progression, and support competitive/cooperative learning dynamics while keeping pedagogical integrity intact.

📖 Usage

1. Add the PlayerHUD Block to your course.
2. Access the Management Panel (Teacher role required).
3. Configure:
   • Items and XP values
   • Number of levels and XP thresholds
   • Drop placements
   • Recharge time (Cooldown) and Collection limits
4. Students collect items directly within course sections.
5. XP, levels, and ranking update automatically.

🔗 Ecosystem Integration

PlayerHUD is designed to work seamlessly with its companion plugins:

• PlayerHUD Filter (Required): Enables item drops via shortcodes inside course content.
  • Link: https://moodle.org/plugins/filter_playerhud
• PlayerHUD Availability Restriction (Optional): Restricts access to course activities based on the student's current Level or items.
  • Link: https://moodle.org/plugins/availability_playerhud

🔎 Third-party Service Disclosure (AI)

PlayerHUD includes an optional AI-powered item generation feature. This feature is not required. The plugin works fully without any external AI service.

• Supported Providers: Google Gemini and Groq.
• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): The plugin does not provide API keys. Keys must be configured by the institution.
• Data Privacy: No student data, prompts, or raw responses are stored. Data is only transmitted when a teacher explicitly uses the feature to generate course content.

⚙️ Technical Reliability & Security

• Core Standards: Fully compliant with Moodle coding and accessibility (WCAG 2.1 AA) standards.
• Robust Architecture: Capability-based access control, strict require_sesskey() protection against CSRF, and rigorous server-side validation for game rules (cooldowns and limits).
• Data Security & Privacy: Full implementation of the Moodle Privacy API (GDPR compliant), Backup & Restore support, and privacy-aware ranking participation.
• Scalable & API Ready: Optimized database structure with memory-efficient queries and fully Moodle External API compliant.
• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) AI: Secure and optional external API integration (Gemini/Groq) for automated content generation, keeping institutions in control.