The year 2069, the natural balance of nature is irreversibly on the brink of collapse. Exploited resources, poisoned oceans, and extreme weather situations are driving millions of people to flee. To prevent the inevitable end of the planet, the last energy remnants of the Earth's core are being harnessed to send the player back in time.
The semester project was created in cooperation with Cornelsen Verlag. The teaching content in geography lessons should be expanded for students in the 9th grade through digital content. The aim was to make the complex topic of climate change more tangible and, furthermore, to promote understanding and awaken initiative.
The course of the project has been divided into three parts: concept creation, development of a prototype for user testing, and the final adjustment for the pitch at Cornelsen.
Build understanding
School attendance, design sprint
Initially, we identified issues in learning behavior, organization in everyday life, and the learning situation at school through school visits and interviews. Documenting these experiences helped us in developing hypotheses, surveys, idea generation, and finally the long-term question within our team. How can we ensure that a mobile game raises awareness among students about climate change in the school context?
Concept Development
Survey for students, idea phase
For the user testing, the biggest hurdle was to figure out what a suitable prototype would be to answer the most pressing questions of whether a game could interest students in the context. Is the storytelling convincing for the user? Is the interface menu understood? Is the identification and function of the building and research menu clear?
These and more questions had to be compared by importance, as there were only 15 minutes per user. The choice fell on a meticulously planned screen flow in the sense of a tutorial to establish comparability among all participants.
Preparation
Paper prototypes, screen flow, agenda for user testing
While Phase 1 focused on making our idea understandable, Phase 2 was based on the aspect of the traceability of values, functions, and the associated game mechanics. The final Phase 3 focused on the gameplay and feasibility principles. Although Cornelsen is not a game developer, the potential of our game should be expressed in the pitch – integrating it into the classroom as a digital experimentation space.
Based on the insights from the user testing, the game now benefits in its third iteration from both an improved interaction concept and visually enhanced interface elements. The design of the now established core functions of building, researching, and missions contributes to a cohesive overall picture.
Preparation
Paper prototypes, screen flow, agenda for user testing
Gameplay
Prototype from the final presentation
Since we were so fond of both the topic of climate change and our goal, as well as the group configuration, we wanted to give the process a special role by documenting it videographically with its highs and lows and embedding it in an interview conversation.
Video production
The entire design process as a video documentation