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Climate Renaissance

A Mobile Game Concept that Tackles Climate Change

An individual game concept is designed based on a project brief from the D&AD New Blood Awards 2022 (worldwide design challenges), which targets bridging the virtual and real worlds.

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Roles & Responsibilities

Game Design

  • The holistic game experience and concept were conceived by me alone with some advice from faculty, including the core loop and essential features;

  • I applied MDA methods and digital persuasion frameworks to the game design process; 

  • I had research outcomes and audience feedback to validate the prototype.

Production

  • The game concept was prototyped in Krita - by making a collage of my drawings and open resources;

  • I drew the core player experience out to clarify how players would play in the game, interact with the real world, and how they would impact both worlds;

  • The prototype also presented the core loop, key features, and sensory "look and feel" as one piece.

Research

  • To bring real-world impact, I researched types of human behaviours that influenced climate change;

  • To bridge the real world and virtual world, I analyzed some video games and digital apps to break them down into components that could help build connections;
  • After understanding digital persuasion frameworks, I utilized B=MAP, Octalysis and Nudging to persuade people that this game concept could work.

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Storytelling

  • I had a preference for the post-apocalypse world, so the world setting was adopted in the concept;

  • I thought that three types of characters for multi-playing would be more engaging and diverse since players would encounter different events/activities/stories to apply their skills for a better in-game balance.

Tools

Prototype

Figma, Krita, Powerpoint

Production

Office, Mind Manager, Axure

Communication

Zoom, in-person meetings

STEP 1: Research

To identify the key problem and target users, I read academic materials and compared some representative digital products to support my unique solution.

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STEP 2: Target Behaviours

I targeted some feasibly changeable buying habits from human beings to embed the relevant goals in my design.

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STEP 3: Apply Persuasion Frameworks - B=MAP

I defined my game as a green path behaviour in Fogg Behaviour Model and followed the design principles of motivations (Octalysis), abilities (accessibility) and prompts (daily exposure).

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STEP 4: Explore Octalysis Tools

I designed detailed game features based on the eight categories of motivations in the Octalysis methodology.

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STEP 5: Draft Game Overview -
Setting, Storyline, Characters

I ensured the world setting, storyline and characters were consistent and coherent as one; meanwhile, I created more possibilities in the gameplay.

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STEP 6: Focus on Core Loop & Key Features

These elements below were a highlighted baseline associated with the game design process.

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STEP 7: Prototype

I made a collage of sketches and inspirations to illustrate the core gameplay experience in the two worlds. Players could explore and scavenge seeds and materials to build their shelters.

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By scanning and uploading grocery receipts, players could gain empowerment in-game.

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Planting plants and cleaning up pollutants in the game would bring a visual and audio change to the post-apocalypse land and unite players through communities.

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Challenges & Solutions

1. Who are the target users?

  • I researched which age group was easily influenced through education;

  • I dug some demographic data from other "green" apps/games and figured out a range of principal age groups; 

  • I considered daily behaviours and economic states;

  • I found that United Nations had a perfect definition of "Youth" for me to refine the target users.

2. What are the target behaviours that I would like to change?

  • At first, I thought about eating habits, but it turned out as a misunderstanding; 

  • I asked for some valuable advice from our precious faculty and got some insights on facts and directions that would consolidate my idea;

  • I did a literature review and figured out several typical daily purchasing behaviours that the target users could change without too much effort.

3. How can real-world behaviours and the virtual game impact each other?

  • Target behaviours mean the B in the B=MAP model as the game's ultimate goal;

  • I wanted to encourage people's new long-term behaviour,  so the challenge was making it simple to do and finding a way to trigger it;

  • Hence, I thought of daily buying habits and featured the "scan & upload" of receipts while strengthening motivations via Octalysis;

  • Positively, I got help from others to make the hypothetical concept convincing; 

  • The last thing I can imagine is to make it real if possible. ( ˶˙º˙˶ )à­¨

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