game – desres23.designandcommunication.net

by ellen.dressler - 24. Juni 202424. Juni 2024

20 | Demo-Video of my game

I’m excited to share with you a video demonstration of my adaptation of the classic board game “Mensch ärgere dich nicht.” In this version, I’ve added a unique twist focused on sustainability and environmental education. Below is a video that walks you through the game. Please note that the audio and video quality might not be the best since I didn’t have professional equipment. Also, the video is in German, as the players were German speakers, and this made the most sense for the context. A detailed description of how the game is played can be found in blog post 17.

Unfortunately I can’t upload the video here because of the file size, but you can watch it here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fuqhzb4c88gWCH78gK7VYMnc6Bxh1T-y/view?usp=drive_link

In the video, you can see how the game incorporates special event fields and sustainability-themed event cards. Children learn more about environmental consciousness and sustainable decisions through various events and questions. The collection of environmental points helps reinforce the idea that sustainable actions are rewarded and crucial for overall victory.

Potential Improvements and Changes

Based on the feedback from my recent user testing, here are some potential additions and changes I might incorporate in the future to improve the game:

Create additional questions with multiple-choice answers (e.g., a, b, c) for questions like „Why is recycling important?“ or „Why is it better to buy local food?“
Incorporate more penalties to add variety, such as skipping a turn in the next round or having to go backwards.
Allow players to use excess environmental points in creative ways.
Integrate energy-saving fields more thoroughly into the gameplay or consider removing or changing them to something else for simplicity.
Separate questions and good/bad news cards, assigning them to different event fields to ensure both types are used effectively.

Creating this game has been a great journey so far, and the feedback from user testing has been very valuable. It’s clear that while the game is already fun and educational, there is room for improvement to make it even more engaging and meaningful. I hope you enjoy watching the video and that it gives you a good sense of how the game works. Remember, I don’t use gender-specific language in the video, but of course all players are included.

by ellen.dressler - 18. Juni 2024

18 | Usability testing of my sustainability version of GOPS

In my quest to create an engaging and educational card game based on the classic Game of Pure Strategy (GOPS), I recently conducted a usability test. This was the first time I saw the game mechanics in action after coming up with the idea. Two adult friends volunteered to play, even though the game is intended for children. Here’s what happened and what I learned.

What Didn’t Work

Card Placement Issue: It became apparent that players couldn’t always place a sustainable action card directly on the corresponding unsustainable action. This raised questions about whether the core concept of the game would hold up.
Text Size Problem: The text on the cards was mentioned to be a little small. It was fine to read but it didn’t immediately jump out at you, so it’s clear that for kids, it would be even more difficult.
Typo Trouble: There was a typo on one of the cards: „Vermeidung von FlugEisen.“ Oops! Proofreading is definitely needed.

Observations During Play

Engagement: Michi and Max both read through the cards and found the concept intriguing. Michi especially enjoyed matching sustainable actions to unsustainable ones when it worked out.
Strategic Thinking: As they played, both started to think more strategically. Michi, who won the game, mentioned it felt satisfying to win especially when the actions matched logically.
Enjoyment Level: Initially, there was concern about the game becoming repetitive, but it held their interest through several rounds. Michi commented that it was fun and had the potential to be a “mind game”, as the more rounds you play, the more you reconsider the tactics of the other player.

Positive Takeaways

Cool Concept: Both players found the game cool and fun. They liked the idea of learning about sustainability through play.
Subtle Learning: They felt that if the goal was to teach sustainability subtly, the game did a good job. The information was absorbed incidentally while playing.
Replayability: Despite initial thoughts, the game remained engaging through multiple rounds. They even found a new layer of challenge the second time around.

Ideas for Improvement

Game Mechanics: Michi suggested introducing mechanics similar to the card game Wizard, perhaps with trump cards to add depth.
More Information: Adding more information to the cards without overwhelming the player could enhance educational value.
Quartet Format: Converting the game into a quartet-style game was another suggestion to consider.

Overall, the feedback was incredibly valuable. While there are some kinks to iron out—like making the text more readable and ensuring the game’s mechanics are smooth—the core idea of combining fun with learning about sustainability was well-received. Of course to create a game that should be a hit with kids, I would also need to test it with the desired target group. But with a few tweaks, it might turn out as game, that could teach them important lessons while they play.

by ingrid.hjelm-hansen - 13. Juni 202413. Juni 2024

Findings from User Tests

I recently conducted user tests on my technical prototype. The prototype does not yet work exactly as I vision my final product, but I find it important to involve users at an early stage. I wanted to test the core idea and get valuable feedback for further development of the concept.

I chose to conduct the user tests with people I interviewed in my research phase. They are women in the age range 23 to 26 and went to music lessons for 1-3 years as children. They have been playing different instruments such as piano, guitar, drums and the clarinet, but never for a long period of time. To learn more about their musical background, read my blog post from January: Key Findings from Interviews.

User test 1

Successful melodies: 4

Observations

Wants to test all the buttons before starting the game
Tries to sing the melody outload right away after hearing it
Points with her fingers on the buttons
Uses time to think before trying
Improved skills after every try
Gets frustrated when failing, but always wants to try again
Missing a replay button, to hear the melody again without needing to play it

Playing when looking at the serial monitor (printed notes): much easier, higher level of success. Wants to retry every time she fails.

General feedback

Thought it was very fun to play
Felt competitive, did not want to quit
Found it very annoying to fail

In the beginning, she did not understand that every melody was not necessarily containing all the tones.
Low quality speaker makes it hard to separate the tones. Suggests using Max 8 instead of the piezo buzzer.
The “incorrect melody”-sound is similar to some of the melody tones. This could be distracting and confusing.
After successfully playing a melody, the next one plays right away. This was too fast for her to prepare for listening again.
If I want to upgrade the product and make it even harder, it could be an idea to also implement different rhythms in the melody. Another option is to make the melodies longer (more than four tones). Nevertheless, she states that it was already complicated enough for her.

User test 2

Successful melodies: 1

Observations

Wants to start right away, before I am finished with the explanation
States that she is terrible, does not know anything about music theory
Struggles, but learns quickly
Notices that she is playing the melody wrong, but struggles to point out what the problem is
Decides to give up after numerous attempts on the second melody

Playing when looking at the serial monitor (printed notes): easier, but still needs to think a lot and use multiple attempts to succeed.

General feedback

Said it was very fun, would love to play with it all the time as a child.
Very nice way to train your ear.
Thought it would be easier with a higher quality speaker.
Suggested implementing an orange light for better feedback. It would make it easier to understand the number of wrong notes.
Wanted to try again every time she failed, but it was easy to get stuck on one melody and become annoyed.
Hard to hear what is wrong.
Missed a replay button.
Suggested writing the name of the tones on the buttons. Thinks it would be easier to understand the connections.
Suggested removing the resistors to get brighter LED lights.

Conclusion

In general, it was very helpful to test my concept in such an early stage. Their positive feedback motives me to develop the idea further in the future, and their critique made it clear what changes I should make. I already did some adjustments:

Changed the pitch on some of the tones
Increased delay between feedback and new melodies
Removed resistors from the breadboard
Adjusted the printed messages to the serial monitor

by ellen.dressler - 3. Juni 20243. Juni 2024

16 | Game of pure strategy

After my extensive research in the last blog posts, I finally wanted to get started and simply try out what possibilities there are to change existing game concepts in such a way that a game focused on the topic of sustainability is created.
In this blog post I’m going to explain my first game idea.

The game is based on the card game “Game of Pure Strategy” (GOPS), which is normally played with a simple deck of cards.

Customizations

There are only 12 instead of 13 cards per set.
Each playing card is thematically adapted to sustainability. Children learn through the pictures and themes of the cards which actions are sustainable and which are not.
I created the drawings for this with AI.
Each prize card has a number that represents its negative impact on the environment. This reinforces the strategic element of the game, as children have to think about which of their cards to play in order to win the most valuable prize cards and thus “destroy” bad environmental influences.

Learning effects

Children learn which daily actions and decisions have a positive or negative impact on the environment.
Children have to think about which of their cards they play and when in order to win the best prize cards.
After the game, the cards can be discussed to deepen understanding of sustainability and discuss how to act more sustainably in real life.

Set of rules

Game materials

Player cards (12 per player)
Each card shows a picture representing a sustainable action or solution, e.g. paperless office, using public transportation or using cloth bags instead of plastic bags. The cards are numbered from 1 (low contribution to sustainability) to 12 (high contribution to sustainability).
Prize cards (12 cards)
Each card shows a picture depicting an unsustainable action or situation, e.g. leaving lights on, fast fashion or using plastic bottles. These cards are also numbered from 1 (low negative impact) to 12 (high negative impact).

Game preparation

Prepare the decks of cards
Each player receives a deck of 12 player cards. The 12 prize cards are shuffled and placed face down in the middle.
Prepare the playing area
The players sit opposite each other and place their decks in front of them.

Rules of the game

Drawing a prize card
At the start of each round, a prize card is revealed and placed in the middle.
Choosing a card
Each player chooses a card from their deck and places it face down in front of them.
Reveal and compare
Both players reveal their cards at the same time. The player with the higher card wins the prize card. In the event of a draw, the prize card remains in the middle and is played in the next round in addition to the new prize card.
End of the round
The played player cards are removed from the game. The next round begins with a new prize card being revealed.
End of the game
The game ends when all prize cards have been won. The player with the most points, based on the numbers of the prize cards won, wins the game.

The game is supposed to be an exciting and educational card game that helps children to learn more about environmental protection and sustainable action through play. By combining strategy and education, the game offers an entertaining way to promote and reinforce sustainable behavior.

Back of the cards

Examples for the design of the price cards

Examples for the design of the playing cards