Process

Brainstorming Initial Ideas

We were given selected open datasets and different target audiences. It was quite difficult how to match these datasets – Because how would these even make sense? At a first look, in all honesty, the datasets themselves were actually pretty useless for these target audiences. It was when I realised that I needed to think really hard and framed it more clearly that helped me understand the project question. How would these unrelated datasets be USEFUL for these target users in their own lives. How and in what ways?

Journalist x Victorian Heritage Sites

A community blog where people share stories on heritage sites similar to Wattpad or Reddit. Writers and journalists fond of writing can submit a short story or article. They are given a ‘prompt’ which is a listing from the heritage site. People can share stories and have discussions. This is a creative outlet for connecting local writers to write local stories.

High School Students x Platypus Habitat Suitability Results

A platypus game which is an educational game where you keep platypus as pets. Find them around the state.You test the waterways. You migrate from waterways. You learn about urbanisation and climate change scenarios. More like a game for teaching environmental practices in a subtle way and for pleasure.

Feedback

After receiving feedback discussion from my peers, they quite liked the platypus game. Not because of its nonsense value. But because it seemed more desirable and feasible through the Three lenses of innovation (we used this as a guideline to test our ideas). Something that could be realistic. They found there was more opportunity in this idea.

Value Proposition Canvas

To ensure we created a relationship between the dataset and the target audience - how can my product enable to relieve some of the pains or benefit the gains of its usage further. I’m testing rough ideas whether they achieve value for high school students – with the value proposition canvas. It has made me question if it’s something they ACTUALLY need.

My idea felt pointless because it didn’t seem like it addresses their needs directly. However, I was thinking wrong.

This isn’t about designing a ‘need’ or ‘want’. The canvas demonstrates that there is more to fulfilling the need with A product. It’s more about HOW the product is designed that satisfies the users when using the product. What is it that we can offer to make it a better experience for them? How do we enable that pain to be relieved or enhance that gain further? Thinking in this way really changed it for me.

A Dilemma

Same Idea in Different Forms

Something I realised out of doing the value proposition canvas – is that this game can be in two forms to satisfy different pains and gains.

Is it better if this game was used as an educational resource tool for high school students? Or just a novelty app? The thing is - it could go both ways!

I was in a dilemma.

A video game that has a learning element or it can be an educational interactivity resource. It’s possible in both ways. They have similar benefits and outcomes to provide enjoyment and engagement.

This process is like deciding how you could eat a banana. How can you get more enjoyment out of this banana? What’s the best way to eat this banana? So, In what form will I adapt this game into? It wasn’t about which was ‘better’ than the other, they have their own strengths. Weighing both of these for which one to pursue had my mind playing a tug war. It came down to a small benefit that pushed me over the line.

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Feedback

More testing

I have brothers who are in high school, I asked them, “would you play a game about taking care of platypus?” They both said, “yeah, why not?." I was actually very surprised at their response and thought they were being nice to me (weirdly). They thought it was funny, weird, bizarre and seems like it would be something interesting to play. This made me feel more comfortable about proposing my vision of this game.

A game about platypus is already a weird concept according to my brothers in high school and it doesn’t hurt to try out a new game that can influence a lot of teens to join in the curiosity.

Other feedback I would get is also suggestions on the additional features and functions of the game – like incorporating mini games by completing tasks.

Developing the Vision

Fleshing out the Details

When I was trying to communicate my idea to the class – it sounded like I was losing focus of the core idea.

I was trying to figure out the idea for how the game works. Details like how do players level up? What are the rules of the game?

They didn’t seem like they were necessary to pitch the ‘vision’. There was a whole plot. And workshopping Game Design concepts is a whole other thing. But I had to calm down a bit and not put much time into the operations of the game.

I needed to go back to my value proposition canvas. Try to keep this game as simple as I could so I could communicate it properly to my peers and my teacher when I pitched it to them. As long as I knew the basic concept of how you play the game in simple terms, was what I had needed. Simplifying the basic game plot to communicate the value of its main features.

The Proposition Outcome

What is the Product?

Platypi is a game that targets high school students where you have platypus as pets and take care of the platypus to keep them sustained. 

They learn to practice on the concepts of how to handle and respect native animals and conservation management. 

Utilising the Open Dataset

The game uses the Habitat suitability results for Platypus that establishes the fictional setting and status of the default waterways in the game. The Habitat suitability results inspired the idea of game.

The game takes the scores from the data which is translated and minimised into simpler terms. And From looking at the results, players must find ways to improve the water habitat for their platypus in the game. In this way, the data is made more interesting for high school students as it is delivered through the plot of trying to keep their platypus’ habitat, habitable. 

Target Audience

Social Effect

As this game involves the environment, teens are starting to become progressively aware of the issues in society. They may want to develop or already have an environmentally conscious mind to be socially up-to-date like other teens. They can end up learning some values too or be a bit more thoughtful in their choices opposed to being told in a school setting where it may have less impact. It’s not purely educational and informative and not purely just a bizarre game about pet platypus. I wanted to balance that. 

The Value

Platypi is a fun proactive game. The game influences the minds of high school students in a subtle way through gamification. The way the game delivers the data to students is to interact with how our actions can affect the status of the water, which can affect the livelihood of wildlife. As a result, they learn and engage in the environment in their own interest with playing with platypus.

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Retrospective

I thought this studio was such a weird concept with open data. I assumed we were using data from these open datasets as research to help form ideas and backup design decisions. But instead, we’re actually using the data itself as part of the product. I am familiar with using data but not designing with it - To extend its functionality and take it to the next level. The challenge is to design with open data and make it useful for a target audience. Working with open datasets, I’m not a data scientist, but I learned a bit about different data types, the formats they come in and the different data plots. Something that still confuses me to this day.   

I got a better understanding of my design capabilities. Design or planning the strategy of the design concept was my strong point. And then I would give it (outsource) to another artist, designer to help produce the game art.

This process of iteration was more visible for me. Every week or every few days, it would always become a different version every time. It was lean and fast-paced. Questioning and testing our ideas was a challenge but also, I quite enjoyed the discussions.

Thinking of ideas for this project really made me think. Because the open data is so irrelevant. It’s been published so the public can see the data. But people have collected this data and shared it in case someone wants to see it. Popular baby names, rates of road deaths and injuries, heritage properties. Because what else are you going to do with it? What average person would even want to look at the data in the first place? There is no point if we don’t gain anything from it. But that’s the thing! The way to do that is by creating value in that data through a product. Design it in a way that is tailored to the people, so it is worth it on their end. It doesn’t really directly address the data by just showing the data. Because the data is used in a way that improves the pleasure for people. This is how civic value is created. It’s in the way people interact with the product we design, they gain some sort of value. It’s the outcomes that take a positive effect in the moods and actions of people - therefore making it a better experience for them and live happier lives. By ensuring security, educating people, easing/relieving pains, create good habits. It can benefit the community, because the result of using the product can influence actions. This is user experience. And this is civic value.

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