by Maria Bermudez
#interfaceDesign #productDesign
Can technology connect us with nature?
Every now and then we are all captivated by our handheld screens. Children are particularly vulnerable to these distractions. Mobile devices usually isolate them from their physical surrounding and deny them crucial learning experiences.
But if technology is so much fun for kids, why not harness it to awaken their curiosity for nature? Design research with children leads to a mobile video game based on a treasure hunt. It connects the virtual experience of the player with their actual physical environment.
Process
During my research, I realized there are various ways of how an interaction with the environment can be placed in a mobile game. Therefore I analyzed different playing processes and allowed children to experience them.
Through these experience journeys, I slowly came to understand what children liked and where the game concepts failed. Finally I came to create a concept in which the child would have to hunt a treasure hidden in the Nature.
Exhibition
For our exhibition I decided to show the final concept with a combination of a miniature landscape and analog screens of the game.
Any time an analog screen is pressed, it lights up both the screen and the related figure allowing the visitor to join the kid in finding the treasure.
