WebGL Game For
ASTC 2022
Gamified Social Event
Overview
Timeline
Summary
We created an Interactive Experience for the 2022 ASTC Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Our final product aims to give ASTC members the opportunity to connect with their peers and have authentic conversations on critical topics relating to science engagement organizations.
3 Months
My Role
Game Designer, UX&UI Designer
Client
Association of Science & Technology Centers (ASTC)
Intro Video
Design Process
Client’s Needs
My team was tasked to design an interactive Experience for the 2022 ASTC Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Our final product should aim to allow ASTC members to connect with their peers and have authentic conversations on critical topics relating to science engagement organizations.
To provide ASTC with an interactive experience (game) for their 2022 Conference that seeks to give attendees the opportunity to connect with one another and have authentic conversations on important critical topics.
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Scale：900-1000 attendees.
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Circumstance: They have in-person conversations
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Location: The experience will run through the conference in David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 150,000 square ft.
Design Persona
Social status are different
Shyness
Pain
Points
Lack of topics to chat about
Job Hunting
Expand bussiness
User Needs
Build Connection
Design Ideation & Game flow
We took many board games based on players' conversations (such as [Apples to Apples]) as our references. And finally, we decided to make a game based on the mechanism of [Pitching Ideas]. Due to the context of the ASTC conference (science museum owners & exhibitors), we implemented two roles for this game - the Funder and the (Exhibit) Designers.
In the game, the designers will pitch their unique exhibit design ideas to the funder due to the given context. And the funder can choose the best pitch in their opinion and give them rewards. This counts for a round. After every round of the game, roles will switch.
Paper Testing & Wireframe
After defining the game flow, we conducted early-stage paper testing internally & externally. We put the game rules on a big screen, and asked playtesters to randomly select a card, which has a certain science topic on it. Players need to pitch an exhibition idea one by one. And the funder among them will choose a winner to get the rewards.
Due to the surveys we collected from our playtesters, we found that there were two main issues: The rules were too complicated, and players would feel hard when they were brainstorming ideas.
How did you feel about the clarity of the rules?
how hard for you to produce an exhibit idea in our game?
From our takeaways from the playtesting, we've simplified the rules. And added a button at the top of the game interface for players to access the rules anytime. We also implemented a [Inspiration] function, so that players can look for help when they are feeling confused about the topic. We then established a design wireframe for the game.
UX Breakdown
After figuring out the wireframe, we established our visual system and high-fi prototype.
At last, we spent another 2 weeks implementing, playtesting, and iterating the final user interface.
Featured Design - Poster & Scanning QR
In addition to our web-based game, we also designed a poster for the game experience. This colorful poster not only worked for introducing & promoting the game. It also worked as a gathering spot for players, thus breaking the gap between attendees and making it easier for them to form up groups.
Featured Design - Wild Cards
The idea that makes you laugh out loud
the craziest idea in your mind
the idea that appeals kids most
At the later stage of our development, we decided to add an [Optional Wild Card] system for the [Funder] role. We noticed that due to the content, our game seemed a bit rigorous. Thus we created some fun additional criterias for the [funder] role.
