Wheely Green
Mobility is at the core of modern civilisation, and the way people and goods move around impacts many aspects of life, with around one-quarter of global CO2 emissions coming from the transportation of people and goods (Scottish Government 2022). With policy pressure toward ‘Net Zero’ rising in many countries, the evolution toward green and next-gen mobility is gaining further momentum.
How might we truly re-imagine the future of sustainable mobility to make it, not only more efficient, but more equitable, innovative, and human centred?
Time:
12 weeks
Role:
Service designing,
market research,
storyboarding,
game development,
branding, prototyping
Purpose Primer
The purpose primer allowed us to scope out the challenge in-depth by covering the key areas where we could conduct further research.
Education Route
We dissected the concept of 'future of sustainable mobility' to its roots. By dividing the statement, we saw a clear path that pointed towards the education route.
Surveys and Interviews
Surveys were sent to residents of various age ranges to find out their awareness of the Government's sustainability efforts. The consensus was that most respondents weren't aware of the Scottis Government's 'Target 2030' goal and thought that the Government doesn't encourage sustainable transportation methods.
User Needs Statements
After realising our key stakeholders, we created three user needs statements that will allow us to design the service, and accommodate the main parties involved.
Prototype 1
For the first prototype, we wanted to test our concept quickly and without much ideation. We took inspiration from the most famous board game-Monopoly.
Holistic service
The board game was only part of the concept. We wanted to create a holistic solution that can fulfil the role of a service in the education sector.
Board Game Research
We researched and tested several types of Monopoly that are currently in the market to draw inspiration for the physical contruction, mechanics of the game, and how educational topics can be integrated into it.
Game-based learning and Curriculum for Excellence (CFE)
A board game can align with Game-Based Learning (GBL) and Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) by incorporating interactive, experiential learning methods that develop key skills and knowledge outlined in the CfE framework.
The Curriculum for Excellence aims to develop young people in its four capacities and a board game aligns with those as follows:
Successful Learners: A well-designed board game promotes engagement, problem-solving, and critical thinking.
Confident Individuals: Players take risks, make decisions, and develop resilience through gameplay.
Responsible Citizens: Games with real-world themes (e.g., sustainability, history, health) encourage ethical thinking and teamwork.
Effective Contributors: Cooperative and strategy-based games foster communication, collaboration, and leadership.
Prototype 2
The conclusion from the SWOT Analysis is that the market has reached saturation in developed countries. To contribute to Starbucks' sustainable growth, we decided to focus on an emerging market like India.
Business Model Canvas
The conclusion from the SWOT Analysis is that the market has reached saturation in developed countries. To contribute to Starbucks' sustainable growth, we decided to focus on an emerging market like India.
Interview with STEM Teacher
Prototype 3
We wanted to differentiate our game from the existing ones. We tested the idea of building your own pathways to get to the desired destination and even tried putting obstacles in between to increase the complexity.
Prototype 4
The fourth prototype was a combination of Prototype 3 and Monopoly, where we used the open-world aspect and merged it with the playing cards aspect. The result was a map which had various real locations and pathways that led to them.
Final Concept
The final concept was a refined version of Prototype 4. We cut out a large cardboard piece into nine pieces and glued a printed board game map onto them. A ten-sided dice was made from thick craft paper. We printed high quality Question, Chance, Location cards and player token templates.
User Testing
The final concept was tested in a local school in Dundee, Scotland. The students playing the game were between Primary 5 and Primary 7. The testing sessions provided insights into the how the game can be improved. The students gave real-time feedback on what they enjoyed, what they didn't like and what they found difficult to understand.
