O Hotel Bem-Assombrado
Playful Cooperation & Informal Learning
Briefing
This was the final paper for my bachelor’s degree in Design at FAUUSP. The project started from a clear prompt:
How to reach young people aged between 10 and 14 years old to playfully stimulate their collaborative skills and their capacity for informal learning?
The project followed the Design Council’s Double Diamond methodology, although it began with prior exploratory research.
Research
The research focused on topics such as children’s cognitive development, incidental and informal learning, the characteristics of different types of teamwork and the benefits and categorizations of videogames. The data collection and analysis provided a solid basis to establish the target audience, a visual identity and the project’s goals.
Bibliographical Research
Target Audience Definition
Benchmarkings
Moodboards
Project Requirements
Development
The development followed guidelines from User Experience Design (UX) and User Interface Design (UI), which made this work cover the specific tools and products of these areas of knowledge.
The game’s story is about a mysterious hotel where ghosts – assumed by the players – try to ensure the establishment’s success by taking care of the guests without scaring them or letting them notice it, discovering hidden secrets during the gameplay.
Mechanics Ideations
Sketching
Flowcharts
Interface Concept Arts
Operational Tests
Prototyping
Results
An engaging cooperative videogame for young people that offers an experience that contributes to the users’ social and cognitive development.
The project resulted in a demonstrative working prototype of a single stage and specifications for future usability tests with the target audience. Additionally, it generated initial concepts of the game’s interfaces and guidelines for the project’s continuation after the final paper’s presentation and evaluation.
Credits
