Windy City Dots
Rediscover Chicago Together!
Immersive Gaming Experience for Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC)
Overview
The Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC) recognized the issue of limited awareness in the city and sought a solution through a Multidisciplinary Prototyping workshop. Our team proposed an immersive gaming experience that goes beyond the museum's physical space. Participants can explore the museum and the city, learning about its history and culture along the way. It's an innovative way to engage visitors and increase awareness of DMoC and its offerings.
Client
Design of Museum Chicago(DMoC)
Team Project
Eunji, Feng, Allison, Steven, Smrti
Role
Mobile UI design, research, interface design, prototype
Timeline
Jan - May 2023
(4 months)
Problem
Limited Awareness and Engagement of the Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC)
Design Museum of Chicago (DMoC), located in the heart of the city, faces a significant challenge of limited public awareness. Despite its prime location, many people are unaware of the museum's existence. This lack of visibility prevents DMoC from reaching a wider audience and hampers its ability to facilitate a meaningful connection between visitors and the city.
Solution
Immersive Gaming and Interactive Tech for Enhanced City Exploration
Geo-based Dot Game on the Map
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Integrate a dot game into a geo-based map of the Windy City
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Engage users in an interactive gaming experience while exploring the city
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Bridge the gap between digital and physical realms through the game
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Earn reward coupons and physically explore different locations
Discovering City History and DMoC
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Provide insights into the history and design of the Design of Museum Chicago (DMoC)
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Learn about the architectural features and cultural significance of DMoC
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Deepen understanding and appreciation of the DMoC's design and city's history
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Combine educational experience with the gaming aspect
Research
To better understand the client's initial concern, we need to delve deeper into DMoC and its challenges. What is the underlying issue that we need to address?
Observation + Intercept
The core problem at DMoC is the mismatch between offerings and the attracted audience, primarily driven by varying exhibition quality and resulting in difficulties in local recommendations.
🧑🏻🤝🧑🏻
"We just saw the free admission on the building, and came by here!"
- Intercept interviewee
Initially, DMoC faced limited awareness. However, further research uncovered a significant challenge—a mismatch between the offerings and the attracted audience. Most visitors belong to niche groups, including those already connected to DMoC and incidental passersby. This prompted an investigation into the root causes. It was discovered that the emphasis on short-term exhibitions, while providing varied experiences, also led to varying quality. The specific exhibition greatly influences visitors' impression and how they share DMoC with others, resulting in fluctuating reviews on platforms like Google Maps, Reddit, and Yelp. Additionally, the inconsistency of content poses difficulties for local Chicago residents in introducing and recommending DMoC. Despite these challenges, we view them as opportunities for improvement and are fully committed to addressing them.
Desktop Research + Competitor Analysis
Social media is influencing the way people document and share experiences and museums are changing following the trend
There is a noticeable shift in the way people engage with museums. Audiences are actively sharing and documenting their experiences, involving their communities in everyday life. Museums are embracing this change by encouraging visitors to take pictures and share them on social media. This not only creates a sense of community around exhibits and events but also makes museums more accessible and interactive, particularly for younger audiences.
Ideation
Leveraging awareness is not enough, we need to introduce an engaging and interactive experience.
Our target audience includes local ambassadors and experiential travelers. Local ambassadors aim to impress visiting friends with an authentic Chicago experience, while experiential travelers seek out hidden gems in the city.
To refine our target audience group, we utilized metrics to identify those who can bring value through our solution. One example is a group that may have limited access to our DMoC channel but shows a high likelihood of returning after a positive experience.
Design - Prototyping
Ideation
To create an immersive and engaging experience, we set out to go beyond the confines of DMoC. Our concept revolved around a dot game where users would be rewarded for marking specific spots on a map, and participating in a massively multiplayer real-time puzzle. This interactive installation, constantly evolving, aimed to not only bring visitors back to DMoC but also extend the experience beyond its physical space. Taking a step back, we continue to refine our ideas, ensuring an inclusive and captivating solution.
Framework
Extracting key experiential components from the initial concept: physical to digital and digital to physical experience
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Stepping back to further ideate and explore alternative options, we deconstructed the dot game into its key components. Our target audience, engaging in a real-world experience in Chicago, would shape and influence the kind of experience we aimed to provide through our game. Our ultimate goal was to create a game that had some impact or showcased a collective outcome in the physical world. This outcome could manifest within DMoC or extend beyond, throughout the city itself.
Mapping gamiefied experience
Mapping gamified experiences by accessibility and time investment has given us valuable insights and direction for our game. We identified two target groups: experiential travelers and local ambassadors. Experiential travelers guide us to create an easily accessible game that enhances their travel experiences, while local ambassadors inspire us to showcase community heritage and empower their voices. By focusing on these groups, we're developing a game that connects travelers and locals, delivering immersive and meaningful adventures.
Service Ideation
Windy City Dots
Rooted in local experience, Windy City Dots is a location-based, real-time, interactive game that enables locals and tourists alike to discover and rediscover Chicago through a new lens.
Design - Prototyping
Ideation
In our pursuit of a new game concept, we decided to experiment with a dot game played on a map. To bring this idea to life, we tested three different teams of the dot game. Using the power of ChatGPT, we generated the dot game experience through interactive conversations. This allowed us to explore the possibilities and dynamics of the game, pushing the boundaries of traditional gameplay.
Prototype
In our real-time, geo-based gaming exploration using our school's floor plan as a map, we discovered that the erasure mechanics intensified competition and strategic thinking. However, our commitment to friendly competition and collaboration led us to recognize the need for a change. We are dedicated to refining the game to foster inclusivity and cooperation while upholding our DMoC identity.
Usability Testing
In order to gain insights into user habits and experiences, we conducted two usability tests involving both local residents and visitors. These tests provided valuable takeaways that will inform the further development of our game. Here are the key findings:
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The primary goal of playing the game was found to be centered around exploration and visiting various locations in Chicago, rather than solely focusing on earning points. This highlights the importance of prioritizing the game's role in facilitating discovery and encouraging users to explore the city.
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Both visitors and locals expressed a strong preference for game content related to food and local cafes. This indicates that incorporating more content centered around culinary experiences can greatly enhance user engagement and satisfaction.
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Participants suggested that rewards should extend beyond in-game content. They expressed a desire for physical rewards or incentives that add value to their real-world experiences. This indicates the need to integrate tangible rewards into the game, providing users with a sense of accomplishment and enhancing their overall experience.
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Reflection
Throughout the project, I had the incredible opportunity to actively participate in the prototyping process, which proved to be a truly enriching experience. Being involved in creating low-fidelity prototypes and participating in usability testing in a physical setting was particularly rewarding. During the prototype phase, we were so engrossed in crafting the gaming experience that we sometimes lost sight of the game's purpose. However, through the use of prototypes and conducting usability testing, we came to the realization that the main objective was to introduce the city and provide a comprehensive experience with DMoC.
If we had more time, one area I would have loved to focus on is the onboarding stage, where users first enter the game. I believe this stage plays a crucial role in setting the tone and capturing the interest of users right from the start.