Project Ideas

Having now looked into the SDGs and how to design for children, I started to explore where I could take this project. I began by creating a general mind map for ideas and concepts for the project.

<aside> 💭 I had the idea of creating some kind of game app which would also be a learning tool, I felt this would work well as it would help keep the children engaged as it wouldn’t necessarily feel like they’re being taught something. I thought this approach would work well and I wanted to explore it more.

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SDG Game Ideas

My next mind map explored what sort of game or games could be part of the app. I made sure to consider what would be accessible for children, as some types of games may be too complex and hard to understand for them.

<aside> 💭 I had the idea of making the game be like a city-builder game, however, instead of building a city from scratch, you’d be helping to fix a city through implementing the SDGs. I felt this would work well as it would allow the focus to be on the process of the SDGs and how they work together, rather than just teaching random facts about them. This would also allow for a strong narrative and inclusion of characters, which would be more engaging for the children.

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Content Delivery Ideas

I wanted to make sure that the content wasn’t lost in the game, so I explored how it could be delivered in ways that feel natural in the game.

<aside> 💭 I think characters could be a good way to deliver content, as this would rationalise why they are receiving this information. As long as it’s kept concise, this could be a good way to go. I think some games could be good at delivering content, such as through quizzes, however, I also think the games could be related to the content but act more as a reward or break from content, rather than directly delivering it. I also think it will be important to have a lot of variation in the games and to keep them short to improve engagement.

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Visual Style Ideas

I next wanted to mind map my ideas around the visual style of the game, as this would be very important for an app for children.

<aside> 💭 I mentioned previously that I didn’t want to just go for the typical “child entertainment” style. I think the typical bright colours and big-eyed characters are never memorable and make for a less engaging experience. When I think back, it was always the entertainment that had put effort into their visual styles which stuck in my mind as a child. I’m going to look at some illustrations later in the project to define what sort of style I’ll go for as I think this will be really important in making an experience the children remember.

Another idea I had for the style was to use isometric grids for the city, which will be a challenge as I haven’t drawn with them before. I’ll explore this later but I think it will work really well for creating the city that the user will be fixing.

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