Gamification of Industrial Design by Jennifer Tate

GEO-CACHING

FLOW

“MY LIFE IS SO MUCH MORE INTERESTING INSIDE MY HEAD.”

WORKING AT THE EDGE OF YOUR ABILITY

7 THESIAN GAMIF-ID REALITY IS BROKEN

FEEDBACK SYSTEM SATISFYING WORK

LEVEL

“THE OPPOSITE OF PLAY ISN’T WORK. IT’S DEPRESSION.”

HAPPINESS HACKING

MEANING

HOPE FOR SUCCESS

PLAY

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED COMMUNITAS

GAMESTORMING GLOBAL CULTURE

EPIC

FOR THE WIN

VOLUNTARY PARTICIPATION

RULES

GAMIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN

THE GAMIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN by Jennifer Tate

ÂŠ 2014 Jennifer Tate

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Industrial Design School of Art and Design Pratt Institute February 2014

THE GAMIFICATION OF INDUSTRIAL DESIGN by Jennifer Tate

Received and approved:

Thesis Advisor: Bruce Hannah

Department Chair: Steve Diskin

This thesis is dedicated to my husband for his unconditional support, encouragement and love.

iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to acknowledge...

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to acknowledge and thank the following people for their mentorship, friendship, and the occasional swift kick in the pants:

Bruce Hannah Steve Diskin Patrick Lee Lucas Nathan Washburn Brian and Lisa Tate

Virgil Calejesen Matt Cavannaugh Lisa Dudley Bradley Ferrada Mads Hansen Shenxing Liu Claudia Meyer Michael Ouaknine Asli Ozcivelek Michael Schafler Alex Smith Anthony Villanacci Charlie Cheowanich Lisa Daly Melanie Sloan Kat Sikes Calla Wanser

table of contents

Table of Contents

Preface: My life as a gamer

12 - 15

Introduction: What is a game?

16 - 17

Chapter 1: Games enrich our lives

18 -23

Chapter 2: Gamification

24 -29

Chapter 3: Gamif-ID

30 - 33

Chapter 4: The Road to Radio City

34 - 37

Chapter 5: Imagination and a Story

38 - 45

Chapter 6: Challenge: Charrette Deck

46 - 65

Chapter 7: Passport: For Adventurers

66 - 73

Conclusion: Implications for the future

74 - 75

Bibliography

76 - 77

Image Appendix

78 - 79

Monster Blaster: Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more than one way to take care of the Boogeyman... Photo Credit: The Solar Family

preface

My life as a gamer began at a very early age. At three, I designed a way to defeat the Boogie Man (who was clearly hiding under my bed) by using my tinker toys to reach the light switch from the safety of my covers.

“My life as a gamer began at a very early age.” Unfortunately, a standard tube of Tinker Toys did not hold enough parts to make it from the door to my bed, and despite my urgent protests - yes, Mom, I really need you to buy me more Tinker Toys! - I never acquired enough to validate my design. By seven, I memorized how to navigate MSDOS in order to play Lemmings, Escape From Monkey Island, and Loom. I remember feeling elated at each stage of progression and then a strong sense of accomplishment when I finally beat each game. These feelings were even stronger while battling in a Nerf War with the other neighborhood kids. Sure, no one ever actually won, but our games were epic, going on for weeks at a time with in depth backstories, team dynamics, and home base hideouts.

As a teenager, games became more obviously about a social connection. Team sports, Total Annihilation LAN parties, or just seeing if I could beat my mom and dad’s completion time on a single player game, formed greater bonds around the activity of game play. In college, this connection became even stronger as groups of people in the dorms gathered to compete head-to-head or team-to-team. While there was certainly a lot of screen time involved around games such as Halo and Starcraft, we also unplugged on a regular basis for Poker night, Apples to Apples, the annual Croquet tournament and a good old fashioned game of Assassin. In a lot of ways, what we played was not overly important, so much as we were doing it together with a strong sense of purpose and a great deal of bragging rights and pride for the winners.

“In a lot of ways, what we played was not overly important, so much as we were doing it together” 13

Two Boxing: When more than one computer is needed, the gameplay must be truly epic. Photo credit: Nathan Washburn

Today, what I consider my family of gamers still grows. The invention of Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs) revolutionized how I kept up with old friends and made new ones. World of Warcraft not only created a whole new social network of people around the world that I would say are good friends, but also strengthened already existing relationships. My husband and I have had more than one date night in the land of Azeroth, completing quests and slaying bosses together, even though we were physically a couple thousand miles apart. I may not be able to make it home as often as I would like, but I can easily log in and find the majority of my immediate family online. Nice, Mom! Grats on reaching level 90! Need some gold for epic flying, Dad? No problem, it’s in the mail. In some way, I think I have always innately felt the power of game play: the strong sense of purpose, the roar of victory, the delight of new and better strategies, the awe of an epic story and environment, and the feeling of close connection with other players. These fictitious environments (virtual and physical) stretch the imagination in ways reality does not always support – there are no barriers! Anything you can imagine, you can make happen.

Gamification, the application of game tactics and mechanics to non-game problems, is infiltrating almost every industry as a means to increase consumer participation, cultivate new ideas and promote innovation, and to make seemingly impossible challenges easier to reach. Companies from almost every industry are finding ways to use game tactics; for my thesis, I explored how gamification can impact industrial design. In the following chapters, I’ll explore how games can influence our objects, our relationship to them and the design process.

“I’ll explore how games can influence our objects, our relationship to them and the design process.” 15

Games come in all different shapes and sizes. Card games, board games, digital games, sports – every single one of us has played at least one of these at some point. Of course, that is not to say that a game is something that needs to be purchased. In her book, Reality Is Broken, Jane McGonigal says, “A game doesn’t have to be a computer program. It can simply be like chess or hide-and-seek: a set of rules that one player can pass on to another.” McGonigal, pg 141) Remember those childhood games, often times played with sticks and other such found objects? We made up those games on the spot, whiling away those long summer days by turning the neighborhood into a far off fantasyland.

introduction

On some of our many drives up and down the east coast of the United States, my husband and I would occasionally play a game where one holds their breath when driving through an underground tunnel. It seems silly, seeing who can stop breathing the longest (or until exiting the tunnel, whichever comes first), but this is also a game. Bernard Suits, a philosopher of games and gaming, defined it as, “Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” (McGonigal, pg. 22) Games do not have to be expensive or take hours to play. They just need to include four basic elements. If you break them down into their fundamental parts, games are defined by goals, rules, a clear feedback system and voluntary participation. The goals provide us with a sense of purpose, more of the why we are undertaking the task set before us. Rules make the task challenging by placing limitations on how the goal can be achieved. These limitations often provide a catalyst for strategic thinking as players come up with new and creative ways to overcome the obstacles before them. The feedback system tracks progress towards the goal. It gives real time results, which players can use for trial and error style strategies, motivation, or just the promise of knowing that the goal will at some point be completed so long as one keeps working towards it.

“Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles.” Finally, games require voluntary participation, and this is perhaps the most important aspect. Not only does it mean that all players accept the other criteria listed above – thus establishing a common ground amongst them – but the ability to start or stop playing at any time means that the stress or challenges of the game are fun and safe. (McGonigal, pg. 21) Obviously, there are other elements commonly found in game play: winning, competition, a board or virtual environment, graphic art or imagery, a story, and achievements. These other elements simply enhance the four defining traits of game play, but they are not critical to the game’s existence.

chapter one games enrich our lives

Depression: “The opposite of play isn’t work, it’s depression.” Brian Sutton-Smith

Moving beyond the defining criteria and extra elemental enhancers, we come to the most important aspect of game play: games make us happy. Brian Sutton-Smith, a leading psychologist on play, states, “The opposite of play isn’t work. It’s depression.” (McGonigal, pg. 28) This is the power of games and explains why they have been a huge motivator in our lives going back centuries.

Games provide more satisfying work by giving us a clear goal, actionable steps, keeping us updated on our progress towards that goal, and a clear reward when it is completed. These goals or quests can often be found ad nauseum with multiple types of work with a variety of levels of commitment for skill, focus, and time. Basically, we choose how we would like to be working at any given time, and a lot of options exist. High-stakes work thrills us with its fast, action oriented pace; busy work keeps our minds happily focused on a singular task for hours; mental work often involves complicated strategy puzzles; discovery work allows untold hours of exploration; teamwork creates complex mission based around navigating group dynamics; creative work lets us make something our own. With such a huge list, there is more than enough work to satisfy every type of player, and when we feel satisfied, we will spend hours happily conducting our tasks. This work creates a sense of “hard fun” or “positive stress” which actively engages our bodies by producing adrenaline and increasing our heart rates and blood flow to the brain. In short, we feel engaged, focused and alive. (McGonigal, pg. 30-32)

“The ultimate rush, Fiero happens when we triumph over adversity and is almost universally expressed by throwing our hands in the air and shouting.” One of the occasional side effects of all of this hard work is a sensation called Fiero, the Italian word for pride. The ultimate rush, Fiero happens when we triumph over adversity and is almost universally expressed by throwing our hands in the air and shouting. Recently, scientists have concluded that it is one of our most powerful neurochemical highs, involving three different reward structures of our brain. It should be noted that Fiero is also what causes gamer addiction. (McGonigal, pg. 33)

We achieve a stronger social connectivity, or what anthropologists call communitas, through gaming. “Communitas is a powerful sense of togetherness, solidarity, and social connection.” (McGonigal, pg. 172) Games not only give us this connection with the people with who play, but also the community of players who have experienced that game. In this way, even single player games or spectator sports have an element of communitas. Players create forums, FAQs, maps, brackets and add-ons for their favorite games and share their love of that game with their community. Social media games that connect through Facebook allow us to play simple games like Farmville and Words with Friends at each player’s own pace and anywhere in the world. MMORPGs like World of Warcraft have created a whole network of friendships in which people may never engage with each other face-to-face, yet may still have a very close relationship. Communitas creates these social bonds and allows us an even greater range of flow and fiero because we can live vicariously through our friends. Whether we actively took part in beating the challenge or simply rooted from the sidelines, we revel in each other’s successes and failures. (Above) Andrea’s Fiero: She finally made it work! (Below) Munchkin with Friends: Playing a game is a form of trust, even when you’re on opposite teams. Photo Credit: Jennifer Tate

In reality, it can often be hard to see how we are contributing to the greater picture at hand. We want meaning, to be a part of something big, and our everyday lives are not always providing us with this critical feedback. However, games have this in spades. “Epic is one of the most important concepts in gamer culture today. It’s how players describe their most memorable, gratifying game experiences.” (McGonigal, pg. 98) Something epic surpasses reality in every way including size, scale, and intensity. It triggers the emotion of awe, giving us goose bumps, chills and intense emotions often correlated to spirituality, love, reverence and gratitude. Epicness inspires us: to do more, to be better, to keep trying. It can cause awe in many ways – the sheer size, beauty or level of detail in the environment, a story that tugs at our hearts and minds and makes us act because of our own emotions and not just game mechanics, or an experience so intense or challenge so difficult to achieve that we are stunned by our own ability to see the end.

(Left) Flow: Otherwise known as being “in the zone”.

While satisfying work, communitas, and the epicness are important components of game play, they are eclipsed by “the state of being intensely engaged”. (McGonigal, pg 25) This concept explains why we are so intensely engaged in games that have no end and, in fact, the whole goal is to eventually lose. Games allow us to work at the edge of our abilities. They provide a series of scaled challenges so that we can find that perfect edge of a challenge being just hard enough. That edge, otherwise termed Flow, happens when our abilities are so intensely engaged that the act of striving to win is more satisfying than winning itself. Although our brains strive towards that win in order to give us the sensation of Fiero, we also love activities and games that allow us to achieve a prolonged state of Flow. Tetris is a primary example of a game that simply gets increasingly harder. One does not win Tetris; the act of winning involves prolonging your ability to play more so than the previous attempts. However, as with most things in life, too much Flow and Fiero can be bad for us. Our bodies cannot sustain a state of Flow indefinitely, due to its consumption of our physical and mental resources, and can even lead to happiness burnout. (McGonigal, pg 43)

chapter two gamification

Sorry: ...or not!

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Gamification is the application of game elements, mechanics and design techniques to non-game products and services.â&#x20AC;? Gamification is the application of game elements, mechanics and design techniques to non-game products and services. (Werbach, 2013). Although often described as a business strategy, the technique shows up in a wide variety of industries, from education to the boardroom, health and fitness to sustainability. (Gamification Co, 2012) These techniques are seen as a way to increase consumer/customer engagement and participation, cultivate ideas that are outside the box, and/or to make seemingly impossible task more achievable.

Although they may not be considered as traditional consumers, the students at Quest to Learn in NYC exemplify a group of people benefiting from an increase of gamification in their lives. The teachers and administrators at Quest to Learn use game techniques to increase the excitement and engagement of their student body and support their growth and education in a positive additive manner instead of the traditional subtractive method.

“The teachers and administrators at Quest to Learn use game techniques to increase the excitement and engagement of their student body.”

When the project for the school began, the Institute of Play recognized that a growing number of students are disengaged from their education; they are bored. Game designers, teachers and administrators came together to develop a curriculum based around active participation in “the service of learning”. (Video on Q2L’s website). Students discover secret mission hidden throughout school materials. They are encouraged to collaborate with their friends in order to accomplish these tasks, and turn them in for extra experience points. Instead of grades, students level up. This type of additive process means that the unsuccessful completion of an assignment no longer carries an immense pressure. A student who fails a quest simply does not receive the experience points from the assignment and may choose another one to undertake instead. Their level remains the same. Online avatars and profiles aid in the sharing of their experience and success with each other. The students compete for the opportunity to work on complex collaborative group projects. (McGonigal, 2011)

(Right) Quest2Learn: A NYC school bringing the power of gameplay to middle school - I wish I could go back. Photo Credit: Quest2Learn

From small starts up to boardroom executives, businesses are always looking for an edge that makes them stand out amongst their competitors, and gamification is the new technique to drive innovation into their products and services. “Gamestorming” is a new buzzword used to describe a method of idea generation used by an increasing number of companies as a means to obtain more innovative ideas. By creating a framework for an “idea space” with “fuzzy goals” instead of a direct connection from A to B, Gamestorming helps generate unexpected results which often lead to better, if not more innovative, solutions. The creators of Betacup credit this process with the strength of their idea for how to reduce the waste of disposable coffee cups. Instead of setting about trying to design a better disposable cup, they came across the idea for a better system. A Betacup is a reusable coffee cup that has information about your preferred coffee order stored in a bar code on the cup. The idea is that it’s a fast track through the coffee line by ordering and paying with a simple scan of your personal cup. It encourages people to reuse their cup, not for some altruistic reason, but because it’s faster and easier. Gamestorming allowed the team to pull ideas from anywhere and everywhere resulting in a solution that was innovative and unpredictable. (Gray, Brown, & Macanufo, 2010) 28

Based out of Boston, a utility company called MyEnergy is another example of how gamification can improve business. Ben Bixby, CEO of MyEnergy, created his company to make being sustainable more rewarding. MyEnergy monitors, analyzes, and relays individual/ household energy data (water, heat, electricity, etc) to individuals in easily understood means (both qualitatively and quantitatively). They then offer rewards in the form of points for saving on energy consumption. Rewards are cashed similar to how people cash in credit card reward points - except the prizes are offered and honored by local companies. Ben observed that a lot of people who “play” are not concerned with the rewards - they simply enjoy the acquisition of points. Yet, a lot of business’ focus solely on the reward and achievement system of games as a way to attract and retain customers. It’s true that winning and displaying badges or trophies is a major aspect of a lot of games, but the reward is not the only meaningful or motivational aspect. Feedback systems or a way to track progress can provide feelings of security and assure users they are on the right track. A lot of games employ a captivating storyline or narrative, creating a grand universe with intense imagination. These storylines can make people feel like they are a part of something greater than themselves, lending a sense of epicness to their actions.

Finally, the idea that games challenge us, give us something to work against, remains one of the biggest draws for playing. Working at the edge or our ability is an inspiring motivational factor that few industries manage to utilize in all of their gamification aspect.

chapter three gamif-ID

Another grouping of gamified products is a category I call Reality+. These are objects that only exist in fictional genres brought to life usually by some enterprising fans. Lightsabers, magic wands, Thor’s hammer - the list goes on, and while many of these items are intricately detailed and well executed, they really only sustain niche markets.

(Above) Star Wars Soap Dish: Star Wars + Soap Dish (Right) Joystick-It: The new age of controllers. Photo credit: Jennifer Tate

Gamification of products already exists in many ways. There’s a huge variety of objects that exemplify “theme washing” or “brand washing”. Take an ordinary object – say a soap dish – add a theme – Star Wars – and out comes a block of Irish Spring sitting on a Landspeeder. Add a Mario Brothers Twist to a coffee mug and you’re drinking your morning brew from a green pipe (Piranha plant not included…). Although occasionally clever, these objects do not exemplify the depth that gamification can lend to the products around us.

The next category involves objects that help sustain game play. Some are pretty obvious such as the equipment required for sports, the consoles and controllers required video games, and the dice and other play pieces used in tabletop games. Then there are objects like Joystick-It, and arcade stick for the iPad. Using a suction cup and a ring of conductive foam, these little joysticks add precise movement to iPad gaming. They don’t just support gameplay; they enhance it.

Nike created a whole system of gaming based around exercising. They created various bands, shoe chips, apps and missions to give people a way to track, compete and self-motivate their personal health. And it works! You set this goal to achieve so many points and at the end of the day and if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re just a couple hundred shy, you almost feel this need to complete your goal. Yet, for my thesis, I wanted to explore previously uncharted areas of gamifying products. I wanted to look at objects that were not related to gaming at all, that were normal everyday objects, and improve them through game tactics. Furthermore, I wanted to expand the application of gamification beyond simply badges and achievement tracking, and in order to do that, I realized I needed a greater understanding of applying game elements to something that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t gameful. So I created The Road to Radio City (or the Epic Adventure of Mastering My Masters).

(Left) Fashion Statement: Nike Fuel Band comes in several options. (Above) Application: Track Fuel points on the band and the application. (Right) Mission: Games desired around Nike Fuel Photo credit: Nike

chapter four the road to radio city

Games come in all varieties, but one style with which I was not overly familiar was Alternate Reality Games. Jane McGonigal describes these games as, â&#x20AC;&#x153;games that are designed to improve real lives and solve real problems.â&#x20AC;? (McGonigal, pg 126) A lot of the games she has designed tackle massive planetary scale problems such as hunger, poverty and climate change, and then some of them are simply designed to make players happier in their everyday lives. (Games, 2013) It occurred to me that a real problem currently starring me in the face was my thesis. With the goal of providing a meaningful contribution to the field of industrial design, thesis can be a long and challenging process at the best of times and downright stressful and depressing at worst. Why not attempt to create a game surrounding the completion of my thesis?

So I created a website and started out as a Level 1 Design Alchemist Thesian. I gave myself quests, ones that were daily and ones that had completion goals weeks or months away. I also ascribed value to those quests in terms of skill stats (documentation, imagination, creation, etc) and created an experience points system based around the Fibonacci Sequence. Two weeks from the end of my first semester of thesis, I had completed seventeen different one-off quests, maintained four different weekly objectives, accrued 3,675 experience points - reaching level 7, and raised a ton of skill points!

And then I stopped playing.

(Above) Avatars: My incentive for continuing with my thesis game - awesome avatars! Image credit: Sarah Jedrey

That is not to say that I stopped working on my thesis. In fact, there was only one quest from the end of that semester that was not completed at all, and certainly I continued working during the second semester. Yet, creating and participating in my own thesis game taught me several valuable lessons.

1. It works! Yes, using the game really did work. Even though I was the one who created the game in the first place, when I set down the goal of completing a book to read or some other type of quest, I truly was motivated to do it. I enjoyed adding up my points for the week to see if I had reached the next level, and for no other purpose than just because.

2. Achievements are not a primary motivator. Now, some of that statement might be a symptom of my own personality, but I truly believe that a lot of gamers are not motivated by achievements. Sure, it’s nice to be rewarded, but achievements in video games usually offer extra challenges or a way to compete with other people.

In my thesis game, I was not competing with anyone and completing a master’s degree is a challenge in and of itself. I found them hard to reward, even though I felt very accomplished in my progress, and by the end I gave up on trying to create more.

3. It’s hard to be your own Game Master. There’s a reason why the Dungeon Master in Dungeons and Dragons does not play the game – it’s hard to create and play something at the same time! Not only did I need to accomplish the work laid out in my quest log, but also a lot of hours were put into maintaining my game. Surprise elements (often referred to as Easter Eggs) were completely out, since it’s incredibly hard to surprise yourself (at least, intentionally). All in all, I consider my thesis game experiment as success. Sure, I did not continue with it until the end, but a lot of games are not completed. It proves that games are not necessarily about winning, finishing and achieving. They are about playing, motivating and progressing. (Left) The Road to Radio City: My stats page. Photo credit: Jennifer Tate

chapter five imagination and a story

“So what are you going to make?” During the initial stages of exploration and research, I consistently heard one question from people, “So what are you going to make?” This question caused a lot of panic, not only because I did not know the answer but also because I had no idea how to figure it out! The more I learned about the positive impacts of gaming, the more I struggled to derive a solution that encompassed all of those wonderful things down into a single product.

Then I came across this image:

“I fight dragons with my mind.”

My life is so much more interesting inside my head...

Shadowplay: I fight dragons with my mind....

I did not know why at the time, but the message inherent in the image struck me in a visceral way. My first thought was, “I fight dragons with my mind!” and I laughed at the sheer pleasure of that statement. It occurred to me that the thing that what I love most about games, what makes them personal to me, is the imagination and the story. They transport us to these other lives, secret game lives, where we are dragon slayers, Russian soldiers, or space explorers. These alternative egos are delightful to me, and they supplement my everyday existence in a truly meaningful way. On the other hand, the statement, “My life is so much more interesting inside my head” could be a bit sad, and maybe that should be a goal of my thesis - to bring imagination to life in a series of objects that otherwise seem mundane. However, there is also a beauty in keeping that imagination inside because it can continue to change and evolve. As with my thesis game, I chose to think of myself as a Design Alchemist, completing a series of quest leading to my ultimate goal of obtaining my master’s degree. Yet, at some point, the practicalities of reality and the physical world detract from the magic of imagination. The real world puts limitations on something that wants to be free-flowing and evolving and secret. 40

My solution was to explore both. The thesis game already represented something entirely in my own mind. Not continuing to update the website did not keep me from smiling about my perspective on my action items list. Now, I just needed to infuse a little imagination into a mundane object.

Meet Paul:

Paul: All your candles are belong to me.... Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

Paul (named for the movie Paul starring Seth Rogan) is two parts candlestick and one part invading alien and his tale is an epic one. Originally created as a ceramic wall divider, his form was inspired by a giant spider I saw while visiting Tokyo and a picture I took of a line of tripods. I took this picture of these tripods while on a trip because when I looked at them, I didn’t see three tripods. I saw a race of invading aliens, and I think that’s fantastic. So for my first project, I wanted to make something mundane, like a candlestick and make my own invading alien army.

(Opposite) Paul’s Army: The candle is reversible. (Left) Spider: Sculpture I saw in Roppongi Hills (Above) Tripod Army: An inspiring invading alien race. Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

By itself, the tripod is not anything special, but when you stack three of them together, they create an odd impression of an invading alien race. In this way, I wanted Paul to look stunning on his own – as with the giant spider – but be able to accumulate more alien clones to slowly take over a surface near you. Although these initial versions of Paul are 3D printed in alumide (nylon fused with aluminum powder), I envision these as sand cast pieces in polished metal – stainless steel, aluminum or even pewter. One side of Paul holds a single seven-eighths inch standard taper candle and the opposite side holds three half-inch tapers.

(Opposite) Tentacles: Other side of Paul. (Left) Three: Holds three 1/2” candles (Below) One: Holds one 7/8” candle. Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

chapter six challenge: charette deck

this is world of warcraft

this is my mass effect obsession

this is ninja turtle throwback

The process of creating Paul brought to light some interesting observations in terms of the design process. Paul happened when three completely disparate experiences fused together and evolved into the final object, and in general, I feel that this is how the design process really works. In our minds is a wealth of knowledge and experience just waiting to be combined with each other to create something magnificent, yet we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always see the links to forge these connections. To help jump this barrier, I decided to create a game. I tasked myself to design something out of three random images.

... i donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to talk about it...

Mental Connections: My mind is a scary place.

Set 1: Minions + baby carrier + tactical vest.

minions 48

baby carrier

tactical vest

The first time, I went ahead and associated a word with each image (the same word I used for the image search), but upon completing the exercise, I realized that it was terribly limiting. While the key words I used in the image search were minion, baby carrier and tactical vest, those images could mean something completely different to other people. It could just as well be overalls, mountains and camouflage. So in the next set, I left the words off.

Set 2: Batman + baby bottle + snake

After divulging my findings to Bruce Hannah, my thesis advisor (and my mild frustration at once again being my own game master), he sent me three of his own words: Batman, a baby bottle, and a snake. I chose these images:

This time, I started with the obvious solutions to get them out of the way: snake skin motifs, batman logos, a batman utility belt made from snakeskin… you get the idea. Then I started thinking about other characteristics, specifically those of the snake. I considered how snakes derive their body heat from the sun and that lead me to consider a new way to heat bottles. What if there was a cape (a la Batman) that could heat bottles via the sun? As enticing as it was to stop right there and design a thermal heating cape for baby bottles, I knew I had to explore more combinations to see what challenges from which new strategies could result. All in all, I looked at around ten different pairings. Some solutions came easily and some caused a great deal of struggle. I figured out early on that food images were especially difficult, and while it would have been easy to use the imagery for color or pattern inspiration, I really wanted to push myself into finding a different inspiration connection. This desire for challenge lead me through a series of different images of which I chose three sets for prototyping.

As with the snake, the image of the tomatoes became the most challenging - not because I lacked any ideas about its inspiration, but because it was the most difficult to integrate with the other two. The stool could lend itself to a product suggestion (stool), a material (wood), or numbers (three – legs or otherwise) and the spider provided even more options: a jewelry piece, brass and wire materials, the number eight, form suggestions, webbing, something sticky. The most obvious use for the tomatoes seemed to be color or pattern and I wanted to avoid such a simplistic answer. Eventually, I hit upon the idea of a sandwich – I love tomato sandwiches – and an idea for a series of bracelets that sandwiched one material between another.

Set 3: Stool + Spider + Tomatoes

Initially, I settled on an acrylic and veneer bangle with a form reminiscent of a spider. The veneer obviously links the wooden stool to the spider form and using red for the acrylic seemed another anchor for the tomatoes. I experimented and created around fifteen different bracelets, none of which I really loved or thought were very beautiful. I felt I had achieved a bit more success with the forms that revealed the inside of the “sandwich” over those that did not, so I decided to continue down that avenue of exploration. Exaggerating the reveal to look visually as if the veneered pieces were literally pulling apart and stretching the sandwiched material created something exciting. Utilizing digital modeling and 3D printing, I created a bangle and a cuff style bracelet from ABS plastic and maple wood veneer.

(Opposite) Sketch Models: Exploration. (Above) Cuff: 1” wide. (Right) Bangle: 1/2” wide. Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

Cuff: in context Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

Bangle: in context Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

Set 4: Filament + Face + Coin Purse

For this set, I chose to design earrings (face) with a glow in the dark glass element that resembled the filaments. The coin purse proved a little tricky, but eventually, I thought it would be interesting if the earrings were created from one strand of wire just like knitted objects are often created with a single thread or yarn. The glow-in-the-dark powder gives the glass a powdery look, and (according to my fabricator, Lisa Daly) it does not easy to infuse it evenly in the glass. The earrings need to charge under a bright light and then emit a faint orange glow.

(Above) Earrings: Orange glass earrings (Left) Carolina: Earrings in context. Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

Charge it: The glass powder strongest in a strong light

Orange Glow: The glass powder emits a glow for a short period of time.

Set 5: Super Mario + Photo corners + push pins

Here, I looked at designing a set of pushpins that acted as photo corners for postcards or pictures. Once again the third element â&#x20AC;&#x201C; classic Mario Bros â&#x20AC;&#x201C; proved to be challenging. I considered using the colors, creating the corners to look like the blocks in the game, and non of those ideas really struck a cord with me. Finally, it occurred to me that those classic 8-bit games used various visual techniques to make 2D graphics look three-dimensional. So instead I designed my wall pins to actually relief the 2D images off the wall. The thicker part of the pin design serves the dual purpose of providing a housing part for the push-pin in addition to creating depth from the wall. I created both a plastic and a steel version, and in the future, I see these evolving into a magnetic set.

(Right) Corners and Sides: Packaging Photo credit: Jennifer Tate.

Corners and Sides in context.

3D printed Steel

In playing this game, I realized that one of the enjoyable aspects of it was the challenge. Many times, the three images seemed almost impossible to connect, but it was elating to finally make a connection that resulted in an idea that worked and was beautiful. Feeling challenged is an important aspect in games as it gives us something to work against and succeed over. Yet, it is an element that is hard to translate to physical objects. We don’t want to feel challenged by our objects, we just want them to work. Playing this game became a way to infuse the challenge aspect of gaming into the design process and bring along its associated gratification feelings – flow and fiero.

“In playing this game, I realized that one of the enjoyable aspects was the challenge.”

In an effort to share my game with other designers, I created something called Charrette Deck. Charrettes have a rich history of being quick projects that use a variety of constraints to cause the participants to focus in on a single goal. In a lot of ways, they are similar to alternate reality games in that they ask the participants to put normal considerations on hold for as long as the charrette takes in order to complete it. Charrettes are like exercises for the brain, a stretch for your creativity. In its simplest form, Charrette Deck would simply ask the player to complete the same exercise I did: take three images and create something that uses all three of them. While Charles and Ray Eames created a physical deck for their inspiration House of Cards, I decided a smart phone app would expand the capabilities of the image inspiration. Players open the app and log into whatever social media sites they want to connect. Charrette Deck sources the images and algorithms associated with player’s social media to produce their sets of images. Players then click on the card icons and three cards appear and flip over. Players can look at the images as long as they need, but once they swipe to the drawing pad, a timer appears. Two minutes counts down on the clock and the player draws their idea on their phone or tablet. When time is up, the drawing is recorded in their digital sketchbook and they have an option to share it via social media.

I went through the entire exercise of storyboarding my app, finding a source for coding the final product, creating the base imagery, and then stopped and abandoned the project. Yes, hours of work, on hold, tucked in a file somewhere, and the reason involved another very important part of gaming: reality. I had allowed myself, in my excitement, to get sucked into this world of designing objects based on this challenge, and it was fun! And exciting! And completely not relevant to anything or anyone else. While this game had served a great purpose for me, I could not see how the general public â&#x20AC;&#x201C; designers or otherwise â&#x20AC;&#x201C; would want to voluntarily participate in the game, and without that crucial element, my game was dead before it was born.

chapter seven passport: for adventurers

For the last part of my thesis exploration, I investigated how I could use design to tell a story, and more specifically, my story. I like to go on epic adventures, and will jump at almost any opportunity to travel. In a lot of the video games I play, there almost always exists a personal inventory storage of some kind. It journeys everywhere with you and keeps some of your most prized possession. In many ways, this vessel resembles our personal carry on for airline travel, that favorite backpack for hiking, or just the every day messenger bag for urban living. Whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a grand vacation to Belize or just the number of times I take the G-train, we silently accumulate travel experiences without a way to quantify or share them, and I wanted to design a bag that could share these experiences with the world around us.

(Above) Epic Adventures: The way I imagine my travels to be. (Left) Inventory: Personal bag for all your travels

At first, all of my ideas revolved around the collection of data. I had plans to install geotrackers into the bags and collect information about the number of miles traveled, where people went, how long did they stay, etc. until it suddenly occurred to me that it did not mean anything. I had been sucked into this black hole of big data that was just number without a story and most importantly, numbers that would be stored in the vastness of the internet somewhere without the ability to really share or create random encounters. I struggled to find a solution that could create a more meaningful exchange.

(Above) Collecting: Map making from geosensors.. (Left) Big Data: Sucked down the black hole of number crunching.

Inspiration came from a somewhat unlikely source: my husband, Nathan. Nathan is in the Coast Guard, and while looking through some photos previously taken of us at a friends wedding, I stopped and took at second look at his dress uniform. The ribbon bar on his Bravo’s tells the story of his career. At a glance, someone could make a judgment about the length of service, where he may have been stationed, and what missions he may have performed, even if they do not know the specifics about all of the ribbons. This method of communicating our travels will fit seamlessly into our existing journey collecting habits. Beyond the collection of tchotchkes travelers routinely bring home with them, people take pride in their passport stamps and love collecting new ones. At one time, it was customary to cover one’s travel trunk with stickers from wherever they had been.

Nathan on USCGC Moray

At a friend’s wedding.

Ribbon Bar

Logo Mark

Ribbon Bar

With this method of story telling in mind, I set out to design a bag that could tell similar details at a glance. When considering a unique alternative to the standard rectilinear shape, I arrive at a design that was abstracted from a standard cartoon speech bubble. I used heavy weight cotton fabrics for color, durability and wash-ability and leather to provide that wellloved worn-in look as the bag aged. I took color inspiration from my travels around the world, choosing a bright two toned look that stood out against the darker, charcoal leather. On the front, I broke up the color with a leather stripe that held the travel ribbons.

Named Passport: For Adventurers, I hope this bag starts conversations. In the airport, on the subway, wherever our lives take us, the ability to meet new people and share our grand adventures (or even the mundane ones) remains a delight in my life that I wish to continue and give to those around me.

Designed to slide on and off the leather strip, the ribbons would come in two varieties. First, there would be standard options such as country flags from which to choose, but also customizable options. I created one with our classâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; thesis poster on it since I most definitely consider that an epic journey. While the primary selection would fit on the front leather strip provided, an excess or overflow would fit on the two in shoulder strap.

Interior Compartments

in conclusion

The world of games and gamification carries a vast richness and complexity of which I have barely scratched the surface, but I think offer a lot of inspiration and guidance for design and the design process. While it may seem like a fashionable trend, I feel that gamification is here to stay and designers can learn a lot from its influence. My thesis taught me several important lessons, the first of which is to indulge in my imagination. Though at times, it can be overly personal, the weird patterns and creatures that I see in my minds eye bring a delight to my life that others would enjoy and should be shared. Second, it is important to be challenged, but more importantly, those challenges should be accomplishable. Ideas and inspiration can be like a snowball rolling down a hill – it picks up steam and momentum and the next thing you know, it has launched off onto a path you never suspected. Yet, the challenge cannot be so huge that you can never get the ball started. Next, design, just as with games, requires voluntary participation. Not only is it ok to walk away from a design, but it is also sometimes required (and encouraged). Our willing participation in the problem at hand makes us better designers. Finally, while exciting game mechanics and graphics are fun, it is the story that really steals our hearts, and this can be true for design as well. We are a species seduced by a well-spun

narrative and attracted to objects that have a personal touch or a way we can leave our mark. In gaming, we talk a lot about our “end game” – the final goal of our struggles, the epic conclusion to our story. For my thesis, the end game revolves around taking everything that I’ve learned in the past year and continuing that in my career, wherever that journey may take me.

bibliography

Bayram, M. (2010). Design is fun: promoting play in design process (Masters Thesis). Retrieved from OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center database. (OCLC No. 670420437). Brown, S. (2009, March). Stuart Brown says play is more than fun [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks. Brown, T. (2009, November). Tim Brown talks on creativity and play [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks. Castronova, E. (2007). Exodus to the Virtual World. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. Engber, D. (2013, February). The Always Playful Genius of Erik Demaine. Popular Science. Retrieved from http://www.popsci.com/science/ article/2013-01/dazzling-sometimes-absurdalways-playful-genius-erik-demaine. Games | You Found Me. (2013) Retrieved from http://janemcgonigal.com. Gamification Co | The Leading Source for Gamification News & Info. (2012) Retrieved from http://www.gamification.co. Gamification Wiki. (2013, April 14). Retrieved from: http://www.gamification.org.

Gray, D., Brown, S., & Macanufo, J. (2010). Game Storming. Sebastopol, CA: Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Reilly Media, Inc. The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID). (2010). Retrieved from http:// www.icsid.org/about/about/articles31.htm. McGonigal, J. (2010, February). Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks. McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken. New York, NY: The Penguin Group. McGonigal, J. (2012, June). Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted. com/talks. Schell, J. (2008). The Art of Game Design. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers. Schell, J. (2010, April). Jesse Schell: When games invade real life [Video File]. Video posted to http://www.ted.com/talks. Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The ambiguity of play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Werbach, K. (2013, April 14). Gamification | Coursera. Retrieved from: http://www.coursera. org/course/gamification.

Application [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013 from: http://www. brandchannel.com/home/post/2012/12/10/NikeFuel-Missions-Accelerator-121012.aspx.

Flow [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http://www.todaysparent.com/ kids/preschool/how-much-time-should-kidsspend-playing-video-games/.

Big Data [Image]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http://www.trunews.com/documentsu-s-mining-data-from-9-leading-internet-firmscompanies-deny-knowledge/.

Lo Hood (Photographer). (2013). Inventory [Photograph]. Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http://marigoldm.blogspot.com/.

Collecting [Image]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013 from: http://www.spaceflight101.com/ atlas-v-sbirs-geo-2-launch-updates.html. Depression [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http:// reflectionsintheword.org/2012/10/17/prescriptionfor-depression/. Epic Adventures [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http://hqwide.com/ aircraft-war-battles-wallpaper-58300/. Fashion Statement [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: https://www. facebook.com/nikefuel/photos_stream. November 20, 2013, from: http://www.hyanglin. org/bbs/mem03/131357/page/9.

Lemmings [Photograph]. (2009). Retrieved November 20, 2013, from: http://www.hyanglin. org/bbs/mem03/131357/page/9. Mission [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 1, 2013 from: http://sblouisville. wpengine.com/featured/fitbit-nike-fuel-band/ Nathan Washburn (Photographer). (2008). Two Boxing [Photograph]. Quest 2 Learn (Owner). (2013). Quest2Learn [Photograph]. Sarah Jedrey (Illustrator). (2013). Avatars [Illustrations].

image credits

Set 1 [Photo Composite]. (2013). Retrieved September 5, 2013, from: http://www. meldmagazine.com.au/tag/minions/, http://www. sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/zombie-strykedead-ops-3-gun-tactical-vest.aspx?a=1030471, http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stockphotography-father-son-hiking-image20322407. Set 2 [Photo Composite]. (2013). Retrieved September 16, 2013, from: http://www.this-iscool.co.uk/admira-wijaya-illustrator/, http://www. lifemartini.com/top-12-essentials-for-newbornbaby/, http://www.wallsfeed.com/green-snake/. Set 3 [Photo Composite]. (2013). Retrieved September 25, 2013, from: http://tastefoodblog. com/2011/09/, http://club-3t.ru/cat_18/2650chasy-v-stile-stimpank.html, http://delaespada. com/products/441a-stool-with-leather-seat/. Set 4 [Photo Composite]. (2013). Retrieved September 25, 2013, from: http://www. repeatcrafterme.com/2012/04/500-fangiveaway.html, http://flickrhivemind.net/Tags/ lightbulb,wolfram/Interesting, http://briandmains. com/2012/04/02/project-365-day-93-selfportrait/.

Set 5 [Photo Composite]. (2013). Retrieved September 25, 2013, from: http://luthfianti99. blogspot.com/2012/05/bukan-yang-paling-tajamtapi-yang.html, http://www.dreamstime.com/ royalty-free-stock-image-vintage-paper-polaroidimage1879356. Shadowplay [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved August 21, 2013, from: http://www.impossibru.me/ my-life-is-so-much-more-interesting-inside-myhead_3865.html. Star Wars Soap Dish [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http:// retrostarwars.com/post/1011699131/ empirestrikesbath-sigma-ceramics-landspeeder. Sorry [Photograph]. (2013). Retrieved December 10, 2013, from: http://www.redefine.co.il/?p=3363. The Solar Family (Photographer). (2012). ToddlerShooting-Monsters-Under-the-Bed [Photograph], Retrieved November 20, 2013, from: http:// thehappyfamilymovement.com/2012/01/themonster-blaster/.

All images not otherwise credited were taken by Jennifer Tate. â&#x20AC;&#x192;