#PLAYFINDERS By Paul Anthony Drury @thisisjukebox
#PLAYFINDERS collecting & connecting traditional play cultures from around the world By Paul Anthony Drury @thisisjukebox
• MY TAKE ON THE PROBLEM AND OUR CHALLENGE • MY IDEA: THINKING THROUGH PLAYFINDERS • PLAYFINDERS IN DETAIL • WHY CHILDREN LOVE IT • POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS • LEARNINGS FROM #ELEVATEchallenge • NEXT STEPS, SUMMARY & CONTACT DETAILS
MY TAKE ON THE PROBLEM
#PLAYFINDERS: a re-cap Following an incredible #ELEVATEchallenge week in Japan, I have re-examined and re-framed my idea in order to develop a deeper understanding into why play matters - and what #PLAYFINDERS can do to excite and engage children
#PLAYFINDERS: my take on the problem(s) 1. People forget, and games get lost! My #PLAYFINDERS idea stores our memories of Play; and passes on the play culture (rulebooks, images, videos, sounds, memories, etc) from generation to generation‌
Looking for connection, Curation & Inspiration? 2. People don’t know what traditional games are played around the world. Knowing what games kids play in Brazil, Singapore or Russia etc will break down barriers & inspire lids to get outside, learn, understand other cultures and play
It is important The more I speak to others about PLAYFINDERS the more important I believe it is. It provides connections, inspiration + a fun play user guide. Wiki-Play, but for kids
WHAT’S MY IDEA?
#PLAYFINDERS – in a nutshell An interactive crowdsourced map of different traditional play – from the past and from around the world. PLAYFINDERS ensures children learn new games, understand other cultures + together we build a user-generated play archive
LOGO - DRAFT
NOTE: this is just a rough draft of my logo – designed to be appealing to children from around the world. Using the universal love of a Lion, demonstrating bravery and tradition – but with a smile and sense of fun
What could #PLAYFINDERS look like..? The map would be bright, simple and visually appealing for children. It is designed for adults and children to explore together, creating an intergenerational dialogue about exactly what play can be‌
How does #PLAYFINDERS work..? Users make a profile and then pin their own games (pictures, videos & rulebooks) to a map. Children can explore, get inspired and are rewarded for trying new types of play. Parents and educators are rewarded for uploading
THE HOW: IN A BIT MORE DETAIL
How does #PLAYFINDERS work..? Kids love the colour, the pictures and the fun of exploring the world of play via #PLAYFINDERS. They can explore it with parents, but it’s really about getting children offline
Initial u/x design: suggested wire-frame of how we build the site
How does #PLAYFINDERS work..?
Mapping a user journey
Easy to use, visual, searchable, featuring real people and real play – from the past and from around the world
It’s flexible
#PLAYFINDERS: is easy to use on desktops, tablets and mobile phones – at home or at play!
The newsfeed
#PLAYFINDERS creates a moderated and curated news feed of the latest and greatest types of play uploaded – with newsletters creating a conversation in the community
The map
The map is at the heart of the #PLAYFINDERS experience. Rewarding those with the most curiosity and delighting those who want their home town to be recognized in the project
The homepage
A working idea of what the PLAYFINDERS homepage will look like‌
The feed
A closer idea of the news feed and what it will look like, a curated hub of play inspiration
Importance of search
Finding the typers of play is crucial. The filtered search allows users to search by country, age-range, size of play group, space, best reviewed, most played, etc etc
It’s searchable
Crucially: users can search for the most relevant play experiences for their children. A customisable search for global play based on equipment, numbers of young people, location etc. E.g. searching for a type of play for a rainy day, for two children, with no access to green spaces and
It’s linked to behaviour
And parents and educators can also search for types of play linked to behaviour and change. E.g. a type of play that will make a child feel rested, energised or happier. Play can also be searched for through links to education / curriculum – e.g. “what Play can help my child with maths?” or what “what Play will make my child more creative..?”
PLAYFINDERS: DEEPER THINKING
Driving off-line tradition non-digital play PLAYFINDERS is about parents and educators going online to discover, learn and get inspired. As a result, children then spend more time offline and playing games – either from their past or from around the world
A word on safety Children will love exploring PLAYFINDERS – but it’s not a place to interact. It is designed for adults and children to sit down together and enjoy… It’s colourful and FUN – but to be explored together. Encouraging inter-generational dialogue
If you build it‌ PLAYFINDERS will be built as a layer of information using Google Maps API – meaning it could be built quickly, cost-effectively & easily kept updated & feeling fresh. Simple social links could connect Playfinders to existing social networks (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter & Facebook)
One of the challenges With any open-source / UGC project, one of the challenges is kick-starting the interest + activity. PLAYFINDERS will work with British Council networks to spark interest, offer prizes for the first members and be backed by a marketing / social & PR campaign that tells the human story of the different games
Why will users repeatedly visit PLAYFINERS? There’s a constantly updated and growing database of play, making it the #1 hub for Play inspiration. It is gamified, with awards and prizes for A) adding play and B) trying new types of Play. And crucially, much like Wikipedia or TripAdvisor – parents become respected members of the PLAYFINDERS community, winning badges and prizes the more they do in the community – the most engaged becoming WikiPlay masters
The #PLAYFINDERS fundamentals The games uploaded have to be suitable for 0 to 8-year-olds, they have to be easy to play, and cheap-to-do. Rewards, points and prizes are offered for taking part: and just giving-it-a-go is the ultimate goal. #PLAYFINDERS
POSSIBLE PARTNERSHIPS
Working with partners Universities: might want to use PLAYFINDERS, to educate and inspire a new generation of teachers. Commercial partners: toy manufacturers and retailers might want to support. Perhaps they might want to supply a starter toolkit, with all the basic building blocks / materials – crucially, inspiring traditional non-digital types of play! Institutions: Like the V&A, Museum of Childhood in London and Play Africa in Johannesburg, and Boca Ranton in Sau Paulo – showcasing their knowledge, expertise and increasing interest
And why? PLAYFINDERS is an open-source book of knowledge, with useful real world applications. It also becomes an international hub, driving traffic from around the world. These partnerships could have a huge legacy in developing a global network of thought leaders in global Play Cultures
Frequently asked questions In a nutshell? Playfinders is a crowdsourced Wikipedia for traditional play Will it be moderated? The prototype is moderated, then it becomes selfregulating as the community grows (TBC) What types of games? There will be a rule-book, outlining which games fit the traditional / non-digital framework. i.e. limiting the tools, equipment, numbers environment needed Is it out there already?
No, nothing similar exists and we’re about to register the website address
How are the kids end users? The types of play is there to inspire and excite kids into playing traditional non-digital games. The nature of #PLAYFINDERS being an engaging, colourful and FUN website to be explored with parents – kids will then become part of a global conversation about the past, present and future of play cultures Language issues? Developer will build a geo-located Google autotranslate, ensuring it can be used around the world
Want to know more about the legacy..? The growing legacy piece could be themed around news agenda / anniversaries. e.g. what games did people play the Millennium, the Berlin Wall coming down, and other iconic news moments – making play itself a storytelling medium
Play is like a recipe! We know that people have different interpretations of Play and understandings / memories of the rules. But the #PLAYFINDERS team believe play is like a great chocolate cake recipe. There are certain key ingredients but many variables – and all the recipes are equally valid!
A FEW LEARNINGS FROM #ELEVATEchallenge
Kids do want inspiration They obviously love trying new things and new type of play. This invigorates them! Gets children excited and brings the energy
Kids are curious Given the opportunity to try something from a different culture, they jumped at the chance. For some, it didn’t matter. For others, the fact that it was from a different place made the play all the more thrilling‌
Parents really loved to share We tested #PLAYFINDERS in a really basic offline fashion at YCAM. We proved that parents loved to share. Around 75% of the people we asked stuck their childhood version of play to a large map
OSAKA: Policeman tag. How to play: it requires more than 6 people. One person is a police man and the others are thieves. Just play it as standard tag….
YAMAGUCHI: Colour tag. How to play: More than 3ppl. A tagger order one color (like blue)and the rest must find something with this color and touch it otherwise you'll be caught by a tagger….
TOKYO: Policeman tag. How to play: Use a long rope put together with an elasGc band and play just like jumping rope. Most girls play it, oJen jumping with a song….
GLASGOW: Kerby. How to play: Just use a ball and two kerbs. You win a point if you throw the ball and hit the angle of the kerb, forcing the ball to bounce back to you…
In total, we had a mix of games pinned from 7 countries in just one short session (Malaysia, Philippines, China, Japan, England, Scotland, Australia)
A bit about me I trained as a journalist and worked in newspapers in the North of England for four-years, before moving to London to work in arts & culture publicity / production. I currently work for leading People Media consultancy Unity as our Culture Editor and continue to work on independent arts / digital projects. I intend to work on #PLAYFINDERS as an independent project, and have the full support of the wider Unity network to make this project happen. Since #ELEVATEchalllenge I’ve loved sharing briefs, learnings and inspiration with the broader network. We’ve also included ideas, inspiration and learnings from Japan in my Unity play-focused work. More about me / my work: LinkedIn / Twitter / Web
AND IN SUMMARY
The #PLAYFINDERS outcomes Children engage, interact & celebrate the best types of offline play from the past. We learn about types of play cultures from around the world. The project creates a major legacy – a long lasting archive, network and hub for international play cultures. We encourage a global dialogue around play, highlight its importance in children’s development and shape an intergenerational conversation around play.
FAQs How do kids interact with it? They can explore the site online with parents – and then get offline to play! They gain rewards for trying out new types of play. How do they benefit? They try types of play that are brand new to them – both from other cultures and from their own culture’s past . Is the idea innovative and useful? There is no other offering like this, it is a true one-off. It delivers a useful role, since types of play are not generally passed down from generation to generation. This will develop conversations as aswell as a legacy piece, which will get young people talking and interacting across borders Crucially, kids will interact with the site due to its fun, playful and visually appealing aesthetic. It will give parents and teachers the tools to encourage kids to leave their gadgets and try traditional forms of play.
DEVELOPING A LEGACY OF PEOPLE #PLAYFINDERS will create a legacy behind the scenes as well. A) It will feature a blog, updated with the new forms of traditional play from around the world. And B) We hope to work with the #ELEVATEchallenge Fellows, who will act as board members and advisory people on the #PLAYFINDERS project. Ensuring global reach, integrity & authenticity.
Partner organisations will play their part – reinforcing a global dialogue on play: backed-up by case studies, news and more
BUDGET The budget is still scalable – according to how big the project becomes. The funding has to cover – design, build, hosting, partnerships, marketing & management. Approx (build, launch & run prototype for 6 months)
- - - - -
Design: Build & hosting: Partnership development: Marketing & publicity: Management & moderation:
- Prototype TOTAL approx
TBC TBC TBC TBC TBC
£15,000
Note: this is just an initial budget scope: a much more detailed budget / supplier / workflow breakdown is available upon request
FYI Alternative logo creative
NEXT STEPS?
Outline timings
1. May 2015: feedback and concept development 2. Summer 2015: launch basic prototype #PLAYFINDERS site, with partners 3. Spring 2016: launch bells & whistles version of #PLAYFINDERS internationally
#PLAYFINDERS: any questions? Please email paulanthonydrury@gmail.com or call 0044 207 4409810
ENDS