Gamifying sci-fi prototyping for future proofing businesses
Making sense of complexity to engage businesses in sci-fi prototyping. A role-playing game about possible futures.
2021
@ Hyper Island for Planethon,
The Challenge
Planethon is a planet-centered business development consultancy. The research Future Earth/Future Human (FE/FH) is a combination of scenario planning and dystopian stories. FE/FH research broadens the perspective of today’s businesses and future-proofs their plans.
We developed a game to introduce new consulting methods and engage clients in a simplified and inspiring manner.
MY ROLE: At Hyper Island, I led a team of seven designers. My responsibilities included overseeing strategy, content, and client relationships.
process & outcome
Identifying issues with the current workshop format and how the research is perceived
Planethon has developed four scenarios, brilliantly crafted by academics. What they didn’t know (because they didn’t test it) is that the research is hard to understand for users outside of academia. There is a large knowledge gap between Planethon and their clients about sci-fi prototyping and as such, there is a need to lower the threshold of engagement for businesses with the scenario planning practice.
Our goal was to break down the scientific research and create a user-friendly experiences to engage with future foresight
Evaluating different types of gamification, prototyping physical and digital versions, and making decisions based on research and testing
We interviewed Planethon’s facilitators and their researcher, who wrote the content. We scouted potential clients and carried out interviews with high profile experts: other professionals who use future foresight in their strategical practice from large corporations, innovation leaders, and business directors. We drafted customers’ journey maps pointing out all touch-points for the clients and the research, the pain points, and where we could introduce new methods for a clear and engaging experience
Creating user friendly content for the game and designing mechanics, art, copy and the whole experience of a FE/FH workshop
In short, what needed to be done to create the final product and making sense of the complexity:
Break down the information of the scenarios, while getting rid of the academic lingo
Create empathy. Creating roles to be played among different actors. All of a sudden, a business controller could be a farmer, and the CEO could be an environmental activist. The roles allowed people to create new dynamics and challenge their own biases toward the future.
Craft game dynamics. Creating rules, roles, news, and powers for all players was a creativity sprint in itself.
Create engagement through stories. Storytelling is crucial here. Exploring the different scenarios by telling stories is the core of the game: stories of the inhabitants, of impossibly rigged future elections, the disastrous outcomes of climate change, and more.
Creating a physical prototype and then shifting to hybrid mode. The game is designed to be played in person but at the last moment, we moved our launch online and had to create an equivalent version of the workshop digitally. It turned out to be a Miro board template and the players loved it -zoom fatigue notwithstanding.
