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Toy and Game Design
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andy.sengupta@gmail.com, anindita@nid.edu |
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Board Games for Environmental Awareness
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Guide Gayatri Menon |
Sponsonr Self Sponsored
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For my project explored the possibilities of spreading environmental awareness in entertaining and playful ways. My aim was to design one or more table-top games (preferably a board game) for children aged 10 years and above to help them understand issues of global warming and sustainable consumption. The games are intended to generate linkages between the lifestyles of players and real-life environmental scenarios.
I designed three games based on extensive market research and user surveys. The first titled ‘GreenRaise’ is a game for teenagers. It is all about managing one’s money to buy the right power sources to run different parts of the city. This requires a lot of strategic planning. It has an additional second game within it ‘GreenFlick’ where the objective is to collect maximum renewable energy sources. It is an easy game which can be played by children below 13 years. The third game ‘De-Carb’ illustrates the relation between consumerism and global warming. It is designed to help children in the age group of 10-12 years understand how simple day-to-day decisions can help in reducing their carbon footprints.
As a designer, this experience taught me how to balance fun with effectiveness in teaching. I also gained confidence through independent decision making. Indirectly, I learned patience too when I had ‘creative blocks’ and ideas did not flow smoothly in certain phases. Designing all the games was a great lesson in optimizing elements, mapping real to virtual scenarios and understanding a player’s psychology. |
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