The main inspirations for this were Outrider and SpaceTour. I liked how both used a central interactive element, allowing users to engage with the information or ignore it without harming the experience.
Key Takeaways
Intuitive interactions
Prioritizing essential information
Balanced information-to-visual hierarchy
Comparative Analysis
Style 1
Style 2
Comparative Analysis
Style 1
I aimed for an apocalyptic style that conveys a strong sense of urgency. The earth illustration feels familiar yet slightly off, creating an unsettling atmosphere that reinforces the theme.
Style 2
While this style shares some similarities, it leans too far into a futuristic aesthetic. The futuristic look often evokes feelings of progress and hope, which wasn’t the intended message. Instead, I wanted to emphasize urgency and unease, which this approach didn’t fully capture.
To make this successful, I needed to develop a storyline that satirized human decision-making in a humorous way—pushing the irony just enough to highlight poor choices without sending the wrong message.
I drew inspiration from Exploding Kittens, as their style perfectly captured the playful yet satirical tone I wanted to achieve.
Storyline
Sketches
Option 1
Iterations
I explored different interactive elements to determine how users would engage with damaging the planet. A progress indicator provides real-time feedback, reinforcing cause-and-effect as their actions take effect.
These options didn’t make the cut
Option 1 lacked clear hierarchy, making the buttons feel unintuitive among other graphical elements.
Option 2 created confusion around the interactive elements—how they impacted the Earth and how multiple objects would react.
A quick intro motion graphic with voiceover explains the user’s objective, followed by step-by-step instructions on the easiest way to kill the planet.
To reinforce the game-like element and align with the main interaction, I incorporated three key causes of climate change.
Personality
Emphasizing user feedback, I incorporated sound effects for button clicks, boats, and trash splashing into the ocean, along with clear point additions for every action so the user is aware on how to "succeed".
Interactivity
This is the point when reality sinks in, revealing the irreversible damage to the ocean caused by the user’s actions.
Feedback
This is where users can explore more about overfishing and access external resources. By easing them into tough topics through engaging interactions, I aimed to capture those who might feel overwhelmed by heavy information upfront.
Educational
This project was so much fun! I deep-dived into user research, exploring how to integrate game-like UI into an educational setting.
My main focus was the real issue at hand—climate change—and how I could use ironic humor to teach people about it in an engaging way.
I’d love to see how this project could evolve with physical interactions, possibly as an exhibit experience.
