BrandX Silver Gamers

SILVER GAMERS

Gaming in the near future

A project on brand identity & speculative design

Project Process Journal

Jo.Nuno Vidal 2018

Working in teams of 4, we were asked to develop a proposition for a new brand, whose focus would be serving the needs of a clearly identified market in the near future.

Focusing in the theme of homeliving, we were assigned to work within the “playroom� house area.

Speculative Design, illustration by Dunne & Raby

Content PPJ CONTENT/ index

intro & content

Looking ahead

Future of Gaming

User research

Scenarios & personas

Creating a brand Brand archeology DNA (voice & Identity)

Moodboard Logo

Guidelines

products development

Refining

BrandX Exhibit Reveal

final reflection & personal contribution

Team This was a teamwork project, collaborating with exchange students from external partner schools.

Leila Cabero

Jeanne Chiche

Escuela Superior de Diseño de Madrid

École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle

João Lourenço

Roan Ballantine

The Glasgow School of Art

W h a t ’ s AHEAD

How we might live in the near future? What new activities and behaviours will be happening within this domestic space? To encourage an attitude of creative speculation the project started with an active discussion amongst classmates, exploring emerging trends and phenomena across society, culture, technology etc. We have built a post-it wall and from there we have created a series of STEEP cards (categorised in the Social/Technological/ Ecological/Economic/Political fields)

Selecting the STEEP cards that could potentially drive our yet-to-be-born brand proved challenging at this early stage. We paused and have decided to make a brainstorm around what the “play room” could mean: is just a room where you play you videogames? or is it a room where your 5 year old plays with his toys? a dedicated room for snooker or chess? or is possibly even a gym or cinema? Here we could picture in our minds how we could define the direction of the whole project, and although we have considered “play rooms” for toddlers, we later decided to focus in a more mature video-gaming, due to the teams’ preference on the subject.

THE FUTURE OF GAMING

It seems that in the next 15 years, gaming, at its core, it is not going to change much as an entertainment focused topic, but it will spread its range and even blur some lines. Looking at industry projects, we identified a bigger focus in eliminating the space between gamer and game (i.e. VR).

What is gaming? We can say that generally it is seen mainly as an entertainment tool. They do though suffer from prejudice - didn’t the word painted an image in your head of a teenager detached from reality, hypnotized by a screen?

No much different than the analogy of books vs comic books, they can require a more varied set of skills to be made and can create a more complete and immersive experience than other formats of media. We can also find its technologies and methods being applied more and more to science fields, military, and even services, etc.

Gaming as...

Entertainment: Netflix recently piloted an interactive format - the spectator now can choose the story paths of the main character of the show (s)he is watching. The gaming industry is several times more profitable than the cinema, and interactive movies pushing their way in to take a slice of the cake.

Skill training: Gaming can be an educational tool. From flight simulations to train commercial pilots to soldiers training manoeuvres, to astronauts and brain surgeons.

Health maintenance: From accelerating your heart to make your mind relax, to increase you reaction time or learn a new language, physical and mental health can both benefit with gaming, and with homes becoming more interactive, new possibilities rise. Gyms are adopting gamification in order to produce more successful trainings, and you can now turn your room into the bottom of the ocean in order to meditate or be moved to a tropical jungle to rest your eyes from the urban landscape.

Your bedroom walls turned into a live feed of an African Savannah, a proposition of the product MK Player360 by Broomx Tech.

We have divided our STEEP cards in two groups, ones that would drive society where games would be part of daily life, getting more out of us in order to make up for climate change decaying or simply to reduce utility bills. It was a reflection of future anxieties.

Black Mirror, “Fifteen Million Merits�

The second group of cards was leaning more towards users themselves.

Social phenomena was discussed where in the future families would be living in group again and the habits of the elder would merge with the younger members.

Her, 2013

Who are the future gamers?

Looking into the demographics of gamers it was surprising to see that the amount of players over 40 years old was higher than what we would imagine.

It was an interesting finding of a very clear audience, one that the market was not addressing presently, and we were curious to imagine how it would do it.

UK Games Industry Fact Sheet October 2018, UKIE association

A quick search for this audience revealed some established communities. Prying in, we looked at how they would portray themselves, their tone and aims.

They seemed to use humour at the inherent uncoolness about being an old gamer.

With this key finding of an untapped market by gaming companies, we thought it was a great and provoking opportunity to address this emerging voice of the gaming community.

SCENARIOS

& PERSONAS

Cathy, 55.

-Comes to help her daughter with her 6 yo; - Became a volunteer at the Natural Park and Integration Network. Politically engaged; - Leader, experienced.

SCENARIOS A) After a family dinner, older members feel apart. A game could connect generations, (even bring back deceased members), or challenge hierarchies and power roles. Interesting social interactions could be designed and pushed with a game, or even a bridge between old and new members, to entertain and educate.

Mark, 60.

- Founded a successful startup when he was 30. He still manages a branch of it, mostly at home; - Used to multitasking; - Shares house with his sick mother.

SCENARIOS: A) Remote working, getting a call while preparing a meal, having a virtual meeting. some of this activities overlap in Mark’s lifestyle. In moments of inactivity, he automatically fidgets with this phone - often cheesy games that somehow it comfort him.

Charlie, 57.

- Part-time job as an insect farmer.

- Relationship with an AI for one year now.

- Renting part of his room to strangers.

- Found a way to isolate himself with videogames - Sedentary lifestyle, smokes.

SCENARIOS: A) 39% of UK adults do not exercise.

Charlie indulges in gaming but they are not physically active. RiTu could provide a service of a highly health aware avatar that checks on him to get in touch with reality and exercise. A reward system. As games get intensively more active, a regulation for titles that identify the required level of intensity that qualifies him to play, could also be designed.

Social score - affects insurance, etc

Jill, 65. - Insomniac -Used to be a writer but she developed an eye problem that spots her from concentrating on reading and writing.

-Had to decrease the intensity of night shifts.

-Community gaming on her doctors advice.

SCENARIO: A) Jill has issues sleeping, and age is increasing this. Although technology is seen as something to avoid in order to fix this, there are proven tools that aid relaxation, such as guided meditation or shows of lights and melodies.

She could also join a virtual room with other insomniacs in their beds, a sort of desert where they fly in their magic carpets and share conversation, as a method to cope.

Claire, 62.

- Very social, hosts wine tasting sessions at her own home; - Got a knee operation due to a ski fall around 2 decades ago; - Her biggest dream was to visit South American natural landscapes.

Scenarios: A) Virtual Tourism. Virtually pre-visits are a standard in the tourism area where they provide 3D experiences for clients to decide on their next destination.

B) Hardcore VR. What if holidays can be spent without living the house? Claire friends make their holiday shareable, and she joins a treck, eliminating distance and merging reality with simulation.

B) C) Gaming blurring the lines with physical exercise. In a Gym there is preparation, where there can be several things happening - protein shakes, dressing up, packing... and the after, showering, even sharing a picture of the experience.

RiTu could design for this indoor virtual experiences.

Reflection The scenarios we had were not all focused on future interactions, some of them could happen at the present, so I think we could have pushed them a bit further in the sense that they could be hypothetical situations that would not happen today, so in that aspect maybe they could have been better.

Also, designing for older people made a team member force a focus on health issues, while there was nothing indicating that it was a health affected group (yes health problems grow with age but data would only show a rise from 65 yo onwards)

CREATING A BRAND

BRAND ARCHEOLOGY workshop with P. ALMEIDA

To understand the principles underpinning the visual representation of brands, and then apply this to your own, we had a workshop with Pedro Carvalho Almeida (a graphic designer and expert in the archaeology of brands, both as an academic and consultant)where through an active exercise we have collected, analysed and compared elements of two known vodka brands - Stoli and Absolut.

We looked at this brand constituent parts of a whole, isolating and identifying its ingredients: type fonts, colours, symbols, imagery, products, communication and 5th element (other recognisable traits).

It prepared us to create our brand by starting to think of defining characteristics and values.

We then started to build a visual language and identity for our own brand. Since we were going to design for old people, we have also approached what we did NOT want to communicate. We were quite self-conscious on

WHAT WE ARE AVOIDING

DNA RiTu will address and elevate the emerging major player, the silver gamer, as deserved, responding to its need of being recognised and respected, distinguished and followed.

PUSHING FURTHER

What do we sound like? IDM music: classical violins and electronic beats.

What do we smell like? Kenzo World: provocative and irreverent, energetic What is our face? This: Noble and defiant.

MOODBOARD

D

An early moodboard helped us situate graphically where we stand in terms of font types, colours, feel. We made a pre-exploration of materials - background papers had metallic and pearly and light reflective, a futuristic quality to contrast with the natural materials like bamboo.

LOGO The name for our brand came as a creative exercise, by joining random syllables from our core values words.

RiTu hinted at Ritual,and had a simple but solid pronunciation. Our classmate from India also told us that it meant “season” or “rain” in Hindu. It was good enough for a start, so we kept with it.

We wanted to convey that RiTu would exist in the space between the Game and You. We also wanted to convey some motion, as an active experience.

We experimented with several ideas, using mainly different fonts until it felt right.

In this iteration we have tried to convey a feeling of dynamic, of adaptable transformation and even the cross-cultural nature of the online cyberspace.

In this iterations we pushed for the adaptability and movement, along with colour experimentations.

Experimentations with an animated font, inspired in performative dance movements.

The final iteration was a push towards the biological side of our products. Studies were made with a mesh and a light table, and animation.

An abstract and elegant shape felt an appropriate point to be.

Logo

Products

Colours main

NATURAL ; PURE ; NOBLE TRANSFORMATIONAL ; TRANSCENDENTAL DYNAMIC ; ENABLER ; ENHANCER PROVOCATIVE

Audience - THE SILVER GAMER They are NOT pensioners They do NOT live in retired houses They are NOT disabled/diseased/unable

Generalistic persona Woman - 59 years old.

Had a grandchild recently Has a job Is healthy and active.

Gamer (for at least the past 10 years)

49

66

Avg age of becoming a grandparent

Pension age Health decaying issues start >

DE VE LO PI NG

HOW HOW MIGHT WE ELEVATE OLDER GAMERS? I thought it was a cool and challenging exercise to find out how to empower old gamers. How to compensate the natural biological process of aging, such as reaction time, flexibility, hearing range, creative problem solving, etc? What does this user group has that in inherently unique or/and above others? What could make a younger person look up to an older?

The fact that an older person is a gamer can be inherently cool, depending on the type of games they play: are they mobile games like Candy Crush or are they hardcore shooters like Call of Duty, or even strange things like survival horror?; An older person has naturally lived more time. This can be mean more accumulated experiences and knowledge. In general, elders are traditionally seen as more knowledgeable and thus mentors and counsellors. In our context, this can mean it has also been playing a game for longer. As games can replicate life, could this dynamics also be reflected in virtual worlds? I have decided to explore this concept of accumulated time as trump to inform my product.

WHAT We have decided to start designing for 4 moments: The activation of the service: How to get access to RiTu club? One must be of age, so it needs to be proven. A blood test can reveal age, and this truthful organic way of walking the gateway was along our brand lines.

The bio-enhancer: Games give you power ups in game. We were pushing for real life ones to recover lost performance. Themes of nutrition and micro-dosing drugs were explored for this. Along with this came the idea of an edible perfume.

The controllers: More than just controlling the game, how could we get rid of the complexity of modern controllers, and help to correct postures and teach perfect movements to give the edge?

The passing on experience: A proposal that ingame achievements would be converted into objects for future players to inherit digital assets and carry on a legacy

early prototype of blood collector/ service activator

searching for subtle controllers

WHERE

Some facets of the RiTu experience were hard to grasp. Although we were designing for an hypothetical home setting experience, this service we were providing, of a private elite club, needed a sort of hub for the silver to connect. This virtual spaces could also be a place for the avatars to show off their achievements. This was where the independence of space created the liberation from the home environment, such as from digital avatar to real body.

WHEN

There where several temporalities of where our products belong and we have tried to address a different one each. The DNA key would activate the service, the edible perfume would boost you for the coming activity, (also act on the post-game by helping with the odours of physical exercise); the haptic controllers for during the game; and the heirlooms would naturally live in post game, being inter-generational, but also have an role in unlocking content during gaming.

WHO

Kate, 68.

She has been playing the multiplayer online game UNIVERSE WARS (fictitious) since its start in 2020. It is the kind of game that has a persistent world and it is always active, with players all around the world, even when she is not playing it.

In these online games, unique items are prized, as the ones hardest take a huge amount of grinding or are only accessed through a temporary event.

Someone who played a year, won’t have access to that specific item no longer. In so, a player who has played for longer, would have accumulated a bigger collection. Companies do this to keep players committed, but for Kate, she pays for it! She loves playing as her alter ego, a Empire archer.

She has taken part in the main wars in the server, against the Rebels, and although she does not have a huge amount of kills, she has a great shot to death ration, meaning she likes to make every arrow count. This made her unlock a special medal ingame. But in this world with 20 millions of players, where she stands out is in her time as a player. She has been here longer and completed plenty of no longer quests that unlocked no longer achievable items.

Kate’s grand daughter got to an age that she started to get intrigued on what her grandmother is doing in that gaming room. She joins her in her game, and gets introduced to this new world.

WHY With online gaming, each platform has their own system of distinguish players dedication or skills. These come in the form of digital images of medals or trophies. I thought that this could eventually evolve to physical artefacts to display in a game room, or even push them to be wearables and put them at the same level as medals - since virtual realities are getting closer real life, it could be arguable the same skills would not be far from achieving equal feats in the real world.

If this could carry the digital wealth, they could be also seen as prized heirlooms and make a younger member of family look up to the elder member.

A virtual Napoleonic battle. To me, this is a relevant memory of me growing up and playing with my brother, where as filling the role of the elder brother, I aided him shooting a cannon, by relieving him of not having to load it. This made me think that in the future, historical events would not only be of a greater entertainment and educational potential, but also to build memories with your relatives, perhaps the future of quality time with grandpa.

The idea for a heirloom that would accumulate experience stemmed from actually trying to design a universal controller.

With this case, I informed my exploration of shapes with the artefacts and positions of bowmen.

Archer’s ring, to hold the bow string.

I went to the casting workshop to look for moldable materials and found a thermo plastic that could be shaped around the body, and I was ready to start exploring other particular pieces of armour of archers, in order to divert from trying to achieve an universal controller, but archer specific orientated gear. At this point we have decided to split the controllers totally from the heirlooms, as this were overlapping too much. I have then looked at ways where we humans represent the accumulation of experiences. From swords that would display how many heads they had beheaded into rings on the blade, to simpler ways of communicating social status like rings or facepaint in tribes.

I have started to lean towards a system that would 3d print these achievements into pieces that the gamer could wear, like jewellery. Are medals considered jewellery?

Pushing the wearables further, I have added some branding and experimented with ways of connecting this tokens.

This could take any shape that the gamer would like to, and assemble accessories.

Reflection I would have liked to keep pushing the concept further, to create full sets inspired in the avatar roles ingame, such as masks, leg armour pieces, etc. I think that in a more aligned way with a brand I would like to propose even body decoration, such as tattoos.

3D printing on fabric, unknown

REVEAL Our project was to be revealed in a gallery show along with 4th years work. The style was as a POS (Point of Sale) for an imaginary Expo.

The exhibition was called Future Exp and it was displayed at the Reid gallery and it encapsulated visions of the future.

The team’s poster. The first iteration was dropper as it communicated a more gentle and shy feeling, and replaced for the second and final version, more subversive.

We made and painted plinths and looked for statue-like elements to present our products. Some were found in the casting workshop, others were cast from scratch.

The products were placed following their height, in order to keep visibility from the front. The spacing of plinths was enough so that people could move in between them.

Behind, two speakers were placed to project the presentation track we had.

For the presentation the following factors were planned: Sound> The presentation was led by a pre-recorded and manipulated narration, to set a tone of futuristic, noble and special quality. Our classmate Maiella lend her German accent voice, that was further manipulated by adding slight distortion, reverb and elevating the pitch.

Dressing instructions> all black.

Choreography> stiff slow body movements, statue like, noble and maybe haughty expressions. Each member presented the products assigned to their location.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to the unrevealed RiTu showroom. My name is Delta and I personally want to congratulate you for your selection.

You are here because you have been chosen. The youngest of you is 55 years old, and the oldest a 68.

Your excellency as an archer in the game no longer needs to be proven. Your presence in this room is synonym of wisdom, experience and accomplishment.

You have lived half of your life, and now you have been given a second chance. Welcome.

RiTu is a transformational game experience, this time to you, the silver gamers only. You have been professing as a spiritual explorer, or a natural healer in your gaming life. But this is different. You have now the opportunity to embrace the virtual world, and to make it your own. You have a potential of energy waiting, and we are unlocking it for you. All right, lets start the presentation of products.

To activate this alter-ego, you will have access to its pure identity - its essence - its perfume. Infused with a pheromone that relates genetically to both of you, you will incorporate its personality. As you are playing, the scent releases from the pores of your skin and you will emanate your super presence. You will be give a unique bottle in which the key particle will glow.

The game starts like an engagement, just as a ring, you slide the key along two fingers. From a needle as thin as hair, a drop of blood will be taken. The analysis will check if the age meets the requirements, and give you accurate information about your health and physical capabilities. Together with your submitted preferences, we will be able to shape the ultimate gift for you. An ingame avatar from whom you can rely on to project your biggest aspirations. From that moment you will be supported by this enhanced reflection, who will never leave your side.

The language you will speak with your avatar is one of touch. Through haptic controllers, you will extend your movements to the virtual world. All the sensations experienced by your alter-ego will be felt back to you, entirely personalised. The vibrating feedback will follow the patterns, right into your skin. It will amplify, correct and enhance each one of your movements.

Your body’s expression rules the game.

Silver gamers: you are above all. You have played for longer, you have collected more stories, pathways, wealth and power. We propose that your digital experience is converted into physical artefacts. The most beautiful gift you will be able to give to the player of your choice for this person to experience the kind of game you had. This is your gaming legacy, pass it to your chosen pupil.

Reflection Learning outcomes: Branding in the way is taught at GSA (mostly Marty Neumeier and Wally Olins perspectives on the theme) has changed my previous idea of it. These are the kind of learning that I value and I look for in academia - changes of perspective. It got me excited to learn about branding and identities. It was great to meet the designer Pedro Almeida and his work around national brands that are forgotten and ways to revive them - something I wish I could work on.

Learning about Speculation Design was great, a sort of fiction design and now I see speculative designers are the rock stars of the field as the futuristic tone of the work is undoubtfuly cool and atractive. In my to-improve list this year was the experimentation of materials that I haven’t tried yet, so I was happy to finally do casting, using alginate and plaster, and later trying out laser-cutting.

Hard skills: I was able to use Rhino and Daz3D for the first time

and do basic 3d modelling for the prototype.

To improve: 3D making (through experience). Consistency in energy throughout the project (usually tends to go down towards the deadline).

P e r s o n a l Contributions I have contributed to all stages of the process in this project, with more predominance in the early ones.

I worked mainly on the development of concept of achievement heirlooms, but also participated in first prototypes of other iterations (early DNA key and controllers). I have pushed for, at a personal level, for key decisions such as the theme and target audience; getting the ball rolling in ideation of product direction; I have kept concern about consistency with brand guidelines when changes were introduced, and have filled reasoning holes to do it so (ie. connecting it with statistics or just elaborated metaphors);