Reading time: 2 min
1
Client’s brief
The client’s brief was to create an immersive experience that educates high school students about how a career in Esports marketing is.
2
Research - Desk study
I conducted desk study to understand what aspects of a career path does a high school student need to understand to make an informed decision.
3
Understanding the subject
I read blogs, spoke to subject matter experts, and researched on past Esports event to understand the role of an Esports marketer.
1
Conceptual sketches
I led the designing and logic of each game. The design started with conceptual sketching, creating quick 3D mockups, relating it to references and forming grey boxes.
2
Developer handoff
The mockups were handed over to the developers. The process was agile so most of the design decisions were taken during meetings. The decisions were based on how simple the interactions will be and quickly can the design can be executed.
3
User experience
This step involved what hand gestures are the easiest to operate and where in the exhibit instructions will be needed. Overall, testing the games internally and making the experience intuitive to avoid instruction panels.
A high school student plays the role of an Esports marketer in this exhibit. He has to plan an Esports event, he learns about how data from research is needed to make decisions related to influencer marketing, how to assign budget to different sections, what role does sponsorship play and other major areas that help create a successful Esports event.
Entry portal
The entry has a companion called ‘Hello buddy’ that guides them throughout the game.
I worked on the content that goes in the UI panel for the entire exhibit (It needs a lot of improvement but looking at the time constraint we had to deliver it immediately.
Introduction
Hollo buddy explains how a career in marketing is. What are the skills needed and what is the average salary.
I worked on the narration for Hollo buddy for the entire exhibit
Dashboard
The player makes fill in the blanks for the goal statement. The options are chosen based on the graphs.
I designed the content that would go on the dashboard and formed the goal statement that connect all the games.
Sponsorship
The player pitches about the Esports gaming event and convinces the company to sponsor the event. The player answers few multi-choice questions and he is provided with clues.
I wrote the questions for the player to answer and also a tips menu that will help high school students give correct answers.
Post answering all the questions the company agrees to sponsor the event and gives a certain amount which the player can see in the box.
Budget
The money, received from the sponsors, is now used in planning the event and it needs to be distributed in 3 major categories.
Influencer marketing
Merchandising
Event Planning
Logo
The player creates a logo for the Esports event by using brand colors of the sponsored company. Tying this game to the sponsorship game.
Influencer marketing
Based on the number of followers, their audience and the topic the influencer speaks about, the player chooses an option that helps the most in marketing the event on social media.
I wrote the copy for each UI panel and created the panels in FIgma.
Planning event arena
The player strategically decides the placement of each booth such as the merchandise booth, products booth and selfie taking booth.
I designed the layout of the exhibit, drew sketches, formed basic mock in Sketchup and delivered to 3D modelers to convert it into blender and grey box.
Enjoying the event
The player in the event space can interact with NPCs and explore the event space.
I designed the scoring system for each game and an end report is generated post the event. This end report in form of a graph explains the user that which decision influenced overall success of the event. The success of event is measured in terms of number of merchandise sold.
Learnings
I learnt how to apply my physical design knowledge into immersive experiences
Observations made of people interacting with VR technology helped me comprehend user's expectations and what will keep them engaged
How does different teams such as 3D modelers, Environment designers, Developers, and Environment designers work individually and then bring together their work together
Challenges
This was my first project in the AR/VR technology, where initially it was difficult to understand different roles and understand overall design process
I directly worked with developers, initially it was challenging to give them designs in their desired manner
The client didn't give us a straightforward brief so it required some research on Esports careers and what we wanted to focus on when designing the exhibit.
Current stage : Incorporating improvements
Collecting feedback from users at showcase events. Incorporating feedback to improve the overall user experience of the exhibit.