Avian Ace
Platformer adventure digital game
Team
Solo project
Year
2024
My role
Research, UI/UX Design, Game Mechanics, Character design, Environment Design, Animation
Audience
6-12 years old children
Research tactics
Literature Review, Competitor Analysis, Persona, Empathy Map, User Scenario, Emotional Journey Map
Avian Ace is a platformer adventure digital game that allows kids to explore their surroundings and learn about Indian bird species through interactive gameplay and visual content. In addition to the educational experience, it supports the cognitive growth of kids via challenges and puzzles.
Challange
“How can we encourage children to learn about Indian birds in an enjoyable and intuitive manner?”
Objective
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To design a digital game for the Indian children age group 6-12 years.
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To create awareness about local Indian birds.
Secondary research
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenge, secondary research was conducted using existing journals, books, and reports. To streamline the research process, it was further divided into specific goals for better organization and clarity.
Research goal
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Indian birds and their classification.
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Current situation of Indian bird.
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Indian game industry and popular genre.
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Existing products in the market
Research insight
Through our secondary research, we identified and compiled a set of key insights that provided valuable understanding and direction for our design direction.
Existing products and it’s features
To gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenge, secondary research was conducted using existing journals, books, and reports. To streamline the research process, it was further divided into specific goals for better organization and clarity.
Research gap
There isn’t any game for the awareness of Indian Birds. Existing games related to the birds aren’t engaging and little bit complex to the children.
Understanding user
After conducting secondary and primary research, primary user's needs, motivations, and goals were further explored through user personas, emotional journey maps, and user scenarios.
User Persona
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Empathy map
User scenario
Emotional journey map
Design and development
Brainstorming Idea
Story
Avian Ace is an exciting platformer adventure game designed to raise awareness about Indian birds. As you play, you'll embark on a journey through nature, solving puzzles, taking quizzes, and enjoying interactive gameplay. Listen carefully for bird sounds, tap your binoculars to identify the birds, and collect coins with each sighting. Keep an eye out for endangered species; spotting them gives you extra coins! Throughout the game's six levels, you'll encounter different vegetation and challenges. To progress to the next level, you need to answer quiz questions correctly and navigate through obstacles in your path. Each correct answer brings you closer to unlocking new levels, while wrong answers may cost you some coins.
Core loop
Mood board
Identity
Main character- Kuhu
Kuhu is a curious and energetic 6-year-old Indian girl who loves exploring nature and spotting birds. In Avian Ace, she guides players through forests, wetlands, and gardens, helping them identify birds, solve puzzles, and answer quizzes. With her cheerful spirit and sharp eyes, Kuhu makes learning about Indian birds a fun and exciting adventure.
Character animation
Environment design
Game assets
Game UI
Game screen
Demo video
Final thoughts
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User testing received positive responses. Five children aged 6 to 10 played the game and found it easy to understand and engage with.
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There is a noticeable lack of clear and high-quality bird sound recordings in the public domain, making it a challenging aspect of developing this game
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Further development is needed for levels two, three, and four. These levels will be refined after conducting additional user testing, and the feedback received will be thoughtfully incorporated into the game.
