In search of a lost objectShankar Balasubramanian

EXPERIENCE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS - 4

Context / Scenario The Goal

• Sadness over losing an object.

• People think about it for a long time.

• They keep searching for it physically at least for a few hours/days.

• Simulate the operation of searching the object through a game.

• Not to alleviate sadness but to make the user realise that they should move on.

• Must be done in an implicit way to keep it all playful.

What we’re aiming for

Current scenario

People often think about the object they’ve lost and obsess over it for days.

Designing an experience for sadness in this case

People often keep searching for a lost object for hours or days only to give up and realise that it was a waste of time. It’s not a wrong thing to do at all. The aim here is to simulate the above situation through a game and bring some delight to the user.

The game

The user is first presented with a search screen to search and select an object they have lost or desire to possess. Once the object is selected, the game creates that as a goal for the user.

The game

For example, the book which the user has selected is now the ultimate goal / mission in this game.

The game

The game is about the user running through a maze with various obstacles on the way. They’ll be provided with 3 lives to successfully complete their mission of reaching the object.

(Details about the obstacles or game play are beyond the scope of this document.)

The game

In this screen, the user is out of virtual lives and is prompted to get more lives through an in-app purchase. They could come back and resume their game in a few hours, or could move on and start a new game.

Overall, the game tries to balance between - persuading the user to keep looking for their lost/desired object and motivating them to forget it by moving on. It’s up to the user to give up or continue playing.

Thank you