Design space
We wanted to create a game that could be played when the user is laying down in bed. Our goal was exploring the obstacles and affordances of having a poster for Natural Feature Tracking (NFT)on a handheld device placed on the ceiling, placed above the legs of a user laying down.
Design principles
By analyzing some zen games currently in the market (i.e. Osmos, Auditorium, Tranquility), we identified some common design patterns that contribute to the relaxing nature of the games:
- No action or dexterity-based games: avoid exciting the player
- No inducing stress or frustration: no dying, no climax
- Game mechanics emphasize flow and inertia
- Relaxing audio: soothing background music and sound effects
- Simple graphics but captivating visual effects
Our prototype
Thematic elements: Our game’s theme is based on a traditional Japanese garden. Some of the elements in our prototype are flowing water, captivating sounds and soothing New Age music.
Player’s view: The player is situated in the bottom of a well, looking up to the opening at the top (represented by the NFT poster).
Objective: A water stream falls into the well; the objective of the game is to direct the stream towards a particular spot at the bottom of the well. There are obstacles hanging in mid air by strings that may block the stream’s path to the target.
Gameplay: The player can select and move lotus leaves on the walls of the well, in order to make the water stream bounce off them. This is done by using the touchscreen: first, the player touches a leaf to select it; second, a slider appears that allows the player to adjust the position and/or orientation of the leaf.
End condition: The “win” condition is achieved and the stage is cleared once the water reaches the target at the bottom of the well. There is no “lose” condition; the player simply needs to continue trying different lotus leaf arrangements until the “win” condition is achieved.
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