The Challenge | On the Shoulders of Giants

Create a game using images from the Hubble Space Telescope as integral components!

Ananke Mission: Back to Our Planet

A transmydial boardgame that features innovative gameplay, integrating a customized deck of cards with a mobile application through a QR CODE using NASA's Hubble Telescope imagery base in a playful way to teach knowledge and teamwork.

supernova

1. Introduction

Only 3% of the young Latin American population has any interest in pursuing a scientific career [1] , and at the global level, such data are also not expressive. The game Ananke acts in the infantile-juvenile context as a playful tool, having an immersive narrative, bringing to the reality of these audience the proposed theme.


2. The Observation

In the context of Latin America, late contact with environmental and scientific issues, especially in the public school system, impairs the citizenship of these people in relation to their role of responsibility towards natural resources, as well as school performance and career projections based in tastes.


3. The Questions

  • How to attract the attention of this public, generating on them the interest to consume an educational resource?
  • What is the social impact that an application with these characteristics can bring?
  • Is this resource scalable and can it reach other audiences?


4. The Data

The data used to produce the game consisted of images recorded by the Hubble Telescope, as well as NASA data on Earth's environmental issues, as well as varied information on celestial bodies such as meteorites, stars and planets.


5. The Idea (Game description)

A transmydial boardgame that features innovative gameplay, integrating a customized deck of cards with a mobile application through a QR CODE. The game was developed using NASA's Hubble Telescope imagery base in a playful way to teach knowledge, teamwork, decisions and mostly science.

With an original narrative in which the imaginary connects to real scenes in a playful and easy-to-understand way [4], ANANKE Mission: Come Back Home creates a link between an analogue resource and a complementary digital application. For the artifact to play its part plentifully, it is necessary to use both.


6. Progress Made:

Visual game material [5]:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1WBQPBAqEu6-TiDGkfFliPZ9zI6_QROzD

  • prototype navigable interface;
  • Physical materials ready for print (board and cards);
  • Visual identity (colors, icons, logo and applications);

Game manual:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1VTpKNRlmTxrSsJF8Yrdc_ps1dU9DeSfd

  • Narrative;
  • Mechanics;
  • Data;
  • Player’s Proto-Persona;


7. Future Perspective

  • Improve the amount of data made available by NASA within the game;
  • Idealize new decks and game modes;
  • Get partnerships for the production of the game;
  • Deploy game usage in schools;


8. Bibliography

  1. POLINO, Carmelo (2011). Los estudiantes y la ciencia. Encuesta a jóvenes iberoamericanos. ISBN/NIPO: 978-987-26134-6-4
  2. Hubble Space Telescope Images [DATABASE]
  3. Globe Visualization System [DATABASE]
  4. VOLGER, Christopher (2015). A Jornada do Escritor: Estrutura mítica para escritores.
  5. KRUG, Steve (2006). Não Me Faça Pensar.


Behance profile with full project presentation:

https://www.behance.net/thesupernovateam

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SpaceApps is a NASA incubator innovation program.