1. Concept description

The concept we are working on is enhancing the museum experience through an Augmented Reality (AR) game. There are some dioramas in the museums introducing different kinds of animal habitats. We want to increase interaction and playfulness in these areas by designing an animal-finding game that visitors can play in front of the diorama. After holding their phone towards one of them, it will show the AR game.

Although AR is an existing technology and not as futuristic as other alternatives we went through, we felt it is the most applicable solution for our game, and also fits the client’s need of not implementing something practical and not too expensive.

Our design solution aims for visitors who want a fun experience alongside the visit. For example, a friend group may play the game together and compare who’s better at it. In addition, even though we didn’t have the chance to do user research with children or parents with young kids, we also think the game provides an engaging experience for families with kids playing together during their visit.

2. Value proposition canvas

When we first tried to clear out our product with the proposition canvas, we encountered difficulties as we were designing to provide a new experience rather than coming up with solutions that help users finish their tasks on their hands. We also felt that as we hadn’t settled down with the details of the approach to play the game, it was challenging to recognize values and locate them on the canvas accordingly.

In the end, we temporarily skipped this part and discussed user flows and some parts of the MVP idea first. Afterward, the product vision became clearer thus we came back to the value proposition canvas.

3. MVP description

• Visitors use their phones to scan dioramas and try to find the hidden AR animals while learning about them.
• If they find the correct animal, they will get a digital sticker of the animal as a reward.
• After playing the game at various diorama checkpoints, they will have a collection of digital animal stickers.

4. MVP hypothesis statement (at least one) and how would you measure them?

We have 3 hypothesis statements:

1. We believe the "finding hidden animal game" is engaging enough for visitors to continue and learn about animals. → We will know we are right when the participant is willing to find other hidden animals / go to the next diorama.
2. We believe that digital stickers are motivational rewards for continuing the game. → We will know if we are right when the participant collects the stickers, and we can also ask the user to state how much they liked the stickers once they receive them.
3. We believe users can understand how to trigger the game to start playing it, between option A) the game starts after camera capturing or option B) the game is triggered by the sensors placed around the diorama area. → We will know we are right when seeing how participants start the game in an A/B testing.

5. Storyboard

• Persona:
  1. Joey is an extroverted person who occasionally visits Vapriikki with friends. He looks for visually appealing and interactive displays during the visit. Entertainment is his main goal. He’s happy to grab whatever knowledge is available, but only if it’s fun. He seeks a mix of leisure and learning and is likely to visit on the weekends.
  2. Phoebe's a nature lover who is passionate about learning more about all the local flora and fauna Tampere has to offer. She enjoys reading detailed information about species displayed in the museum and observing the animal exhibits as many of them are hard to encounter in nature. She feels frustrated when the exhibition room is crowded and others block her from reading the text, or when the exhibit lacks interesting content.