Having designed and tested visual prototypes the final was to deliver a promotional video and check back in with an industry expert for feedback.

MEETING WITH DR. QUIRK

I had a very positive meeting with Dave Quirk, who was very pleased with the output. We discussed some potential areas for improvement should the design be built into a real product, and also spoke about specific forms of distribution and available funding.

Dr. Quirk had reservations about the competitive element, viewing renewable installation as a collaborative endeavor. However, the competitive element was something that was highly favoured during testing. As such, we spoke about potential for an ominous third part opponent - like a fossil fuel company - that would be responsible for damaging components, instead of teams doing this directly to each other.

He also thought that it would be helpful if users could see a picture of the real components somewhere. This is because, as unknown tech, the components can remain abstract ideas to users who therefore never really appreciate what they are or how they work. I thought that this could be built into the game somewhere in an education section, or delivered as an accompanying educatin pack on distribution.

Dr. Quirk liked the power bars and other simplifications of displayed data, and offered some thoughts on the tech that could help the design should the game be built for real:

• Offshore tech should be placed as close to the shore as possible and in as shallow a depth as possible
• Demand for energy varies and so sometimes short-duration storage is preferable
• Grid stability is variable and could be incorporated as a means to offer difficulty levels in the game
• The game should keep the island isolated from buying in energy from elsewhere (like the UK), but their could possibly be an option to buy very expensive energy from elsewhere as a last resort
• The cost rating may work better if set at unit cost (kWh), which a lot of people understand due to domestic tariffs
• The game would work well as a consolidation exercise and as part of a larger educational package

On the last point, we spoke about the potential for hosting the game at a fixed venue, for distributing it to schools, and for having open access online.

The main consideration going forward that would affect both the possibility of making the game real and distributing it was funding. If funding could be secured from a business, trust, or foundation known to invest in these types of business, then the grander Hololens version I'd originally envisaged could be built. However, if funding is short in supply, a simple online distribution of a more basic web app through email and social media may be the only option.

FINAL DESIGNED SCREENS

The following screenshots show the final design for the main parts of the game. (See last week's Design Process entry for animated versions of these screens and a breakdown of their construction.)

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

As a design delivery I produced a promotional video and circulated it on social media. The video received positive reactions and good traction, having almost 200 views only a few hours after being posted.

The resonse indicated that there is an appetite for something like this, and gave me encouragement for building the game post-course.