Overview
Globant is a consulting consulting firm that supports intrapreneurs. This was a side process in which I worked together with a gaming team and we managed to put together a prototype for the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.
This game was focused on promoting physical exercise during working hours and creating a networking space among the thousands of employees around the world.
Problem
Generally young multinational companies have benefits such as PlayStations for their employees to take a break. This means that after long hours of looking at a screen, they move to a larger screen to sit and look at a screen.
Sitting for long periods of time is not healthy, affects our ability to concentrate and the lack of exercise affects our mood. So, how to help people to take a break from work in a fun way while avoiding a sedentary lifestyle?
Process & Goal
I interviewed several coworkers to understand their interests, what kind of games they liked, what their motivations were. We created several flows and did user tests to understand how the product would work and how we could put together a simulation that looks as real as possible. The process became more focused on the business with the objective of achieving a prototype for the GDC. So, we set 3 main goals.
- Showcase the use of technology to help people improve their lifestyles.
- Strengthen relationships between workers improving daily team dynamics.
- Inspire workers to use and explore new technologies, in this case Virtual Reality.
Solution
By using Oculus lenses in sync with a fixed bicycle we created a simple game prototype to race towards peers. I managed to get approval from the head of the Gaming department to put together a team in order to develop a prototype. I designed a 3D printed prototype to exhibit at the Game Developer Conference in San Francisco.
It had a sensor that counted the laps to simulate the speed in the game. A lap counter composed of a magnet and an Arduino Mega, a Bluetooth module and a lithium battery. We decided to use a pedal instead of a bike because it was easy to transport abroad.
Highlights
I had one big learning from this process:
- Do not set high expectations and work hard beyond the reward. This process had many very frustrating moments, especially because it did not have a budget or a full-time team. Beyond that, each of the team members donated their time, and sharing the goal of doing something new is very stimulating and motivates you to keep going.