TerraTory
Problem
Recycling is difficult to encourage, impossible to maintain, and boring to engage in.
Solution
Gamify trash pickup by rewarding users for cleaning their communities, earning turf against other factions.
TerraTory
Winter 2024 (24 Hours)
FLUX 24hr Challenge
This is the first design challenge I did with the dream team: Ovadia, Arjun, and me. We would go on to win many more! I'm proud of the ideas we had around gamification and recycling behavior. In the pitch to the judges, we said "we tried to make a gamified experience to build healthy habits, but ended up actually just making a really fun game", and I fully believe that. It's like Pokemon Go but with recycling and area beautification.
TerraTory
Winter 2024 (24 Hours)
FLUX 24hr Challenge
This is the first design challenge I did with the dream team: Ovadia, Arjun, and me. We would go on to win many more! I'm proud of the ideas we had around gamification and recycling behavior. In the pitch to the judges, we said "we tried to make a gamified experience to build healthy habits, but ended up actually just making a really fun game", and I fully believe that. It's like Pokemon Go but with recycling and area beautification.
Problem
Recycling is difficult to encourage, impossible to maintain, and boring to engage in.
Solution
Gamify trash pickup by rewarding users for cleaning their communities, earning turf against other factions.
Project Manager
I led the project by assigning work, checking in with teammates, and determining the direction of the project.
Interaction Designer
I designed how the user interacts with the products through input and output.
UI Designer
I designed the visual and interactive experience of using the product to spark delight.
UX Designer
I designed the experience of using the product based on research, testing, and intuition.
3rd Place
Design Challenge
Duolingo
Receiving the prompt and choosing a direction
We found three potential areas of impact:
Interpersonal relationships
Strengthen the bonds between people as the Internet draws us closer and further apart.
The social echo chamber
Break the algorithm-driven bubbles we sort ourselves into online.
Recycling habits
Encouraging healthy recycling in local communities. This is the one we chose.
The waste problem
Recycling in America is mostly aspiration, not action.
90%
of U.S. solid waste is never recycled
75%
of total waste is recyclable, yet only 30% actually gets recycled
$11.4B
in recyclable containers and packaging is thrown away every year (EPA)
Why people don't recycle
Expert Interview
We interviewed a close friend who is politically active and has cut plastic bottles out of his life entirely. He has spent years convincing people to recycle, so we asked him for advice. Here's what he had to say:
Research insights
Honing in on what we needed to build
Persona 1: Justin
A technology enthusiast. He knows it's good to recycle and he would never litter, but he struggles to find the motivation to recycle as religiously as he feels he needs to in order to make a difference.
Persona 2: Shelly
Eco-conscious and happiest in nature. She carries a metal straw and a reusable bottle to help save the turtles. Her struggle is convincing her friends to adopt the habits she has already built into her own life.
Turning the research into game mechanics.
Raid Flow
Raids are a core game mechanic and one of the best ways to get people involved. We thought a lot about how that experience should work.
Scout flow
Scouting is the other main game mechanic. It's more accessible than raids because it doesn't involve others to schedule.
TerraTory: a faction-based game that turns trash pickup into turf war.
Pick your faction
On first launch you choose a faction from one of three endangered ecosystems: Flora for our forests, Reef for our dying coral reefs, and Glacier for our melting ice caps. Each faction has three animal subclasses for different play styles. Glacier, for example, runs a Polar Bear (tank), Narwhal (support), and Arctic Fox (ADC).
Faction and subclass selection screen
All the Earth's a stage
The map shows real-time TerraTories around your physical location, powered by OpenStreetMap. Zoom in to see the tiled hexagons you can claim for your team and the goal areas to clean during events. You can spot other players nearby and start your own events from here.
Hex-tiled territory map with claimable Terratories
PvE: Maintain, Scavenge, Scout
Solo events change name based on whose turf you're on: Maintain your own, Scavenge unclaimed land, or Scout a rival's. As you pick up trash you scan it with your device for Geo (our in-game currency). The app verifies the item, awards points to your for finding it, and tells you what it's made of and how to read that off the packaging. Scan a barcode and it goes deeper on how the material affects the environment.
Scanning trash to verify and earn Geo
PvP: Turf War
Raids send a team into another faction's territory to clean it up. Players photograph the area before and after for their journal (and social media), and spend buffs earned in solo events to claim or defend turf. Parks and beaches pay out extra Geo.
Multiplayer raid in Savannah
Your character
A profile with level progression, lifetime stats, and badges. Dress your character in garments earned in-game or bought from the shop, where proceeds go to an ecological organization you choose.
Character page with level, stats, and badges
Quests and bounties
Weekly side quests and bounties set personal goals, from finding three sheets of cardboard to turning in 15 PET bottles. Some teach, some send you to eco-conscious brands, which doubles as a revenue stream.
Weekly quests and bounties list
Leaderboard
A promote-and-demote ladder. Each week you're grouped with 25 players near your level. The top ten earners gain bonus levels, the bottom five drop one.
Promote-and-demote weekly leaderboard
Recognition
3rd Place
Design Challenge
Duolingo · 2024