Safe Quest

Learn for the wild

Play for the team

Game Design

Interactive Hardware Development

6 min read

Individual Project

Time

April.2024 - Jun.2024

Skills

Visual Design,

Game Design,

Hardware Development, Prototyping, User Testing

Overview

Outdoor adventures are becoming more popular among young people, yet many lack critical safety knowledge, putting themselves at risk. To address this, I created Safe Quest, an educational board game that blends scenario-based learning with GPT-powered voice interactions. Players collaborate to tackle realistic challenges—like treating altitude sickness or coordinating as a team—and win by achieving shared goals. Safe Quest aims to foster teamwork, builds essential outdoor skills, and encourages community building.

Reflection of my hiking experience

Struggle to start safely

As a beginner, I relied on fragmented social media information before hikes, which didn’t prepare me for real outdoor situations.

Later, I sought an ice-climbing instructor who emphasized safety, making me realize past mistakes and raising my safety awareness.

I noticed most outdoor clubs in China lack thorough pre-trip safety education for clients, including those I participated in.

Dangerous Situations on the way

I joined a group with unfamiliar teammates, relying on others without bringing a power bank, which left my phone dead.

In the afternoon, melting snow affected my ability to recognize the correct route, and the wet path became slippery, increasing the chance of falls.

It’s necessary to be well-prepared, self-reliant, and foster good team dynamics to ensure safety.

My teammates had much better stamina, so I ended up walking alone behind them and nearly got lost.

Research

Hiking is becoming a trend among young people.

Source: Xiaohongshu Sports and Outdoor Industry White Paper, 2023.6-2024.6

On China’s largest social platform, Xiaohongshu, at least one in every three users follows outdoor content. The spirit of the outdoors has captured the hearts of young people.

Hiking goes mainstream.

Mountaineering ranks top in niche sports.

Outdoor accidents rise , especially in mountains.

Source: 2023 China Outdoor Adventure Accident Report, by China Expedition Association, 2023.1.1-2023.12.30

Overview

Sites

Types

Persona

Name:

Yuewen Zhang

Age:

24

EXPERIENCE:

Novice

Biography

Yuewen fell in love with hiking after joining a friend-organized trip near her city. With three one-day hikes on flat plains, she now dreams of exploring more scenic routes in places like western Sichuan. However, the challenges of high-altitude trails and unfamiliar terrain make her feel unprepared. She often looks for tips and teammates online, but unreliable group members can add to her concerns.

“I want to explore breathtaking landscapes, but I need to be better prepared and have reliable companions for the journey.”

characteristics

Needs

  • Gain practical knowledge and confidence before heading out into mountains.


  • Find energy through connections with nature and like-minded people.


  • Share moments from hikes on social media, and gain recognition for their adventurous spirit.

Technology Usage

Pain points

  • Feeling anxious about being underprepared.


  • Limited knowledge of high-altitude hiking essentials


  • Overwhelmed by fragmented advice on search engines or social platforms.


  • Limited experience with team dynamics in outdoor settings

How might we teach outdoor safety

to young people in an engaging and community-driven way?

Ideate

What to teach?

I identified four key educational points by referencing the outdoor risk factors outlined in the 2023 China Outdoor Adventure Accident Report by the China Expedition Association and by examining the practices of the famous outdoor organization NOLS in the United States.

Analyze hiking risk Factors in China

Source: Xiaohongshu Sports and Outdoor Industry White Paper, 2023.6-2024.6

Team dynamics

Weak safety awareness and poor collaboration among team members often lead to disorganized responses in emergencies.

environmental

China’s mountainous regions, with altitudes often above 4,000 meters, feature diverse terrain and unpredictable weather, which increases danger.

Individual

Self-Awareness

Gear Knowledge

Learn From NOLS in U.S.

Source: https://www.nols.edu/en/

After studying NOLS’s vision and six core missions—wilderness, education, leadership, risk management, community, and expertise—I figured out two crucial points where we ignore before. They could extend outdoor learning beyond knowledge to the cultivation of personal qualities.

Community building

Builds trust and collaboration to enhance safety and shared experiences.

Leadership

Fosters decision-making, problem-solving, and adaptability in dynamic outdoor settings.

Identify four Dimensions

Physical Self-awareness 💪 ⚠️

Emphasize safety consciousness and recognize one’s physical ability during outdoor activities.

leadership 🤝 🙋‍♀️

Develop decision-making, teamwork, adaptability, while foster responsibility in dynamic environments.

nature discernment ❄️ 🌧️ 🌀

Understand and interpreting natural environments, including terrain, weather, and ecological systems.

expertise 🗺️ 🧭 🧗‍♀️

Master essential outdoor skills such as navigation, equipment use, and emergency response.

How to teach?

Gamification

Responsive

Highly-interactive

Board Game

AI Voice Assistant

social sharing

Drafts

I initially set up the four skills to be taught as four levels, but this method lacked playability because the map did not allow for looping.

Later, I brainstormed on looping map formats.

However, I realized that instead of designing a complex map, using the familiar checkerboard layout could simplify the learning curve, and open up opportunities for innovative game mechanics.

“Prosperity” mode of Monopoly

Drawing inspiration from the original “Prosperity” rules of Elizabeth Magie’s 1904 prototype of Monopoly, which emphasized cooperation and social good, I reimagined these concepts in my board game to promote collaboration and safety.

Game Design

Objectives

1

Acquire outdoor safety from four dimensions

Reflected in

Visual Design

Character

Problem-Solving

2

Enjoy the journey

Not just the summit or completion, but also the companionship and moments along the way.

Characters

I designed the four dimensions of safety knowledge as four types of ability scores. Players can freely choose characters, each with different starting ability values.

Gameplay

Interaction Flow

After waking up the assistant, players can choose a specific route to face unique challenges.

For example:

• Lhotse Route in Sichuan: Focuses on high-altitude knowledge.

• Tea Horse Road in Xinjiang: Covers topics like glacier melt and river crossing during summer.

Each route provides a tailored learning experience based on its distinct environment.

I chose traditional cards and tokens for scoring and health points, as they encourage more direct and intuitive interactions between players.

Various Squares that trigger specific challenges or opportunities

Reflection

While the tailored route challenges enhance engagement, future iterations could further refine the difficulty balance to cater to players with varying skill levels. Additionally, expanding the variety of routes and scenarios could make the game more inclusive and replayable, ensuring it remains fresh and educational over time.

Other Ways to Regain Health

Visual Design

Hardware Development

Users interact naturally through speech, receive both visual and auditory feedback, and get printed answers for reference and sharing.

Main Logic

setup() function:

Initializes serial communication and printer configurations.

Sends text or image instructions to the screen and printer using TJC.print and printer.Print_ImgLcd.

loop() function:

Monitors user input, interprets commands, and triggers display or printing actions.

Screen and Printer Control

Uses sprintf to dynamically generate display or printing commands.

Calls Print_ImgLcd to print images and uses Motor_Run to control paper feeding.

Sends data through Serial.write, with delays to prevent operation overlap.

Image data for display

Defines const unsigned char Image3[] to store compressed binary image data.

Directly used by the Print_ImgLcd function to render the image on the printer or screen.

User Testing

A/B Test: Playability and Scoring

To evaluate the playability and scoring balance of the game, I conducted an A/B test with two groups of participants.

Takeaways

Personalization and Collaboration for Effective Learning

I designed a system where players could choose questions based on their skill levels and work together on team-based tasks. This taught me how personalized challenges and collaboration can make learning more engaging and effective.

Integrate Emerging Technology into Traditional Gameplay

Integrating AI-driven tools like ChatGPT into a card-based game created a fresh and dynamic learning experience. It taught me that technology, when thoughtfully implemented, can seamlessly blend with classic designs to elevate both engagement and educational value.

Design for Engagement and playability

I refined the gameplay mechanics through iterative testing, focusing on balancing challenge and accessibility. This hands-on process taught me how thoughtful design choices can create intuitive and enjoyable experiences that resonate with players.

Cover

Overview

Reflection

Research

Ideate

Game Design

Hardware Development

User Testing

Takeaways