Pawsome Paths

Vipech Bun

Concept Statement

Pawsome Paths is a collaborative educational board game for children who may have little to no experience interacting with a guide dog. The goal is to teach players a refined sense of empathy for the dog’s training and discipline in assisting their visually impaired owner. By learning how guide dogs see the world and how to best respect their boundaries through guided interactions, I hope children can contribute to a future environment that avoid distractions for guide dogs on the job.

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The problem

Most guide dog training and distribution services are non-profits with limited resources to educate children who might be indirectly involved with the guide dog throughout its’ life.

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Breed dogs

Volunteer-based training & socialization

Owner matching

Guide dog training

The problem

Guide dogs tend to have a higher return rate

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In a case study of 100 guide dogs, 19% were returned due to being seen as a mismatch. This could mean difference in personality, distractions, or inability to perform in specific work or home environment

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Intention & Audience

Guide dog performance can be influenced by their environment and community

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Starting to educate the youngest population means creating a more empathetic future population that understand how to interact with guide dog without negatively influencing their performance.

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Intention & Audience

Children with little to no experience interacting with a guide dog

Age: 8-15

Collaboration with another family member

Solution

Outcome

• Players were able to navigate the game mechanics and learn new facts about guide dogs
• Successfully incorporated tactile technology used by the blind community, with guidance and approval for the final product
• The final illustrations, branding, and design decisions were appealing to children and older players
• Players found the overall experience to be

What went well

• Not being able to interview and conduct test play with as many young players due to the difficulty of reaching a protected group
• Similar challenge of conducting test plays with more blind players with different categories of blindness through formal organizations as this is a protected community

What didn’t go so well

Design Goals

Research

Existing effort to educate children

• In person school visits from orgs
• Online lesson plans (videos & readings)
• Games & puzzles

Research

Why a board game?

“…board games present opportunities for developing skills in a wide variety of domains of learning in young children. More broadly, they can promote “learning how to learn”’

The Power of Board Games for Multidomain Learning in Young Children - Daniela O’Neil

Research

Collaborative Gaming: Teaching Children About Complex Systems and Collective Behavior

• Peppler, Danish, and Phelps (2013)

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Competitive (solo)

Collaborative (team)

Probability and impact on hive collection

• Focus on winning
• Low info retention

• Read facts out loud
• Stay on task
• Active listening

Story Board

Design: Prototype 1

Design: Prototype 1

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Prototype 1 feedback

Are both players participating equally?

Is the experience enjoyable for all?

Is it replayable?

Adding chance to the gameplay

Research 2

Design: Prototype 2

Design: Prototype 2

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Store 1

Store 5

Store 9

Store 2

Store 6

Store 10

Store 3

Store 7

Store 11

Store 4

Store 8

Exit

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Feedback 1 integration

Concern

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Solution

Are both players participating equally?

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Is the experience enjoyable for all?

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Collaborative mechanics to collect items, answer trivia, and exit the building together

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Feedback 1 integration

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Concern

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Solution

Is it replayable?

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Ability to reshuffle the board, changing distance of stores and exits

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Feedback 1 integration

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Concern

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Solution

Player will keep choosing right answer, add chance element?

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Turn over the busy store card through flipping coin for the right answer

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Prototype 2 Feedback

Easier to read / simplify text

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Incorporation of character card

Prototype 2 Feedback

Additional threat

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Hide trivia answer

Expert feedback

Dog training knowledge/ interaction

Board game design & final material

Accessible designers

Visually impaired user feedback

• Might need another run through on trivia question selection

• Test a lot for cheap
• Balance audience carefully
• Visual design, box design, manufacturing

• Good direction so far
• Reach back out if issues with applying accessibility suggestions

• In progress comm, VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Braille printing

Optimal play

Your skill level during the game?

• 1 not very good
• 5 very skilled

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Challenge level of the game?

• 1 very easy
• 5 very challenging

Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Optimal play

Your skill level during the game?

• 1 not very good
• 5 very skilled

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Challenge level of the game?

• 1 very easy
• 5 very challenging

Psychology of Optimal Experience - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Feedback 2 integration

Performance linked to owner’s emotions

3 - Excited

2 - Happy

1 - Indifferent

Correct answer +1 move per turn

Wrong answer -1 move per turn

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Max moves per turn: 3

Min moves per turn: 1

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2

Feedback 2 integration

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Design: Prototype 3 Visual Mood Board

Prototype 3: Character sketches

Prototype 3: Character sketches

Prototype 3: Redesign

Prototype 3: Redesign

Looking into the future

“...we believe studies exploring the rich potential of high quality contemporary commercial games—perhaps with simpler, low- or no-cost adaptations to instructions or materials in keeping with the game mechanics—would be particularly valuable for educators, professionals, community organizations, and parents in deciding which games to offer children.”

The Power of Board Games for Multidomain Learning in Young Children - Daniela O’Neil

Thank you