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Overview
Eutierria is a game demo designed to reduce perceived stress. It's the result of my final year design project at Kristianstad University and is made through an iterative design process.
The design choices are based on research, user testing, workshops and external monitoring around games and stress. These design choices have been implemented in prototypes that have been revised based on user tests and workshops as well as internal evaluation.
It's a one-person project, so all of the concept, assets, visual design, storytelling, mechanics, UI elements and coding are made by myself.
Read more and/or try the game for yourself at: https://mointeractive.itch.io/garden-of-eutierria
The Concept
The final game demo uses narrative progression, free exploration and collecting to motivate users to move around the game world. The player explore the world, collect plants and animals, as well as doing simple missions to progress the narrative. In the game, you get to take part in soundscapes, visual environments and interactive elements that all have a calming purpose.
Meditation places
In the game world, there are several resting places where you have the possibility to learn different breathing techniques for destressing while listening to relaxing music and/or ambiences. Watch the sun rise, observe the mountains or hide behind the waterfall.
Explore the world
Explore the world of Eutierria. Walk in the deep forests, explore the town, dive deep into the ocean or explore the magic cave of crystals.
Talk to the NPCs
Talk to the people in the world to get guidance on your journey or to get new missions.
Discover and interact with the world
By exploring the world, you will find new species of plants and animals. Your discoveries are saved in your sketchbook. They might be useful later.
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Design choices
To make the final design, not only did I need to make it an interactive prototype, but I also needed to include aspects that I had found important for the game experience and the purpose of the game. Aspects such as game mechanics, sound design, visual style, storytelling, animation, illustrations, GUI (Game user interface) design, programming and more.
Down below are some of the design choices presented through the game design model Elemental of Tetrad:
Color scheme
I used muted colors in mainly green and blue shades. In color theory, these colors are said to be perceived as calming. Contrasting colors have also been used to make it more interesting, but have been kept sparingly.
Visual style
I used stylized graphics as a visual style with elements of nature. Pictures of nature have been shown to make us less stressed. During the process, I tested to include some more realistic elements such as moving fog,. I did some user tests and it was perceived by users as somewhat scary, and was therefore removed.
Character design
The characters have a simplified design to feel like a part with the rest of the stylized game world. The player have some animations that make it feel alive. There are animations for walking, climbing, jumping, swimming and standing.
Player character
NPC - reading man
NPC - old lady
Iconography
The main focus in the project has been the concept and visual style. Therefore, the iconography hasn't been a priority. But, some icons have been designed to indicate what to interact with and so on.
The eye = interact
Meditating person = meditation place
The lock = the door is locked
The lock = the door is locked
A golden key = You have the key to unlock the door
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Why? - The Background
Stress is a global health problem and many people claim to have difficulty unwinding. There are many ways to de-stress, and different methods are suitable for different people. In the digital field, game have been shown to have a big potential. Therefore, I wanted to explore how to use game design for the purpose of achieving de-stressing and calm states in a lighthearted and motivating manner.
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The Process
Through a broad product research phase I aimed to uncover the user needs, the problems in existing games and digital products, as well as reading research articles on the topic.
Idea generation
From the findings in the research phase, I brainstormed and tried out several ideas to use i the final game design product. From this brainstorming, I choose to try out 3 game prototypes more in depth.
Prototype 1
In this prototype, I explored how to use nature sounds, perspectives (top down isometric) and free exploration in a nature environment.
Prototype 2
In this prototype, I Explored how to use calm music, perspectives (side scroll), colors and style (stylized).
Prototype 3
In this prototype, I explored how to use the speed of the character walking (slow), perspectives (side scroll), style (very stylized) and positive words.
User testing, interviews and workshops
Throughout the process, I arranged several user tests with potential users. I also held a couple of workshops where I, together with other designers, generated new ideas and highlighted problems and pain points.
I also held a couple of user interviews where I, among other things, identified existing games that the users would find useful for the purpose and why. From these games, I picked out different aspects to incorporate in my own project.
Game Development
I used the game development software Godot Game engine to develop the game into a downloadable interactive experience. Here, I could use it's built in functions and plug ins for dialog and world building. But, I also added a lot of code myself to make the interactions as I wanted them. The finished game is accessible via the web and downloadable to both Windows and Mac.
Down below, you can see a flowchart with the user journey and interactions.
Click on the image above to view it in fullscreen.
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Results and takeaways
The project only resulted in a game demo, within the time that was given, but it also resulted in some takeaways such as:
Sounds of nature are important in this kind of game and is a way to passively influence the players into a relaxed mindset.
Meditation places in games has the potential to motivate users to take a pause and to just breathe. In a game where one combine these places with exploration and storytelling progression in the context of an adventure, some users are getting into a deeper immersive state which can make the meditative and relaxing experience easier and more engaging.
The best designs come from collaboration, and even though this project was a passion project made my myself only, I was lucky to be able to have workshops and discussions with other designers.