Waar is het Gevaar?
Creative board game where children build their school environment and draw solutions for traffic dangers.
Veilig Verkeer Nederland (The Dutch Traffic Safety Organisation) assists schools and municipalities in improving traffic safety (awareness) in the school environment. Through collaboration, VVN has found that 71% of all parents perceive the traffic situation around the school as unsafe. This is mainly due to the congestion during drop-off and pick-up times.
In the Safe School Environment Project, VVN connects the school, municipality, local residents, parents, and children. As part of this project, VVN asked us to create a game to educate children about traffic safety in the school environment. It was important for both children and preferably parents to be involved.
During this project, we had to consider various stakeholders. For children, the game needed to be fun and educational. For VVN, achieving the goals was essential. Schools didn't want to spend too much time on the program. Teachers needed to be able to implement it in the classroom with minimal preparation. Additionally, it would be great if parents could also learn from what their children do at school. It was no easy task, but we managed to create a fantastic game that serves the needs of all stakeholders.
71% of all Dutch parents experience the traffic situation around the school as unsafe!
Question.
How can primary school children and their parents learn about good traffic behavior around the school?
Learning Outcome
"I know what my school environment looks like and what traffic hazards occur there. I try to behave well in traffic, and I will also tell my parents what they should not do anymore."
Teachers and parents
For this project, two important stakeholders were just as significant as the children: parents and teachers. We put in extra effort to involve parents and to make the implementation of 'Waar is het Gevaar?' effortless for teachers.
Research.
The three primary things we researched were the learning objectives needed to reach the learning outcome, the characteristics of the stakeholders and some practical information about the traffic situation around primary schools. During the design proces we worked closely together with Veilig Verkeer Nederland on how to accurately add traffic elements to the game without overcomplicating the game.
Characteristics
The game needs to appeal to primary school children aged 8-12. We have designed for these learners before, so we know that short attention spans, wild imaginations, and the desire to have fun together are some of the key characteristics.
Without the willingness of teachers to implement it in class, the project will not work. This is challenging because teachers are spoiled for choice, but also feel overwhelmed by all the tasks they need to do these days.
The final important stakeholders are the parents of the children. Veilig Verkeer Nederland explained to us that often, the behavior of parents leads to the most dangerous traffic situations in the school environment. While bringing their kids to school, they can feel hasty, stressed, annoyed, or distracted.
Strategy
If kids are imaginative and want to have fun, but have short attention spans, we could create a game that harnesses their creativity. The game has to be short and diverse to hold their attention and needs to be guided by a teacher to avoid ending up in total chaos (something we learned during the testing phase). But if teachers are often overwhelmed, then we need to make facilitating the game as carefree as possible. To involve parents, we want children to learn about the negative behavior of their parents and take their creations home to show them.
Learning objectives
School children are often lost in their own imagination or games and thus not always aware of their surroundings. This is totally natural behavior for children, however it can lead to risky behavior in traffic. That's why we focus on building their school environment ourt of cardboard pieces (insight), choosing the most important traffic dangers (knowledge) and using their creativity and imagination (skill) to come up with solutions for common traffic dangers in their school environment.
Design.
The core of our game design was based on the Double Diamond model: a four-step process for designing solutions to complex problems. First, children build their school environment using cardboard pieces and discuss the most important traffic problems. Then, they brainstorm creative solutions to these problems. Guided by a digital dashboard, the teacher or facilitator leads the children through several easy-to-understand steps, all introduced by a video presentation.
We know children are creative and have wild imaginations. To harness this strength, we based the board game on the Double Diamond Model, a great method for analyzing problems and generating solutions. We enhanced creativity by allowing the children to draw their solutions.
Double Diamond Model
To enable children to construct their school environment, we designed and illustrated cardboard pieces. This task was more challenging than anticipated for two reasons. Firstly, the illustrations needed to be easily understood while accurately reflecting real traffic environments. Secondly, we needed to strike a balance in the number of pieces: not too many to overwhelm the children and inflate production costs, yet not too few to limit their choices and creative freedom.
Illustrated board game
The game has two important types of playing cards: 'Gevarenkaarten' (Danger Cards) and 'Creatiekaarten' (Creation Cards). The Danger Cards represent the most common traffic dangers for school environments. Creation Cards are a blank canvas for the children to draw their solutions on.
Playing Cards
To make the game easier to digest, we created a digital dashboard designed to be displayed on a 'digibord,' a digital teaching screen. Within the dashboard, each step is introduced by a short video, followed by a clear overview of simple steps to follow, complemented by 3D renders of the playing materials. A timer assists the teacher or facilitator in managing time effectively. This minimizes the preparation required by the teacher.
Digital Dashboard
Develop.
For the graphic design and illustration of the board game we used Adobe Illustrator. We also used 3D illustrations made in Blender to nicely present the board game pieces in the manual.
The first batch of a 1000 physical games was produced by Wink Games and shipped to Veilig Verkeer Nederland. These games will be distributed to schools throughout The Netherlands.
For the development of the digital dashboard we designed a high fidelity prototype in Adobe XD, complete with 3D illustrations and video introductions. Then we translated that into reality using Articulate Storyline.
On the website of Veilig Verkeer Nederland a page is dedicated to the game with a link to the digital dashboard: vvn.nl/waar-is-het-gevaar
Test.
When designing a game, playtesting is extremely important! This project emphasized that for us. We conducted tests in schools with students and used contextual observation. Observing them play the game and capturing their honest reactions and emotional responses provided significant insights. In this case, we initially assumed the game design was easy enough to understand and that children could play the game with little guidance. Boy, were we wrong! In several test sessions, we let the children play freely in the first round. However, we quickly learned that their actions had little to do with playing the game but rather involved activities like rolling around the classroom. In the second round, we took on a more instructional role similar to that of a teacher, and the quality of the play session improved drastically. In subsequent testing rounds, we simplified the rules, leading to further improvement in the play session.
We had learned our lesson: the game needed simplification and professional guidance. Accordingly, we adjusted our game and tested it again with a teacher, and it worked like a charm.
We were surprised by the concentration of the school children and had to adjust our design accordingly. It was fun though :).
Hectic user test
Launch.
Veilig Verkeer Nederland enthusiastically ordered 1000 physical board games to distribute across primary schools in The Netherlands. Through their website schools can participate and order the board game:
We were happy to receive our own 'real' version of the game!
The Real Thing
I've done dozens of these topical online courses in my life, and this one was truly the best I've ever seen. The concept is amazing, and the delivery is top notch!
Dave
Veilig Verkeer Nederland
Shapers has been our partner for over a decade, delivering a smooth and honest collaboration. Yoleo, their creation, is a hit with children who struggle with reading.
Dave
Veilig Verkeer Nederland
Results.
Safer primary school environments across The Netherlands!
Veilig Verkeer Nederland is busy distributing the 1000 board games of Waar is het Gevaar? to primary schools across The Netherlands. Children will play the game in class and take their solutions home to involve their parents. This will make both children and parents more aware of traffic safety around their primary school.
Improvements
After the user tests we have implemented changes that make the game better for both children and teachers. The biggest addition was adding a digital dashboard to make it easier to follow the game rules, but also to reduce preperation time for the teachers or facilitators.
Lessons learned
Usually, and thankfully, we get somewhat expected results during our user tests. Most of the time, our assumptions turn out to be correct. However, this project highlighted why the testing phase is so crucial and should never be skipped! We naively thought the children would follow the game rules, but they ended up rolling around the classroom... Lesson learned: always playtest!
Research.
The two primary things we researched were the learning objectives needed to reach the learning outcome and the characteristics of the learner. During the design proces we worked closely together with researchers on how to perfect the impulse control in the games core mechanics.
Characteristics
"I know it's dangerous to use my Phone on my bike, and others get into accidents, but that won't happen to me." This summarizes the challenge this project faces. Teens generally underestimate risks and overestimate their own abilities. They can try stupid things because they feel invincible. Their desire is to have fun, and their risky behavior are two key characteristics for these learners.
Strategy
If they want to have fun and take risks, we could make a challenging game with a sense of humor.
Learning objectives
Looking at the characteristics of the learner, they understand there is risk in their current behavior; they just don't act to reduce it. It's also clear that lecturing them by offering more knowledge is not going to change much. They're not impressed if you tell them the chance of getting hurt is 40% higher when you use a Phone. Those are just numbers.
That's why we focus on strengthening the skill of impulse control. At the same time, we want them to be aware (insight) that it is simply hard to do several things at the same time.
Develop
For the development of the game we used Unity for iOS and Android. Unity enabled us to create prototypes relatively quickly, which is vital because game development requires a lot of testing. All visual elements were created using Adobe software and most animations were done in Unity.
We used a special plugin for Unity that enabled us to use vector graphics in the game instead of pixel based images. This drastically reduced the filesize of the game, which is beneficial for publishing on app stores.
Test.
As mentioned, game design involves frequent testing. From early prototypes to the final design, you need confirmation of the many design choices you make. We went to schools to test with students and used contextual observation. Seeing them play the game and capturing their honest reaction and emotional response produced significant insights.
One thing we learned is that for some students the game was too challenging while others had no problems reaching new levels. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time or money to improve that before the launch which is a constraint.
User testing
Meet Mr Smart, an evil CEO of a smartphone company. He is one of the most iconic characters in the game, so we we needed to nail the design.
Launch.
The launch of Wheelie Pop took place at a school where a Dutch YouTube star challenged a group of students for the high score. Having such a lively event and social media coverage was essential to get teens playing. Creating awareness is an important first step if you want to reach students around the country.
Launch Party
Meet Mr Smart, an evil CEO of a smartphone company. He is one of the most iconic characters in the game, so we we needed to nail the design.
Results.
50.000+ players!
There are various ways to determine whether this project was successful. The most important question is whether teens who played Wheelie Pop changed their behavior. The answer is yes, kind of. The effectiveness of the game was assessed by a research agency. They found out that of all players they tracked, 23% used their Phone less. That number is higher for players who spend more time playing Wheelie Pop.
Knowing that you are training a skill as you play, it makes sense that it takes time and effort to see improvement. They also saw an increased awareness of the risk of getting into an accident. That's good news.
Another measure of success is how many people play and enjoy the game. Since its release, Wheelie Pop has been downloaded more than 50.000 times and gets 3.5 out of 5 stars. Not bad for a 'serious game' in The Netherlands. Overall, a success!
Improvements
After the launch we added features to the game to make it easier for players who struggled, without taking away the challenge for more experienced players. We also created more levels as we know that playing longer results in better impulse control. We wanted to attracht more players and to keep them playing and training.
Lessonds learned
Often, launching your design is an afterthought. However, this launch was vital to the success of the project. Something to keep in mind.
Working with scientists has been of incredible value for this project, both for the design of the game and to measure the results. We were able to use our design skills more effectively thanks to their work.
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Question.
How can we prevent teens from using their phones while cycling?
Learning Outcome
"I know its's a bad idea to use my phone while cycling. I'll try to keep my phone in my pocket and ignore alerts and messages. It's not easy, but I'm determined to spend less time using my phone on my bike."
The science of impulse control
How do you train impulse control? That's what a group of Dutch scientists from Radboud University wanted to research. The answer: stop signal treatment (SST).
The concept of SST is to train reacting to the right, and ignoring the wrong impulses. This is trained by rapidly showing images where you have to choose quickly if you are going to react or not. By repeating this process, you become better at ignoring wrong impulses while acting on right impulses. That's perfect for achieving our learning outcome!