Problem Formulation

Now that we've decided to go forward with the sponsored Activate project, we need to spend some time understanding the problem more. We know that there is a need for Canadians to be more active.

Need

After doing some research, we found that Only 50% of Canadian adults get the recommended weekly physical activity according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. However, 61% of Canadian Adults play video games weekly. This means that there is an opportunity to promote more exercise through gaming entertainment. Activate accomplishes this goal with their active gaming rooms.

Goal: Design an Activate game room allowing users to play an immersive game controlled by physical inputs.

Objectives

To achieve our goal, there are a set of overall objectives we need to meet. Firstly, the room must have a diverse set of inputs and outputs to provide the freedom for multiple game designs and difficulty. Next, we must ensure the game is engaging and fun for adults and children above the age of 12, so we appeal to the target demographic of Activate. Finally, the game must fit within Activate's facilities and theme, so we can have a seamless integration of the idea.

Constraints

With our goal and objectives in mind, we came up with a set of important constraints:

1. The game we design must have 10 difficulty levels. This would match all the current Activate games, ensuring we stay in line with the theme

2. Each game must last under 5 minutes. Similar to the first constraint, this is for theme consistency

3. The game must accommodate 3-5 players. This is important because Activate facilities host teams rather than individuals, so the game must be engaging for everyone in the room. Although, the FYDP prototype may be a small portion of the room, the idea must be scalable for 3-5 players.

4. Allow for players between 3.5 to 7ft tall. This constraint is driven by the heights of the average 12+ year-old person who plays at Activate.

5. Allow for players that weight up to 250lbs. This constraint is necessary for safety reasons, as any component should not break under force up to 250lbs.

6. The room must be smaller than 10m x 5m, which is the size of the largest current Activate game room

Criteria

Next we came up with a list of criteria that we could rank our design against:

1. Entertaining - Evaluated based on feedback from stakeholders

2. Activity Level - On a scale from sitting on a couch to doing burpees till failure, how much will the game make players move.

3. Variety of Inputs - Different types of inputs allow for diverse gameplay

4. Variety of Outputs - Different types of outputs allow for different ways to instruct the users on tasks and allow for diverse gameplay.

5. Simplicity - Due to the nature of Activate’s facilities players only have about a minute to learn the game concept before going in to play.

6. Technical Impressiveness - We would like to work on something that challenges their varied skillset.

7. Uniqueness - The game must be something that could not be implemented with existing Activate technology or an off-the-shelf solution.

8. Maintenance - The solution must be easy to maintain. Parts should be easily accessible, and troubleshooting should be simple. Additionally, they should be made of durable materials to avoid little maintenance

9. Accessibility - Children to adults of all sizes must be able to enjoy this game together.