Xplore Hangzhou
Challenge: Video gaming is on a fast-track to becoming olympic! In 2021 the IOC surprisingly hosted an eSports event as a pre-event of the Olympic Games in Japan and the 19th Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou will be the first olympic event in which both eSports and sports athletes can receive gold medals in their disciplines. This inspired us. In cooperation with Mercedes-Benz we gave students participating in the lecture Designing Gamified Systems the challenge to:
Design an innovative game or gamification approach in which sports, gaming, and mobility meet as part of an unforgettable mixed-reality experience for potential visitors of the 2022 Olympic Asian Games in China, Hangzhou.
Three project teams worked on this challenge and developed impressive concepts and prototypes within 2 months which were then presented to executives of Mercedes-Benz AG, Daimler AG and MBition GmbH.
Date: Summer semester 2021
Result:
XPLORE HANGZHOU − Gamifying City Discovery
Team: J. Kühlborn, S. Kruschel, A. Link, J. Ort, L. Vyhnal
Abstract: Xplore Hangzhou is a mobile game prototype that was developed for Mercedes-Benz, which will be sponsoring the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou, China. Therefore, the target timeframe of the prototype is during the Asian Games from 10thuntil 25th of September 2022. The targeted audience are mainly visitors of the Asian Games but also athletes, regular tourists, or locals. The game itself is a quiz embedded in a gamified travel planner designed explicitly for Hangzhou. By answering questions, players can collect points which they can trade in for capabilities or rewards. Players can use the travel planning functionalities to plan their stay in Hangzhou including recommendations for various destinations like restaurants, sightseeing and sports events. During rides to or from these destinations inside a Mercedes-Benz car, players can use the in-car screens to see a map of Hangzhou and the route they are currently traveling. In the immediate vicinity of their vehicle, appearing icons can be tapped to open questions, which can be answered while using the support of various capabilities. Testing the prototype and the gamification approach have been completed. Next steps include further evaluation of the results and implementation of a valid system architecture for the gamified system Xplore Hangzhou.
