APD Week 4 - Play and Place

By Yuxuan Hu (Estella)

Theme：play and place

Context:

This week, I would like to use the location of a crossroads to express this week's theme. A crossroads is a very specific yet common location. When I first came to Melbourne, what was particularly uncomfortable was the amount of red traffic lights at each intersection. Waiting for the lights so often would waste a lot of my time and add to the negative emotions of anxiety. Some people would even force themselves to cross the road to avoid waiting for the lights. So I wanted to create a simple game that would allow pedestrians to use up the time they have while waiting for the traffic lights.

Method:

I currently have two games in mind.

The first game is called 'Countdown'.

1. How to play the game: press your finger on the red button, read the seconds and count down by your inner feeling, and let go when you have a hunch it will turn green. If there is a difference of ±2 seconds from the correct time, the game is considered a success. The greater the difference, the lower the score, which can be redeemed for small gifts (city souvenirs, etc.)

2. Inspiration: One of the major differences between the traffic lights in Melbourne and China is that the Chinese traffic lights have a countdown to the second. When I'm standing at a red light, I often think to myself: maybe there's 5 seconds left, no, maybe it's 6 seconds. If I guessed correctly, I would feel lucky today.

The second game is called 'Guess '.

1. How to play the game: by watching the cars passing on the road during the red light, the question is only displayed when the light is over. For example: How many red cars have just passed? How many motorbikes have just passed? and uses multiple choice questions to reduce the difficulty of the game.

2. Inspiration: When waiting for a red light, many people will use the time to look down and play with their mobile phones and ignore the situation on the road. Some people will even cross the road without looking up even after hearing the sound of the green light. The aim of this game is to make pedestrians more aware of the situation on the road when the light is red, so that they can take cover if there is an unexpected situation such as a car running out of control and rushing to the side of the road.

Response：

1. Safety. Traffic lights are an important tool for regulating traffic and guaranteeing the normal passage of pedestrians and vehicles. So the game should also be set up in accordance with traffic rules. It is not possible to focus all your attention on the phone.

2. Fun. Fun and low-competition mini-games can relieve negative emotions. It keeps the player from being overly tense. But the downside is that it reduces player stickiness. You can end up using points exchange to increase the stability of players.

3. Educational. Because the app needs to get real-time information about each intersection, it needs to link up with the traffic department. Thus increasing the educational significance of the game.

Reflection:

Billie Eilish was partly inspired by the sound of traffic lights in Australia when he wrote the song Bad Guy.

（https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/billie-eilish-s-bad-guy-samples-a-surprising-aussie-invention-20200128-p53vec.html）

The sound design of Australia's special traffic lights could also be incorporated into the game. I used to unconsciously press buttons to beat a certain beat while waiting for traffic lights.