MimeTime! is a mobile game with a vocation to change the world. It was crafted for fun but most importantly to generate spaces for collaboration between linguistically diverse cultures.

My role
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
INTERACTION DESIGN
GAME UX RESEARCH
Jump to the game

MimeTime! is a mobile game with a vocation to change the world. It was crafted for fun but most importantly to generate spaces for collaboration between linguistically diverse cultures.

My role
INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE
INTERACTION DESIGN
GAME UX RESEARCH
Jump to the game
RESEARCHDESIGN QUESTIONHANDS ONLEARNING FROM USERSREFLECTIONS

Research

Finding the problem

Our design case focused on 'sensory enhancements for people with hearing impairments'. As hearing researchers, we started with the assumption that our users needed help with some kind of assistive technology.

After much reading, a survey of the British Deaf Association and interviews with three of its members we found that, contrary to our assumptions:

  • Most people who identify themselves as deaf have partial hearing loss, rather than total deafness.
  • Our participants were not interested in another hearing assistive technology.
  • Deaf culture richness is overlooked by the hearing world. Ignorance results in opportunity barriers. Strong intercultural bridges need to be built.

DESIGN QUESTION

How to nurture the hearing world with the richness of Deaf culture?

The problem that our users were bringing to our attention was: how to foster collaboration between hearing and hard-of-hearing communities.

The team used brainstorming and positive feedback strategies to generate ideas. A digital museum of deafness, a translator from sign to speech and speech to sign, and a pantomime game for teams were the best answers to our design question.

We consulted our users and chose a pantomime/body language/improvisation team game. Its performative nature suited our design question and could help change not only attitudes but behaviours.

HANDS ON

1st prototype: storyboarding

The first result of our low-fidelity prototyping process was a descriptive storyboard.

1

Players organise in teams

Team 1 assumes the role of challengers, tasked with presenting concepts, while Team 2 becomes the performers, responsible for conveying these concepts. To facilitate the gameplay, all team members are required to install the MimeTime app on their mobile devices.

2

Team 1
chooses a concept

Team 1 meets to decide on the word to challenge Team 2. Once they have decided on the concept, Team 1 uses the MimeTime app under the challenger profile and sends the word to the performers of Team 2.

3

Team 2
receives the challenge

Team 2 players are asked by the MimeTime app whether they want to be performers or guessers. Only participants of Team 2 who have chosen to have the performer role receive the concept submitted by Team 1.

4

Team 2
solves the challenge

Participants of team 2 who have chosen to have the guesser role try to guess the word by watching the improvisation. When they have an answer, they submit their guess on the MimeTime app.

5

MimeTime app feedback

The app will give them immediate feedback on whether the guess is correct and will keep track of the time elapsed since Team 1 submitting the word and Team 2's correct guess.

After establishing the "what" of our equation, the next stage was determining the "how". To test our game concept, we arranged a workshop where we engaged users in playing a word-guessing game we named MimeTime!

LEARNING FROM USERS

2nd prototype: UX Flow

Bodystorming, a low-fidelity prototyping method that uses the body to simulate situations and generate ideas physically, was chosen to further develop the game with our users.

Playing the game with 3 of our users allowed us to discover that body language is not a skill evenly distributed among the population. The range of gestures and body language skills in people who know sign language is much greater than in people who do not.

Playing a game of guessing words using the power of body language, teams need to integrate hearing and Hard of Hearing members. But how do we overcome the paradox of the need for greater social integration while avoiding creating uncomfortable situations from forced settings.

Balancing body language skills

For the body language skills to be well balanced, our app asks if the users know sign language and organises the teams according to this variable.

Our users wanted to know about the form of the app and how to invite their friends and contacts. They suggested that the app should guide them step-by-step through the organisation of the game while explaining the instructions.

As a result, we created a user flow diagram adding clear and concise instructions to improve user understanding of the app functionality and the game rules and mechanics. 

3rd prototype: high-fidelity

Thanks to user feedback on the UX flow, our high-fidelity prototype has improved significantly. It now features a tutorial, a comprehensive team role section accompanied by intuitive diagrams explaining the function of each role, and a high-contrast format integrated throughout the application's design. These improvements are key to optimising accessibility and fostering an engaging environment for shared experiences.

Introducing
our game
Build intercultural bridges

Tutorial, finally

 Users identified font size and contrast issues and a lack of tutorial in our user-flow formative evaluation. So, in the high-fidelity prototype, we increased our text size, improved the contrast and included a tutorial.

Scaffolded game creation

Once users are logged in, they have options to create a new game or find one created by another user. The game creation process involves three steps:

Step 1 — Generate a game code
Step 2 — Choose guests from your contacts
Step 3 — Send out invitations

Let’s play!

Once everyone is in the lobby, players can check their roles.

Senders: Gather around the MimeTime! app to decide the word Team 2 will have to play with. This word has to be an action or situation that the performers of Team 2 will mime together for their teammates to guess.

Senders

Word discovery

Team 2 consists of:

Performers —  they act out the word that Team 1 has set for them
Guessers —   they guess the concept and enter a word into the app

Performers
Guessers

reflections

Designers and users see reality from different perspectives

Our users continue to identify accessibility issues although we aimed to make the prototype as accessible as possible. We, therefore, recognised the different perspectives of the designers and the users.

Different research methods lead to different results

Our preference for the user-centred design method allowed us to involve our users so that we knew their needs and preferences throughout the process. However, without giving users power over design decisions, this gave us agility but took away accessibility.

Progressive enhancement will depend on how we designers configure user participation

A crucial insight gleaned from this project is the embodiment of knowledge. As hearing designers, we found ourselves reliant on our users to drive advancements in our designs, realising the pivotal role they played in shaping the evolution of our work.

Designed and coded by Carolina Tobar