Children interact, develop, learn, entertain and connect in a constantly more digital world concerning parents and society. They believe they slowly retreat from face-to-face interactions, outdoor playing, and more balanced lifestyles.
Unlimited Playgrounds
Unlimited Playgrounds is a project that explores how technology (digital media) could be used as a tool and how combined with play/game elements, it could benefit children in multiple areas. PLAY + TECH could be a solution to help kids improve their physical and mental health while teaching them about a better way of living online and connecting with the planet.
Starting point
This project finds inspiration in four different fields. Toys and games design by Cas Holman is the first; her work has been developing ways of promoting creative behaviors, social interaction, and physical activity throughout the unstructured play in children. Second, the immersive installations by Numen/For Use. They have multiple interactive installations, and every single one brings new construction elements, structures, and interactions for visitors. Their large-scale installations have an artistic, sculptural, inviting, and playful association. The third is the themed entertainment sector, which combines experience design, technology, immersion and engagement in incredibly appealing ways, all related to a specific intellectual property. And finally, the massive online multiplayer games MMO which can enable players to cooperate and compete with each other on a large scale, and sometimes to interact meaningfully with people around the world.
What is Unlimited Playgrounds (UP)
UP is a physical playground aided with technology (NFCs) to create a more immersive experience. Players must complete challenges, unveil a story, and win rewards to beat the game and be the leaders of the playground's scoreboard. It is a video game in real life with three non-linear levels that help children develop their physical and social skills and teach them about the history and culture of North American indigenous communities.
Cheese Mountains
Cheese Mountains is an almost extraterrestrial landscape with spherical cyan mountain formations from a shiny magenta floor. Every mountain has tunnels which take players into new spaces, some with passages like slides. Additionally, there are some climbing trees with rings on top. Cheese Mountains is the exploration level. The interactive spots are the rings around entrances to the mountains and the ones on top of the trees.
Bouncy Forest
Bouncy Forest is the second level of the tech playground, one dedicated to players' physical abilities. With slides, monkey bars, still rings, Bosu balls, vine climbers, and a rotating wipeout, players will have to challenge themselves to interact with the tappable parts of this level, which are the rings around the place. The Bouncy Forest is the agility challenge of the Unlimited Playground.
Sticky Meadow
Sticky Meadow is the construction level, inspired by the loose parts play, which encourages players to create what they like by collaborating and imagining. The challenge of this zone is to build something that makes players reach the tappable ring on top of the climbing trees and build on the blinking spots on the floor.
The Game
UP uses technology to give feedback on kids’ interaction in the playground. It also helps to immerse children into a video game story that teaches about a North American indigenous character searching for the seven sacred leaves to restore balance to the planet. The Cree, Inuit, or Métis avatar can be customized, and their unique abilities will help players complete challenges to win the game inside the playground. This prototype will invite community members to build an engaging and authentic representation of their culture and values. This content will bolster UP's game-based learning component.
Challenges
The seven leaves represent common endemic tree species from North America and the teachings of the Anishinaabe’s seven grandfathers. Players must play and collaborate to win every leaf until they complete all the challenges. Doing so will increase their leaderboard experience points, rewards, and badges.
UNLIMITED PLAYGROUNDS (UP) was a project created as the Master Research Project of the Digital Media program at TMU (formerly Ryerson University). To find a way to use digital media to improve kids' physical and mental health and teach them about a better way of living and connecting with the planet.
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