Studyspace: A Gamified App Design
Overview
Studyspace is a gamified studying app to help people all the way from elementary school to college and beyond to help them learn topics they are stuck on or want to review. It includes options and pages that allow them to write down their ideas, create their own character, and go on a journey through space to level up their topic knowledge.
Problem
People of all different ages don't have the motivation to learn certain topics or to help their studying. Reading textbooks and taking quizzes the traditional way is brain numbing and disinteresting, overall being not an effective way to learn. There needs to be a way to stimulate the brain to be excited to learn.
Target Audience
My intended audience is kids of all ages - from around 10 years old to high school, or depending on what school subject they are learning at the time. I created the app in a playful way in which the style is kid-friendly as well as created with fun characters that both adults and children can enjoy.
Design Process
The process for this project more focused on visual design and creating a fun and unique UI. It went back and forth between sketches and final designs, continuously iterating to create the most effective and easily understandable screen design.
Sketches
My ideas are laid out first into sketches which helps me find out which elements to include in the final design. I wanted to use a new and unique way of navigation, and created a dynamic and 3D layout.
Key Frames
This application has several distinctive and essential features that set it apart from the crowd. These notable attributes encompass character customization, a dynamic leveling-up mechanism, multi-tiered world levels, and an innovative rotating level navigation system. What sets this app apart is its captivating space-themed design, deliberately chosen to infuse an element of enjoyment and distinctiveness, effectively transforming it into an engaging game-like experience rather than a conventional educational tool.
Character Creation
Something that truly makes this app unique is the added feature of creating and customizing your own character to the extent where it feels both personalized, but not too much it takes away from the learning aspect.
I chose a space theme to be fun and unique, the way that people can associate learning with something otherworldly, fun, and disconnected from their standard classes.
An astronaut for the character is a great fit for the space theme as it also gives the user ideas of exploration and a friendly character in a curiously different and non-traditional environment.
World Stages
The planet is initially grayed out when it is not completed, though fills to the top to represent the progress made in each stage. This is used as extra motivation for the user to complete each world so the full color is shown on the planet.
Each planet will represent a different color: first is red, second orange, third yellow, fourth green, and so on. The theme of the buttons will change based on whichever planet is unlocked or selected.
World Levels
On this screen, the user progresses through levels scrolling up to simulate the roundness or going around a planet. Each level that is locked is represented by the color gray with a locked icon on it. The character floating above shows that you are the person going through these levels and accomplishing each stage as you traverse the planet.
Character Leveling
This character isn't just for looking pretty, but can also be leveled up to display progress of completed practice, flashcards, quizzes, and notes. The idea is that players can compete and connect with each other in real life to compare their scores and characters. This is just a friendly added way to show competition and compare progress with other players.
Solution
I developed an educational application designed to gamify the learning experience for individuals spanning various age groups, enabling them to master any academic subject of their choosing, whether it be a school requirement or personal interest. Within this application, users have the unique opportunity to engage actively in the learning process by customizing their own virtual character, which evolves and gains experience points as they successfully progress through each educational level. This gamified element serves as a powerful motivational tool, encouraging continuous learning and practice.
Moreover, the application offers users a range of comprehensive learning tools and features to support their educational journey. For instance, users can conveniently take detailed notes for each level, ensuring that they can capture essential information and key insights as they move through the content. Additionally, they have the option to create personalized flashcards for every unit, fostering deeper comprehension and retention of the subject matter.
To further assess their understanding and knowledge acquisition, users can challenge themselves with periodic quizzes structured within distinct "worlds." Successfully completing these quizzes unlocks access to subsequent educational content, providing a clear sense of progression and achievement throughout their learning adventure. In essence, this educational app integrates the power of gamification with a robust set of study aids, making the learning process engaging, immersive, and highly effective for users of all ages.