Before anything, I need to begin each project with research. This will allow me to gather inspiration and find out what the market is seeking – and what it could potentially be missing.
Existing Examples
When looking at existing examples, I wanted to look at a range of periodic table games that already existed. Because I want my target audience to be aimed towards primary school children, I need to look at competing products in that category.
FunBrian’s Periodic Table Game
This game was based around finding the correct element on the periodic table in a limited amount of time, while only being given the chemical symbol of the element. You were able to choose different difficulty levels, and if you got an answer right, you got a point. However, if you got an answer wrong, you got an incorrect point.
What did I like about it?
I liked the simplicity of the game, and how it allowed you to choose different difficulties based on your knowledge of the periodic table, and how a child might revisit it later on and be more confident, and be able to choose a higher setting.
What did I not like about it?
I didn’t like the design of the game, and how plain it looked. It didn’t seem fun having to look through all the boring black and white text and background for each element, and couldn’t imagine finishing the entire table like that. The logo, which was placed very strangely in the bottom left corner, did not suit the rest of the game in my opinion.
ChernyKh’s Periodic Table Game
This was a mobile game found on the Google store. It was an adventure game based around the periodic table. In the game, you went on a mission throughout different landscapes and areas to find different properties of elements – such as, atomic number and state. Then, once you found one, it would be added to your “bank” of elements. Once you had completed each location in the game, a victory screen would come up congratulating you on your progress, and give you a score based on how well you did.
What did I like about it?
I really liked the design of this game, and the illustrations of the backgrounds which the user ventured through. I thought it was very cute, and would appeal to a child. I also really liked the reward system of the game, as you got both rewarded for finding properties and then rewarded again for completing an area. It is important to encourage children to continue to do well, and to update them on their progress, otherwise they will grow bored or unsure if they are doing well or not.
What did I not like about it?
I would say that some of the typography made me a bit unsure, as I felt that it changed dramatically with no explanation. I think the type should have just stayed consistent throughout the game. Other than that, I really liked this design.
Seterra’s Timed Periodic Table Game
This was another time-based game where you had to find the element on the periodic table before the timer ran out. Then, once you clicked on the correct one, it would reward you with points. If you didn’t click on the correct one, it would do nothing, and if you clicked the wrong one a few times, it would eventually cause the correct answer to appear a different colour than the rest of the table, drawing your attention towards it.
What did I like about it?
I liked how, instead of the first game I researched where the consequence of clicking the wrong element resulted in an immediate minus point, it would instead lead you to the correct answer, giving the user a much greater sense of patience. It seemed like a very child-friendly game with a basic rewards system. Overall, I liked it.
What did I not like about it?
However, I wasn’t a big fan of the design of it. I felt there could have been something much easier to look at, as the dark green doesn’t go very well against the black text. It is hard to read at times. I probably would have changed the colour of the elements to something much lighter if using black text, or just changed to white text.
I also created a pinterest board to help to develop ideas and designs for my project, as this has usually helped me in the past, by allowing me to access a wide range of ideas quickly.
Here is a link to my pinterest inspiration board: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/jessicadonnan/elements/