Game Design
Conception, design, implementation, adaptation and evaluation of game mechanics, world, levels and story.

UX/UI
Designing a user-friendly interface, optimizing the user experience and creating marketing materials.


3D assets
Create visual elements for the game world.


project management
Coordination and monitoring of the development process.

Since the intended establishment of “VISPA Workshops”, on which this project is based, failed to materialize, the focus was shifted to developing a team building game for remote teams.

The initial plan to combine both use cases proved impossible due to reduced resources. Instead of a completely new development, existing systems were adopted in order to achieve the goal of generating a specific number of customers in the short term.

Within a limited time frame, a game design with team-based mechanics had to be developed and the adopted systems had to be adapted. The aim was to create a suitable user experience for the new use case and the changed target group.

In addition to team building and fun playing, the focus was on a psychological and methodical evaluation of the participants' individual abilities and team dynamics.

After each session, an action plan should be developed to specifically improve key skills such as communication and trust in the team in the long term.

The users of “VISPA Fun” were international or home office teams with a slight affinity for technology and an interest in improving their team skills.

From team leaders to designers to programmers — with a wide range of computer and gaming experiences — the challenge was to create a team-based game that appeals to all team members and enables them to grow together.

The first step was to find out what “team building” actually means, what skills are being promoted, what types of games already exist that are used on a daily basis, and how an analysis can be carried out to provide suggestions for improvement.

Interviews were conducted with the target group, primarily with team leaders, to determine readiness for such an online event.

The results included the following topics: analysis of existing problems, identification of suitable team building measures, proof of improvement of these problems, a satisfaction survey and the desire to spend little time.

A further step was to prepare a market analysis that identified competitors both in the online sector and team building offers that take place on site.

It was also determined what results these offers deliver and what they may not deliver.

Based on user research results and further assumptions, personas were created to represent the broad spectrum of our users.

The selected user types reflect common roles in teams: software developers, project managers, marketing specialists, analysts, and graphic designers.

With the help of mood boards, various moods and emotions were visualized, which should create an exciting and varied journey for our users.

Based on the research results, the mood boards and the existing mechanics/systems, a storyboard was created which combined the first game and level mechanics, the story and initial sound ideas as well as the user interface.

The original user flow of “VISPA Workshops” was adapted for the new concept. The previous registration and login system was replaced by a guest login, which only required a link to the game and the input of a user nickname. This allowed users to join the game directly from their browser within a few seconds.

However, this simplified user flow also had weaknesses: Users could only participate via private invitations and could neither design their avatar nor select their nickname before starting the game. To address these limitations, an optimized user flow was developed that addressed these weaknesses.

Triggers
We extended the VISPA workshop tool to include the mechanics of an avatar and object collision. These made it possible to recognize whether a specific object or avatar is in a defined position or collides. Based on this, further actions could be triggered, such as opening doors, moving objects, platforms, or triggering sound and similar interactions.

Pickup & Use
Internal testing showed that the drag-and-drop feature from the VISPA Workshops wasn't the fun they were looking for, so a mechanic adapted to multiplayer games was developed that allowed users to pick up or use objects close to them through simple button interactions. Actions were carried out, animations and sounds were triggered, and recorded objects floated in front of the avatar.

Quests & notebook
A quest system was designed that used text overlays and sounds to show users clearly and intuitively when new tasks were available or completed. In addition, a notebook was integrated, in which players could collect clues and puzzles from the level to support game progress.

Survival aspects
In order to keep the frustration level as low as possible for our various user groups, the decision was made against a punishment system, which is very common in games. However, in order to create excitement, common themes from the survival genre were used: shelter, staying hydrated, cold and warmth, and calling and providing help.

Avatars & emotes
In order to offer users the most immersive experience possible, the “ReadyPlayerMe” avatar system was integrated, which made it possible to customize the look. In addition, users were able to communicate with each other at any time using voice and emotes to further promote interaction.

More
To make getting started with the game as quick and easy as possible, we replaced the original registration and login system with a simple guest login, which simply required a name to be entered. Users were also able to individually adjust graphics, sound and input settings via an options menu.

The game world was designed in a low-poly style defined by bold colors and simple geometries. Since it was developed for WebGL, we only used textures, maps, lighting and complex shaders in a very minimalistic way. The focus was on performance and optimized loading times to provide a smooth gaming experience even on office laptops.

To quickly immerse users in the story, the adventure began with a business trip, which tragically ended in an emergency plane landing with no injuries. Players then tackled unexplained secrets, mysterious events, and team-based challenges together to achieve the main goal — sending a distress signal. As things progressed, roles changed: The adventurers became helpers themselves and had to follow in the footsteps of a lost team of researchers, which involved them ever deeper in the mysterious events.

With the help of user research, it quickly became clear that the group sizes vary greatly and so we set a limit of 6-24 players and a playing time of 45 minutes, which was taken into account at all times when developing levels and mechanics. In the end, all team-based mechanics in the level were designed so that we could easily scale them.

In order not only to guide our users through the story, but also to make up for missing parts in development, it was decided to guide the level with a moderator who was also able to make minor adjustments to the game on an ongoing basis.

For reasons of development and time, we decided to have each team building session supervised by a moderator. This offered the advantage of being able to observe the team's dynamics and interaction live. In addition, the game was expanded with a 360-degree feedback system and a final group discussion. This enabled team members not only to reflect on themselves, but also to take a holistic view of the team.

For team management, we prepared individual evaluations that assessed the following aspects: team dynamics and communication, trust and relationships, leadership and role understanding, efficiency and goal achievement, team spirit and motivation, feedback and reflection, problem-solving and conflict management.

In addition, the team received a playfully designed evaluation after each session. This graphically presented achievements, acquired skills, insights and an overall score to visualize progress and successes.

The entire development process was designed to be agile and iterative, with a strong focus on interdisciplinary collaboration. Concepts were developed in close exchange between developers, designers and the marketing team to ensure that all perspectives were included.

The implementation was carried out in small, testable units, which were reviewed and refined internally. As soon as these units were sufficiently sophisticated, they were tested in larger sections with users. These larger iterations went through three cycles of feedback and adjustment: testing, improving, and testing again until an optimal version was reached. This iterative approach enabled continuous improvements and adaptable development.

All concepts were developed with a long-term view. The planned features included an inventory system, public accessibility, additional chapters, games for all phases of team development, a “synergy” mechanism for visualizing team dynamics, a dynamic and automatic team evaluation, many other mechanics and a rebuilding of the project. However, due to lack of resources and time, these ideas could only be partially implemented.

With the switch to “VISPA Fun - Team Building Games”, the team was significantly reduced, and the goal of generating a certain number of customers within a year was paramount. For this reason, the existing “VISPA Workshops” system was expanded with team and game mechanics instead of starting a new development. This pragmatic decision produced results in the short term, but in the long term it caused problems such as bugs and inefficient systems that required high resources.

As my first job after graduation, VISPA was a great opportunity for me to use my skills, learn new things and put them into practice. Although we met our goal of reaching a certain number of customers, however, the “remote team building” niche was ultimately rated as unprofitable by the founders and investors, which ultimately led to insolvency. Despite the end, I have no regrets about the experience, as it gave me valuable insights and skills professionally and personally.