Protect orcas, protect the ocean
Saving Baby J" is a game project that I lead and design, aimed at raising public awareness of the survival threats faced by orcas through engaging gameplay interactions.
In the game, players will explore the story of the J family of orcas living in the Puget Sound area and collaborate with the orca family to save a baby orca.
Through this gaming experience, the project spreads knowledge about protecting orcas and the ocean, increasing public attention to this endangered species.
The challenge
This project is a prototyping challenge that, over two and a half months, brought together programming, AI, and physical engineering to craft an engaging gaming experience for the public.
Our goal is to create a meaningful social impact by raising awareness of the challenges these creatures face and inspiring people to take action to protect our oceans.
My role
I led the game design and, together with two other designers and a project manager, developed the front-end, back-end, and physical prototype of the game.
Background
The survival threats faced by orcas
Orcas, are a beloved icon of the Pacific Northwest. Despite their protected status as an endangered species by Washington state, the U.S., and Canada, the Southern Resident orca population has fallen. It has declined from 98 in 1995 to only 74 as of August 2021. Even with the birth of two calves, this group's numbers remain dangerously low.
The Southern Resident orcas face three main threats:
The shortage of Chinook salmon due to overfishing
Toxic contaminants in the marine environment
Disturbance from noise and vessel traffic
Kickoff
Field study to seek inspiration
To find inspiration for our game’s interaction design, we visited local arcades to observe and experience different interaction modes.
We interviewed customers to understand what types of games typically attract them, how they enjoy the interactive elements, and how they engage with the game’s story while playing.
Findings
Discovery
Talk with orca protection experts
Additionally, through interviews with experts involved in orca conservation in Washington’s Puget Sound, we learned that even residents who don’t live near the ocean can still contribute to marine conservation and help protect orcas through their everyday actions. （Department of Ecology WA）
As a result, we chose to weave these Ocean-friendly actions into the game’s storyline, and encourage players actively contribute to orca consercation.
Stakeholder mapping
Tell a real orca story for the game
To find a compelling story that highlights the survival threats orcas face, we conducted extensive desk research.
Ultimately, we were intrigued by a true story about orcas working together to damage human vessels to protect their territory. We decided to base our game on this story, telling it from the orcas' perspective, showing how they defend their family and habitat.
A simple game structure
Based on the story, we designed a simple game structure. Our research shows that players struggle to absorb complex narratives in a short gameplay session. A simpler structure makes it easier to convey the educational message we aim to communicate to the public.
Prototyping the “love story”
Based on the established game story, we began prototyping the game interaction model, aiming to find engaging, fun, and easy-to-use interactions. We experimented with various designs to identify the most effective approach.
A sound-decibel sensing controller allows players to control the orca's movement based on the volume of their voice.
An orca controller allows players to shift it horizontally (powered by an embedded CPX) to control movement direction, with buttons on the fins used to execute attacks.
A ball-shaped controller allows players to roll the ball to navigate and control directions.
A keyboard controller uses beats to control the orca's movements.
Narrowed down to two candidates
We quickly developed a simple game using p5.js.
We created a basic attacker shape (orca) and fishing boats that invade the territory of Orca Pod J, then established a condition where the target's health decreases when hit by the attacker.
Next, we added complexity, including movement, acceleration, attack buttons, and conditions for successful hits.
AB testing
We tested the game with six players, with the goal of：
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To understand which game players prefer.
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To gauge players' comprehension of the overall game story.
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To assess players' overall experience with the game.
2nd place
Winner
prototyping the “love story”
Our plan is to use projection to display the game and divide the entire screen into several square sections, creating a matrix.
We plan to install a button behind each small square. When players throw the orca toy onto the screen, the small squares will be pressed down, activating the buttons.
This will enable the game backend to detect which location was hit, determining whether the player successfully struck a fishing boat.
Soldering
After confirming that the buttons functioned correctly, we drilled holes in a foam board and connected the buttons with wires before soldering them. To prevent disconnections from the pressure on the hitting board, we soldered the button wires to a prototype board for stable connections.
Impact
On March 11, 2024, we showcased our game at the University of Washington MHCID and successfully attracted a large number of players. In two hours, our game was challenged 70 times by players.
All players provided positive feedback on the game's entertainment value, noting that it was highly interactive, easy to understand, and well-suited for family play.
Some participants noted that they needed more time to process the educational content of the game. They felt they didn’t fully grasp the survival threats faced by orcas or the actions they could take. Their attention was primarily focused on the gameplay and was further distracted by the surrounding crowd.
Most players realized that they can help protect the ocean and orca habitats, even if they don't live near the coast. They said they would be more mindful of wastewater management and product choices in the future.
Take away
The importance of tying our social impact messaging to a specific environment and audience.
Our early ideas for the game concept were based on new stories about orca attacks on the Iberian Coast. Jon advised and encouraged us to edit the game concept to Puget Sound instead, sending us news stories about the local orca pods as inspiration. We then edited our story to be more localized to the Seattle Area, grounding our narrative in desk research. Immediately, we noticed an uptick in positive feedback from game testers. We also took care to select testers who were local to the area and described themselves as invested in the region’s local ecology and environment—their feedback on improving our narrative to be more actionable ended up being invaluable and strengthened our social impact messaging immensely.
Arduino/Physical computing
As we iterated on our project we explored many ways of using the CPX and Arduino to create game controllers and discovered their strengths. The CPX turned out to be better for embedded controllers like ones that use motion or other sensors, while the Arduino was a lot better for controllers that used buttons, pressure sensors, and other components not included in the CPX. One main strength of the Arduino was its pin layout that allowed the use of ribbon cables, while CPX works best with Alligator clips that can disconnect. Finally, it was a rewarding experience to finally implement our ideas into a working, solid prototype.
Coding with AI + physical implementation
P5.js is a very beginner-friendly language for novice programmers. During the prototype learning process, although we didn’t spend too much time on programming learning and practice, we can also easily get started through independent learning. This allows novice programmers to easily create projects and use customized graphics, sound, and other assets to create interactive content and experiences according to their preferences. What's even better is that we can use AI assistance, which greatly improves our work efficiency.