CORPORATE CULTURE TRAINING
PROJECT ROLE
Co-Designer & Developer
PROBLEM
The subject matter expert was looking to increase the ability of their associates to be able to successfully navigate their tasks by following specific guidelines of the company's internal culture. They noticed that several associates weren't performing certain tasks in accordance to protocol and were often confused about what they should do in a given situation.
SOLUTION
I believed the most effective training method was to use scenarios based on real world situations the associates came across. I suggested that the subject matter experts include not only common situations but also the rare ones, as repetition seemed like the best way to retain retention on the process regardless of the frequency of specific occurrences. They also mentioned that our audience were "nerdy, middle aged adults" so I thought an 8-bit video game design would illicit a nostalgic enjoyment.
TOOLS
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Adobe Photoshop
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Microsoft PowerPoint
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Vyond
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Articulate Storyline 360
STORYBOARD
After gathering the information, I co-designed the storyboard with our main Instructional Designer to flesh out the navigation. Initially, the Executive VP for subject matter experts weren't sure what I meant when using words like "gamification" so I had to actually create a very short demo of the course in Storyline to help them understand the vision behind the design a bit more. I also pushed for the character scripts to be as conversational as possible to add to the realism of the scenarios.
BACKGROUND DESIGN
After downloading the 8-bit assets and sounds from a few open source video game asset websites, I began designing the layout of the rooms that would be entered by the protagonist. I used video games like The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon for visual reference, as well as the color scheme of the real world office space the associates would be familiar with at the job.
8-BIT ANIMATION
After watching a tutorial on YouTube on how to create 8-bit characters, I created several versions of male and female NPCs in Photoshop with assets from Getty Images. I then created different layers that I framed together into animated GIFs of walking.
VYOND CUTAWAYS
I decided to use Vyond in order to create the first person cutaways of each of the 8-bit characters in relation to the scene they're in. I was very intentional in creating the Vyond scenes to match every aspect of asset locations of the 8-bit world, such as having certain NPCs visible based on the viewpoint of the protagonist.
STORYLINE
I figured out how to use line animations in conjunction with layers to create an 8-bit walking path for the protagonist. After figuring this out, later in development I suggested including a woman protagonist as an option to choose at the beginning to allow diversity and inclusion, which the subject matter experts agreed with. From there, I added the storyboard info and other assets.
