The Brief
My Net Zero game is aimed at any child over the age of 10. I asked my students at the primary school where I work to take part in a 30-minute semi-structured focus group. In the focus group, I asked them about their thoughts on climate change, what they like about games, and then invited them to create a persona profile collage using magazines.
User Personas
The children were asked to create personas to describe themselves using collage. At first, they found it difficult to choose images. I explained that they should just use the images they felt drawn to. They were not guided to use animals, but it is interesting that animals featured so prominently. These children felt they could connect their own personality with how they felt about certain animals.
As they were making their collages, I asked them why they chose certain animals. Responses were sometimes specific. One child, when describing a polar bear, said, “They are powerful, good at swimming, and I love swimming.” Another child, when explaining why they had chosen a hedgehog, said, “They are so cute, and I love them.” When asked why a child chose lightning, the response was, “Lightning is exciting, but it also scares me.” Others did not know why they chose certain animals. No animal images included a zip wire, but one child commented, “I love adventure and being active.”
Animals feature heavily in the personas. This could indicate that these children feel an affinity with animals and identify with their characteristics. It could also mean they care about animals. Additionally, they may have been drawn towards animals in their personas because they knew I wanted to talk about climate change, so using animals in their personas connects their identity with this theme.
I have decided to look for patterns in their personas to see if there are any common themes that would help me in my game design. I have also chosen to add character traits and meanings to the animals. Some of the meanings for each animal came from the children, while others were a combination of my own interpretation and a simple Google search on what the animal represents.
For example, a frog featured frequently across the personas. When asked why, the children simply said, “I really like them.” Using a Google search, I found that the frog represents the spirit of renewal. This concept fits very well with my game.
| Animal | Number | Spirit |
| Polar Bear | 3 | Powerful |
| Hedgehog | 3 | Intelligence and wisdom |
| Cat | 3 | Protection |
| Stag | 3 | Peace |
| Frog | 3 | Renewal |
| Stag | 3 | Peace |
| Dog | 2 | Loyalty |
| Leopard | 2 | Courage |
| Guinea Pig | 2 | Care |
| Books | 1 | Knowledge |
| Hot chocolate | 1 | Enjoyment |
| Fireworks | 1 | Celebration |
| Lightning | 1 | Excitement |
| Arctic wolf | 1 | Success |
| Fox | 1 | Cunning |
| Ferret | 1 | Intuition |
| Mountains | 1 | Nature |
| Spongebob | 1 | Fun |
| Pangolin | 1 | Good luck |
| Magpie | 1 | Good luck |
| Camping | 1 | Nature |
| Panda | 1 | Peace |
| Seal | 1 | Commitment |
| Robot | 1 | Technology |
| Rabbit | 1 | Innocence |
| Gerbil | 1 | Abundance |
| Athlete | 1 | Competitive |
| Elephant | 1 | Wisdom |
| Zip lining | 1 | Adventure |
| Puffin | 1 | Originality |
To be continued…
Ed Tech Fusion 