The Design-Make-Build (DMB) interactive game was a key feature at MiTek’s IBS 2023 trade show booth. Initially designed with a guided character, the game underwent a significant redesign to better meet the event’s objectives. The final product was an engaging, character-free choose-your-own-adventure game that effectively showcased MiTek’s solutions.

Overview

Our initial planning envisioned a dashboard screen so users could see their progress on the build, the levels of the game/build listed in a menu so players could navigate easily, and a character guiding them through.

My first iteration of designs followed this format, but I found the overall experience to be too complicated and overwhelming for a new player. In my second iteration, I scaled down and recommended dropping everything that wasn’t necessary to progress the player through the game.

To ensure the game resonated with our target audience, we crafted personas representing the typical event attendees:

• Builder Bob: A seasoned contractor always on the lookout for innovative tools to streamline his projects.
• Engineer Emma: A detail-oriented structural engineer interested in the technical advantages of new building methodologies.
• Project Manager Pat: A focused manager seeking efficient solutions for large-scale construction management and operations.

Design Strategy

The game will be played on a 50-inch touch screen monitor placed in a top-down position, about 48 inches from the ground and tilted at a 15-degree angle. Players would be walking around the trade show and could enter or exit the game at any time.

Considering the ergonomics at play, I chose to keep all UI elements within a large margin from the edge of the screen, but still use familiar touch screen elements like a hamburger menu. Important buttons are positioned toward the bottom of the screen, near the player’s hands. The left side portion of the screen contains all the text prompts, while content is displayed in a blue box on the right portion, keeping with the dashboard style design direction.

Accessibility

The revamped version of the DMB game was a hit at the trade show, with attendees appreciating the autonomy and depth of the construction scenarios presented. The game became an effective medium for demonstrating MiTek’s innovative solutions to common industry pain points, appealing to builders, engineers, and project managers alike.

Results