Deliverable 1: Game

Play Here

(Desktop Version)

This game was initially designed with a story in mind of a boy running an errand to collect apples for their grandparents. This is targeted to the preschool kids in hopes of improving inter-generational bonds between grandparents and grandchildren.

Initial Drafts:

The kid has to avoid obstacles such as TV, toys, playground which symbolises distractions which may prevent one from visiting/delaying their visit with their grandparents which is one of the main reason of intergenerational bond.

Character Walk Cycle

I had started out with Unity to create my games, but I have faced technical problems of adding multiple variables and crashed. I switch to Gdevelop and online free platform game friendly which only requires minimal coding. However due to its limitation, I am unable to actualise the full game envisioned and planned. I personally will further improve this game in my own time and update the link once again.

Task 1B: Thoughts on “Dialogue with Time”

Briefly share your experience going through Dialogue with Time. What were some of the feelings, thoughts, challenges and insights gained while role-playing an elderly person? (150 words)

The Dialogue with Time interactive exhibition revolved around different aspects of ageing and some difficulties or challenges one may experience when enduring through that process.

I had visited the Science Centre myself and saw a video showing a gradual progression of a young girl ageing, the difference was almost unnoticeable until I noticed some drastic changes such as wrinkles, eye bags, etc. I believe this was one of the most important takeaways from the experience, that ageing is a slow process but then it’ll also happen in a blink of an eye where we do not realise it had happen. The exhibition consisted of several stations, Firstly we were in a room where we shared what the most valuable and rewarding thing would be after one retires and a retired volunteer sharing their experiences. This experience made me realise the importance of family and being surrounded by the ones you love. The other stations expanded on this and gave an interesting insight from the perspective of an elder.

Drawing on your experience, can you think and list some of the benefits inherent in the design research technique of role-playing? (150 words)

I find that the design techniques effective in conveying the intended message targeted to youths and the overall population. The overall structure and flow of the exhibition. It built up from our initial ideas of what we perceive ‘ageing’ to be and grew from there. I was impressed with how creative their stations were and how they drew from our different senses. For example the telephone station that had irregular intervals of clarity and disruption, drew upon our hearing. Similarly, with the opening of the door with shaky hands that would that describes the ailing body that ageing comes with. Through all these experience I learned that there are many obstacles that elderly face and more empathetic to my own grandparents. I was even forced to retire at the end of the exhibition, forcing myself to think what I would do. I was highly confused, sad and stressed that I have not thought of my own retirement plan, where in this day and age jobs are rapidly changing. The technique of role-playing is very effective in giving scenarios and putting ourselves in other people’s shoes.

Can you think of some contexts where role-playing can be useful to help discover and define design challenges or contribute to the development of design solutions? (150 Words)

I believe role-playing can be useful to help educate or influence a specific group of people into having a certain mindset or viewing something from another point of view. From placing one into another’s shoes and immersing themselves into them, they have a clear understanding of how they think, feel, react, etc. It can be especially useful when it is difficult to understand their perspective such as in the case of ageing. We are able to be empathetic towards their situation however we are not able to truly understand what they are experiencing until role-playing is put into place. This can also be relevant in a situation where a better understanding from the perspective of a handicapped group. From here we can develop solutions to help cater to them in whatever way possible.

Exploring the What, Why, Who and How

What

Task 1A requires us to take notice of current issues around the world, and how does design can contribute and care about them to bring a change. According to the United Nations has address issues that transcend national boundaries and cannot be resolved by any one country acting alone. Here are some of the global issues worth taking note of:

  1. Climate Change
  2. Global Waste (contributing to greenhouse gases)
  3. Food
  4. Ageing

Climate change is one of the most significant issues of our time. From the changes in weather patterns such as the Australian Bush Fires, Taal Volcano eruptions and flash flooding around the world. These signs of mother nature being sick will threaten food production and rising sea levels. The negative impacts of climate change rise unprecedented in scale. One of the contributing factors is the rise in greenhouse gases which is due to the following issue, global waste.

According to one of The World Bank What a Waste 2.0:  A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050 report, global waste is expected to grow by 70% unless urgent action is taken. With global annual waste rising to 3.4 billion tonnes over the next 30 years and inappropriate management of waste from undeveloped countries such as incineration are one of the key factors in contributing to climate change. The report also stresses that recycling, reusing and reducing habits from the individual is crucial from an individual perspective to bring about a change.

Another pressing issue would be food. Food wastage and world hunger. These two contrasting issues come hand in hand. With developed nations having ranked in wasting the most food (takeaway culture) and underdeveloped nations having high numbers of malnutrition and hunger. Fortunate to live in a developed country such as Singapore, it is imperative to cultivate an awareness of food scarcity among industries, retailers and consumers as well as finding beneficial use for food that is presently thrown away are useful measures to decrease the number of losses and waste.

All the above brings issues brings me to a cause that is dear to my heart, which is ageing. One of the most significant social transformations of the century is an ageing population. It has several implications on a global scale such as on the financial and labour markets where it creates pressure in countries to have better healthcare, pension and social protection. Three generations living under a roof has brought about the attention of how to care for my grandmother and mother in the future, What if I had become elderly? Do I have supportive measures for myself? How can the elderly age gracefully?

WHY

By 2030, 1 in 5 Singaporean residents will be aged above 65. This phenomenon is also known as the silver tsunami. Upon conducting further research, there are few raising concerns of an ageing population which are loneliness and intergenerational gap. This issue is important as loneliness leads to an increase of suicidal rates among elderly and deteriorate their health where they mostly live alone. Grandparents who do not live with their families away also face the same problem due to the changing family structure from a big generational family to a nuclear family. This would affect the government on an economic perspective as they have to implement fiscal policy on healthcare and senior activity centres. One instance would be the proximity housing grant. From a community and individual perspective would be affecting community spirit and mental health of an individual of losing one of their loved ones.

From an overview of the news article, the general consensus is that there is a need for promoting intergeneration bonding. In my Chinese family, I have been taught 百善孝为先 (filial piety) is regarded of high importance. Where one must respect and care for one’s parents and the elderly. Some benefits can be improved relations and health.

WHO

The target audience would be grandparents and their grandchildren (elderly and youth). The ages range from 45 and above for the elderly and 25 and below for the youth. I would like to propose some intergeneration activities such as cooking or playing games together. The aim is to improve their relationship and understanding for the elderly.

HOW

Letters from Grandma and Grandpa

‘Letters from Grandma and Grandpa’ was launched on Grandparents’ Day, 25 November 2007 by Mr Lim Boon Heng, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office. Together with the Council For Third Age, 938LIVE, Berita Harian, Lianhe Zaobao and Tamil Murasu, NLB published a series of books in Singapore’s four official languages. The books, which carry a collection of letters from grandparents to their grandchildren, showcase the wisdom of the elder generation. Leaving a legacy for future generations to come, the initiative has created opportunities for inter-generational dialogue and the building of stronger family ties.

I appreciate that it has considered translating it into different languages for easier communication towards the elderly. The format of printing a book may be outdated in the current social media climate, but it has maintained an online archive website singaporememory.sg where it stores this information. The cursive font choice for the covers may not be visually friendly for the elderly who reads it. Moreover, the youth are more engaged virtually than reading physical books. There would be a low engagement level from the public.

My Father Tongue website designed by Iluma Design

My Father Tongue is a social campaign in 2016 to revitalise the use of dialects in Singapore among youths. Dialects form an integral part of the nation’s fabric and they help connect us with the pioneer generation and their roots, our own roots and culture as well as people from around the world who speak the same dialect. It has maintained an online website and Facebook page for the public to sign up for. It had received great support from the public. This idea came about from a former senior at NTU 🙂 more can be found in this link.  It has sustained engagement and interest from the general public but subsequently declined due to some administrative matters. The quality of the work can be said it was well put together as the campaign brings about an awareness of dialect to speak to our elderly which brings down the language barrier.

Turning away from local initiatives, there is an app which allows one to keep their memories and share it within immediate family members.

Keepy App

Keepy is an app that allows one to organize, save, privately share, enrich, and treasure your memories. Whether it’s artwork, schoolwork, an award, or a photo, one look back on these special moments for years to come. Although this is not exactly targeting the elderly, it had created a social media platform for family members to share memories with each other. The user experience of the mobile application is easy to navigate and able to foster communication within the family.

Further Sources:

Call to promote inter-generational bonding to boost elderly’s well-being

Committee on Ageing Issues : report on the ageing population

Overview of Singapore Families