Bella

Galactic Code

Galactic Code is a team building, password decoding game created for internal use at the client company.

Background

NDA Insurance Company

Significant decrease in engagement in meetings and team building exercises after taking all work, meetings, and events online after the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Client objectives

• Reduce the impact of geographic dispersion and that comes with remote work
• Promote relationship building between peers across multiple tiers of management
• Allow employees to come together to solve a problem as a team
• Have anyone with any level of technical literacy to learn and play the game within the time constraints of a 30-60 minute meeting

Research

Conducted research on the client company. Provided information by the client company on company culture, team structures, events, and changes the employees went through during the transition to being remote.

• Make communication non-optional
• Everyone experiences both sides of the game
• Encourage friendly competition
• Provide an engaging distraction from real-world events

Game Design

Gameplay

Galactic Code is played in groups of six with five Assistants and one Decoder. The first Assistant is shown a single symbol as the 15 second timer starts. The Assistant then describes the symbol to the Decoder, who will try to correctly guess the correct symbol out of the 18 shown to only them. The Decoder may ask clarifying questions. Once the 15 seconds are up or a symbol is chosen, points are awarded for correct guesses, the next Assistant is shown a symbol, and the process repeats until the five-symbol password is completed. At the end of the round, a fully correct password will grant bonus points. The group then moves to a new round where a new password is generated and a new Decoder is selected. The game ends after 30 minutes, and the final score is tallied from the accumulated points from each round.

Solution

Brainstorming

Management sim, escape room, partial information

Galactic Code is played in groups of six with five Assistants and one Decoder.

The first Assistant is shown a single symbol as the 15 second timer starts.

The Assistant then describes the symbol to the Decoder, who will try to correctly guess the correct symbol out of the 18 shown to only them. The Decoder may ask clarifying questions.

Once the 15 seconds are up or a symbol is chosen, points are awarded for correct guesses, the next Assistant is shown a symbol, and the process repeats until the five-symbol password is completed.

Symbols

Being the core gameplay mechanic, the symbols needed to be distinguishable but not overly complicated to keep the low barrier to entry so everyone could quickly and confidently describe their given symbol without taking much time.

Originally only having green symbols for correct guesses and red symbols for incorrect guesses, we added a color picker to accommodate those with red-green color blindness.

Interface

Needs

• Include company branding, adhering to company design and branding guidelines [company branding has been removed from all images as per the NDA]

Wants

• Navigation to be as easy as, or easier than, the tools currently used at the client company

Desires

• Immersion in the storyline

Created the hub of a spaceship to immerse users in the experience, made navigation seamless by having everything on one screen, and included the company's branding.

Interface

Needs

• Include company branding, adhering to company design and branding guidelines [company branding has been removed from all images as per the NDA]

Wants

• Navigation to be as easy as, or easier than, the tools currently used at the client company

Desires

• Immersion in the storyline

Created the hub of a spaceship to immerse users in the experience, made navigation seamless by having everything on one screen, and included the company's branding.

Launch

• Finalized project

• Client feedback/impact

Client Feedback

Thoughts

Learned how to work remotely

• Finalized project

• Client feedback/impact

Client Feedback

Thoughts

Learned how to work remotely