With the AR-game “Border Zone”, visitors can discover the eventful history of Potsdam’s Park Babelsberg at the time of the division of Germany between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. The development of the location-based digital game is a cooperation and research project between the Stiftung Preußische Schlösser und Gärten Berlin-Brandenburg (SPSG) and the Cologne Game Lab. Using smartphone or tablet, players will be able to explore the effects of the border fortifications running through Park Babelsberg on the basis of contemporary witness reports.
Interactive missions, called “Echos” in the game, confront the players with personal fates at the former border. Players will be able to step into the stories protagonists’ footsteps and follow their story along, while deciding which path it will eventually take. Through this the conflict at the core of the division of Germany will be explored. The goal of the SPSG is to promote a differentiated view on the Park’s rich history with this free “Serious Game”, to enable participation and to invite a discourse on how to deal with cultural heritage. The project production is accompanied by a research program, which goal it is to explore how AR-games can be used in the transfer of knowledge and the experience of cultural heritage sides.
Status: Released
My Role:
- Concept Development
- Game Design
What I did:
- Creation of an AR game concept in cooperation with an external partner
- Content preparation and implementation of workshops for the cooperation partner
- Game design, narrative design, stage/scene design, character design
- UX design for location-based augmented reality
- Content-related collaboration and agreement with cooperation partner
- Implementation of mechanics and assets
- Design of game scenes and staging of characters
- Digital organization with the team using the Scrum framework (the project was largely developed remotely due to Covid-19)
- Guidance and execution of playtests
What I learned:
Working on Borderzone gave me further insights into the development process with a mid sized team. We started off as two designers, increased the team after the pre-production to 15 members, and mainly worked remotely due to the pandemic. The biggest learning came from dealing with the limitations of AR technology and smartphones and compensating them through game design. Another key learning was the integration of the real, physical location into the narrative and gameplay of the experience.
