The Arms of Primates

“The Arms of Primates”, a mobile game that teaches the concept of the evolutionary tree and how the taxonomy is organized. I developed this app to be implemented either by public educators or possibly by zoo exhibits or natural history museums. 

Year
2023-2024

Client

Thinkful

Services
Product design, Market and User Research, Prototyping and Testing, Collaboration and Continuous Learning

A child using a tablet to select which animal belongs in a group, with toy cars nearby.
A person with curly hair is using a tablet to review and unlock a list of medication groups.
A young girl with shoulder-length dark hair and a white long-sleeve shirt, sitting at a table and using a smartphone with a graphic interface showing pictures of animals. There is a black and gold capsule container, some small white objects, and a white carton on the table.

  • Educational games have a reputation. What do you think of when I say “educational game?” I bet maybe boring, monotonous, and other things like that. See, the thing with educational games is you either have a fun game with a “theme” of education, but fails at actually teaching anything. Or we have the flip side, where the focus is on equation and the video game element is rushed or is not given too much thought or finesse, so there is no enjoyment received, so they may as well just read the book over the information that the game is trying to cover. It’s a tricky balancing act, maintaining interest while also teaching a complex subject and have the information stick.

  • How do I create an educational game that balances fun and education?

    What will keep the target audience wanting to explore more?

    I’ll start by tackling the first problem, I’ll create an app based on data I collect and test it and find out what makes it interesting. But then I’ll have to face the additional challenge of keeping them engaged past the initial interest of the novelty of the game itself.

    With this project I faced some unique obstacles, one of which was not having users from my ideal demo group, for this I reached out to groups of current or retired teachers who were teaching or who have taught the target demographics, as well as getting insight into their way of thinking to inform my secondary persona.

    The other was having to keep in mind accessibility and keeping within that for my primary user. I tried to balance simplification with engaging elements. I also asked for insight from my spouse, who works with a varying age group of children.

    • Ensure the game’s content is based on verified scientific research, with accurate depictions of primate evolution, taxonomy, and phylogenetic relationships.

    • Design interactive mechanics (e.g., drag-and-drop phylogenetic trees, quizzes, or branching narratives) that make learning engaging.

    • Adapt difficulty levels for different age groups (e.g., simplified versions for kids, detailed cladograms for advanced learners).

    • Offer a freemium model (free base game with paid expansions, such as additional primate species or advanced evolutionary concepts).

    • Consider subscriptions for schools or institutions needing classroom integration.

    • Customize product aesthetics to align with the style and expectations of specific target audiences.

    • Integrate data dashboards for teachers/parents to monitor learning progress.

First Steps

Research to establish scope of each feature that was presented to me every quarter.

Build-A-Tree Competitive Analysis diagram with four quadrants labeled Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threat, each containing bullet points on game design and gameplay aspects.

Build-a-tree Competitive analysis

Circle diagram with four quadrants labeled Strength, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threat. Strength quadrant is pink with bulleted points praising the informative content. Weakness quadrant is yellow highlighting user-unfriendliness issues. Opportunities quadrant is green emphasizing simplicity and focus. Threat quadrant is purple discussing structural challenges.

Competitive analysis of MetaZooa

Flexibility

New information gathered through Evolving research forced me to think on my feet when designing for both the educational elements, and the “fun” factor for the game.

A sketched diagram of a user interface wireframe for a mobile app or website. Includes steps for selecting a template, clicking on a prime image, choosing options like a name or group, and navigating back or forward with buttons. Handwritten annotations describe actions and features, with illustrations of buttons, checkmarks, and layout organization.

Initial sketch of user flow

A user journey map with stages from Need to Interest Kept, illustrating emotional states from happy to unhappy, with notes on experiences and expectations at each stage, presented in a table on a teal background.

A Journey map based on one of the main personas I developed for the project

A digital profile of a 12-year-old middle school girl named Wren G. from Tulsa. It includes her photo, age, status, and location. The profile features a quote about her interests, goals to play video games, participate in class projects, and get a new phone. Her motivations include peer pressure, establishing her own style, and discovering things for herself. She dislikes riding buses, being told she's too young, and new music but likes Minecraft, art class, and her family pet dog. Her interests are co-op video games, her family pet dog, and building miniature models.

One of the main personas developed for the projects

Consistency

Now to the design elements. This is where I really needed to implement a lot of the fun and engaging elements that would be vital to the balance of the educational elements and research done.

Four colorful pop art style images of a monkey's face, each with a different background color and outline, arranged in a grid.
A cartoon orange monkey hanging upside down from a vine, with a mischievous expression on its face, against a black background.

Exploration in the app logo

Stylized drawing of a lemur with a large, bushy striped tail, sitting with one arm raised and the other resting on the ground, featuring blue and yellow coloring.

A few of the overlaid monkeys within the app when learning the evolutionary tree

A cartoon depiction of a pink, quadruped alien with large blue eyes and a sad expression, surrounded by gray lines on a white background with a black border.

One of the selectable pre-designed profile images to select from. Each was a different monkey species.

Mobile screens showing an educational app about primates, featuring a tree progress bar, groups unlocked with review buttons, and illustrations of primate features such as large brains and opposable fingers.

Layout of a couple of the final screens of the mobile game