deliverable 7.6 tribe live...

DELIVERABLE 7.6

TRIBE - TRaIning Behaviours towards Energy efficiency: Play it! Grant agreement: 649770 From March 2015 to February 2018

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme

under grant agreement No 649770

TRIBE Live Release

Date: 09/03/2017 Prepared by: TII

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D7.6. TRIBE Live Release Author:

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Reference: D7.6 TRIBE ID EC-GA:649770 Date: 9/3/17

DELIVERABLE FACTSHEET

Document Name: Deliverable 7.6 TRIBE Live Release

Responsible Partner: TII

WP: 7. TRIBE Game Development and Validation

Task: 7.5 Game Production

Deliverable nº: 7.6

Version: Final

Version Date: 09.03.2017

Approvals

Company Author/s TII

Task Leader TII WP Leader TII

Documents history Revision Date Main modification Author 1 28.02.2017 1st version CIRCE 2 09.03.2017 Final version TII

Dissemination level

x PU = Public

PP = Restricted to other programme participants (including the EC)

RE = Restricted to a group specified by the consortium (including the EC)

CO = Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the EC)

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DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES “This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No 649770”.”

This document has been prepared by TRIBE project partners as an account of work carried out within the framework of the EC-GA contract no 649770.

Neither Project Coordinator, nor any signatory party of TRIBE Project Consortium Agreement, nor any person acting on behalf of any of them:

(a) makes any warranty or representation whatsoever, express or implied, (i). with respect to the use of any information, apparatus, method, process, or similar

item disclosed in this document, including merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or

(ii). that such use does not infringe on or interfere with privately owned rights, including any party's intellectual property, or

(iii). that this document is suitable to any particular user's circumstance; or (b) assumes responsibility for any damages or other liability whatsoever (including any

consequential damages, even if Project Coordinator or any representative of a signatory party of the TRIBE Project Consortium Agreement, has been advised of the possibility of such damages) resulting from your selection or use of this document or any information, apparatus, method, process, or similar item disclosed in this document.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The TRIBE live release is a version of the TRIBE game. It is different from previous versions since it is available through official distribution platforms for smartphone apps. The targeted platforms are Android and IOS smartphones, and the official distribution platforms are Google Play and App Store as well as TestFlight. This version is not the final one, as there will be continuous bug and feature fixes as well as content releases throughout the remainder of the project. However, the live release version is deemed finished enough to be made available to a broader audience.

The TRIBE game is released in an episodic manner, where parts of content are released periodically. This procedure serves different purposes, including equilibrating its development and balancing it with knowledge retrieved through user feedback. It also aspires to draw users back periodically as new content is released to extend the users exposure of the app. The first episode of the TRIBE game features the San Pablo pilot and introduces the player to the game. Besides, it shows the fictional storyline regarding how the player helps San Pablo become a more energy efficient building and save the world.

Whereas the Android version is released through its final channel, the IOS app will initially require a small intermediary step due to the systems more complex release cycle. TestFlight is a utility app on App Store which is used for this purpose. IOS users are required to submit their email through a web form and are then granted access by the project consortium. This will only be necessary until the full release cycle is completed, and the app will then be available on App Store like any other IOS app.

The TRIBE game features several interfaces which are used for various aspects of learning, engagement and progress. It is focused around a hybrid simulation where pre-simulated, serialised data series are combined with real-time simulations of electricity and user behaviour. The overall focus of the game is to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and promote energy efficient behaviour in public spaces. The design draws inspiration from the EU 2020 climate and energy package. To concretise the importance of these goals, stakes are amplified putting the player in a fictional scenario where an apocalyptic scenario awaits if the emissions of the target building cannot be decreased until the year 2020 within the game’s simulation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Installation............................................................................................................................................. 1

3 Using the app ......................................................................................................................................... 2

3.1 Language Selection .............................................................................................................................. 2

3.2 Introduction Video ............................................................................................................................... 2

3.3 The main menu interface ..................................................................................................................... 3

3.4 The in-game interface .......................................................................................................................... 4

3.5 The San Pablo level .............................................................................................................................. 9

3.6 TRIBE energy battle interface .............................................................................................................. 9

4 TRIBE Game Engine .............................................................................................................................. 10

5 Conclusions .......................................................................................................................................... 11

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1 INTRODUCTION

This document aims to introduce various aspects of the live release version of the TRIBE game. The purpose of this version is to be publicly available to users and function as a platform for iterative extension of the game’s content. The game also represents the underlying engine which has been developed and refined throughout the TRIBE project. Besides, the game is also a promoter and example of what can be done using the TRIBE package (under development). It poses the potential of further research and project applications using the game and its engine as a base.

The following sections of the document describe how the application is accessed and installed, how to operate it as well as some explanation of the applications implementation.

2 INSTALLATION

The TRIBE live release is made accessible to both Android and IOS phones via the web page: http://www.tribe2020.eu/ If a user visits the webpage from any of the two targeted platforms they will be redirected to their respective downloading channel. For Android this means Google Play and for IOS it will initially mean a sign up form for TestFlight and eventually App Store.

Figure 1. App as seen on Google Play.

If the user is redirected to the TestFlight form, they will be prompted to submit an email that is connected to their apple account. As the answer is retrieved within the consortium, the account of

http://www.tribe2020.eu/

https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.tii.tribe2020


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that user will be invited to download the app using TestFlight over mail. The mail contains further instructions on how to proceed.

3 USING THE APP

This section describes the functionality and features of the TRIBE game. The reader is expected to have basic knowledge of how to use apps on smartphones. Notably, a player should be able to understand and use the TRIBE game without any information that is external to the actual app itself.

3.1 Language Selection

The first time the app is started there will be no stored record of the user’s progress or preferences on the smartphone in question. As the TRIBE game is meant to be accessible in several countries throughout Europe, a localisation system was implemented for the game. For the purposes of the TRIBE game, the player is urged to select one out of five languages by clicking a flag symbolising its respective language. The available languages are English, Spanish, German, French and Turkish. Once a language has been selected, this choice will be stored in the user’s settings and the screen will not show at startup anymore. Another language can however be selected later in other parts of the app. Note that the languages are modular and can be extended with more if the need should arise.

Figure 2. The user is greeted with a localisation screen the first time the app is started.

3.2 Introduction Video

After starting the app, a player is presented with a brief video introducing the story of the game. The player will take the role of a decedent of the fire shaman who invited controlled use of fire and thus started the cycle of energy consumption and over-consumption by mankind. This has led to an unsustainable usage of energy which will cause an apocalyptic scenario on the Earth in a near


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future. However, if the player can once again unite the tribe of mankind and change their energy efficiency behaviour, there is still hope.

Figure 3. Screens from the introduction video of the TRIBE game.

3.3 The main menu interface

As the game starts, the player is presented with a main menu containing four options; play, settings, about TRIBE and video. A fifth option, continue, is presented if there is a saved instance from an earlier play session on the device where the game is running.

Figure 4. Sequence of steps to start the game within the app.

Play

Upon hitting “play” the player is presented with the three available save slots which can be used to store play sessions in order to allow a player to continue from one session to another. If a slot is vacant, it will say “New Game” and cause a new session to be started if chosen. An occupied slot will instead state the pilot in which the player is currently playing in that session. Tapping an occupied slot will load that state and start the game from that point.

Continue

If the player has previously started a game session and quit the game, they will be offered to continue the game. This will continue the game from the state the player was in during the previous play session. The game time, comfort, money and other game attributes are restored to their latest state.


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Settings

When pressing the settings button, the player will be shown a settings screen, where it’s possible to set different parameters for the game. On this screen, the user can choose language and clear all save data.

About TRIBE

This screen contains overall information about the TRIBE project, with description of the partners and their roles and involvement. This screen can also host links to different websites containing more information about the project, the partners, and other related information.

Connect to Facebook

In order access the disseminative advantage. As one of the main purposes is to reach a wide audience, the use of social media and Facebook in particular may change and be adapted with new updates to the app.

3.4 The in-game interface

The interface of the TRIBE game consists of several different components.

In-game resources

The in-game resources show how much the player has of the two available investment resources; money and comfort. These resources must be generated through interaction with the game world

Narrative

Brief energy state and room energy

l

In-game

Brief comfort state and

comfort panel

Progress button

Main menu b

Current simulation time

Narrative

Figure 5. Basic in-game interface of the TRIBE game.


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and invested wisely to achieve the level objectives in terms of carbon dioxide emission reductions. These resources are shown in the top-left of the screen.

View title

Each pilot is divided into viewpoints and each viewpoint displays an area of the pilot. Each viewpoint is given a name to help orientate throughout the pilot. The name of the current view is displayed on-screen in the top-middle.

In-game time

The virtual date and time is displayed to the top-right. Technically, there are two simulation time modifiers in the TRIBE game. One is for visual, game simulation and one is for energy and energy behaviour simulation. The first one is relevant for visual feedback as it governs how fast avatars move around and the speed of interface animations. The other determines how fast the simulation is running including the virtual time. If the game was player in real-time it would take several years to complete, therefore the energy simulation is generally running faster than real-time. The visual game simulation is however running close to real-time as to allow the player to observe changes in the avatars’ behaviour and the pilot’s state.

Device interface

By tapping a device, the player is presented with an interface. This interface shows the title of the device as well as a flavour text, energy related properties and the available energy efficiency measures.

Figure 6. Device interface for a vending machine.

Avatar interface

An avatar can be tapped to display its information. This includes the comfort state of the avatar as well as eventual energy efficiency measures.


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Figure 7. Avatar interface for an avatar named Josep.

Comfort panel

A summary of the comfort level of the currently viewed area of the pilot is displayed just below the in-game resources. This interface component also functions as a button for opening a window of more details related to the comfort values, such as temperature and air quality, of the current view.

Figure 8. Comfort levels of temperature, air quality and lighting.

Room Energy panel

A summary of the energy consumption of the currently viewed area of the pilot is displayed just below the in-game time. Like the comfort interface, the energy interface also functions as a button for opening a more detailed view. This view shows the energy baseline of the pilot and how the player is faring in relation to it. This interface also shows the progress towards the emission goals of the level.


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Figure 9. Room energy interface displaying devices and their power consumption in a room.

View guide

A visualisation of the player’s current viewpoint and its relation to surrounding, available viewpoints is displayed in the centre-top of the screen. The current pilot is represented as a two-dimensional grid where each possible viewpoint is shown as a dot. Dots are grouped depending on which floor they belong to and the viewpoint from which the player is watching is marked as green. Some viewpoints are initially locked and the narrative of the level must be progressed to unlock them.

Figure 10: Basic in-game interface of the TRIBE game.

Overview and Apocalypsometer interface

As the player enters the overview, an interface called the apocalypsometer is shown. This tool shows how much carbon dioxide is released from electrical and gas consumption respectively. It allows the player to switch between different time scales to inspect emissions during a day, a week, month, year and the full period of the game’s simulation. The apocalypsometer also shows the current achieved energy savings as well as a brief insight in what type of future scenario the world is heading towards given the current savings.


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Figure 11. The apocalypsometer, showing a zero percent saving and thus a grim fate for the Earth.

If simulation time runs out before the player can reduce the carbon dioxide emissions enough, the game presents a dire future and allows the player to try again. However if the player is able to reach sufficient savings, the player is rewarded with a victory state and will be prepared to launch the next episode once it is released.

Menu button

A button in the bottom-left of the displays opens and closes an in-game menu. This menu is used to return to the main menu and change game settings.


Narrative summary button

A button in the bottom-right of the screen opens an interface for keeping track of the current in-game narratives. This interface is designed around the metaphor of an email inbox.


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3.5 The San Pablo level

The game level is based on a blue print of the San Pablo building in Zaragoza. The virtual pilot does not map exactly to the real pilot but is instead implemented depending on which parts are playable or of other increased significance.

Figure 14. An overview of the ground floor of the San Pablo pilot. The plans from the real-pilot and placement of

monitoring systems can be seen to the left. To the right is the matching area from the virtual pilot.

Each level features a “narrative” which functions as a task giver and storytelling system in the game. As of the current beta version, the narrative features a tutorial introducing the player to game interaction and game mechanics such as resources, energy efficiency measures and energy battles.

3.6 TRIBE energy battle interface

To unlock new viewpoints and thereby gain access to new points for applying energy efficiency measures the player must recruit new avatars for their tribe. This is done by challenging an avatar to an energy efficiency battle. This is triggered by the player selecting an avatar and choosing the option to challenge it. This will cause the game to enter an energy battle scene in which the player


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must answer energy efficiency-related quizzes. If the player performs well, the battle is won and the game returns to the main scene for the game.

Figure 15. Interface of an energy battle scene from the TRIBE game.

4 TRIBE GAME ENGINE

The TRIBE game engine is a modular piece of software consisting of several modular components, each handling a separate aspect of the game. These components are bundled together using a model view controller (MVC)-like approach. The main idea is to allow for the various software solutions to be usable independently depending on future need as part of the TRIBE pack. An animated narrative might for instance emphasize more on the narrative parts whereas a building energy monitoring system (BEMS) might exclude narrative completely.

The specific data of each level and pilot is loaded using the main game controller component which in turn prepares all the required sub-components as required.


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Figure 16. General layout of the various components that are part of the TRIBE game engine.

5 CONCLUSIONS

TRIBE Live Release is ready during March 2017. This version is not meant to be the final one, however it is possible to make it publicly available to a broader audience.

TRIBE game will be updated on a continuous manner, both considering the feedback from the players and the episode mode selected. Thanks to this episode mode, new content (i.e. new pilots) will be available in the game in order to engage players to keep playing the game thanks to this new content.

Besides, the scientific elements developed under the project are considered and will be included in the game aiming at changing the user behaviour towards energy efficiency attitudes, the main objective of the project.

Finally, the use of Facebook will be encouraged for several potential purposes: exchange of experiences between players, evaluation of the feedback received from the players to improve the game, gain visibility and promote the use of the game to engage as many players as possible, impact assessment, etc.