Concept progression & Game Instructions

Concept

To get kids to engage with the elements that form everything:

The four (western) elements of fire, water, air and earth and the five (eastern) elements including metal and wood and (ancient cultures) fifth of void (space).

To engage with nature, their bodies, their technologies, their materials, in a way that goes beyond a textbook. 

Latvian designer Analt notes how the various attitudes to human environments differ depending on culture, as already understood with Bolivian legislation and the North American Native struggles. Hence, it can be argued that pushing eco-conscious design in the West is what’s best for a non-Anthropocentric future. 

This section of the essay best presents the need for our practices to alter its industrial separation from nature, so that the paradigm shift to a more environmentally conscious society can take shape.

Through play, the design seeks to expand their minds to visualise scientific and geographical concepts in simple terms, with the hope of energising the next generation. 

The game is designed in a way that makes it malleable to different circumstances. It could be played at home with parent and child, demonstrated in educational museums, or in the classroom between teacher and student. The cards raise openings for discussion, as well as encouraging inclusion and activeness of the students through the various playing cards and activities surrounding each character. 

Game Instructions:

Educational Game

Supervision necessary: Players must be accompanied by someone 16+

£10 of this game goes to funding Friends of the Earth's efforts to clear today’s plastic catastrophe.

Game Play

There are 10 cards for each character: Gaia, Anthro and Techne.

Go through the game in this order, reading each of the series in turn.

Encourage participation with student/s.

Teacher’s note

Each card is relatively broad, offering a lot of malleability around the type of discussions to come out of the lesson. Note the way the students engage with each of the characters

i.e.:

- Gaia is the oldest and maybe ‘wisest’ personality, a mother figure.

- Anthro is the villain of the game in this context.

- Techne seems to be the most visually capturing, he is also the youngest, so it may be interesting to note this as well as his relationship with Gaia.

External sunlight, water and heat sources will be useful for the full effect of Phantasmagoria.

• A hairdryer works well for the external heat source if in a colder environment.
• The box cover goes clear in +27C. If wanting to show a hand imprint (representative of our environmental footprint) get the students to warm their hands to ensure full effect.
• The green string on Gaia loses colour under +27C
• The colour of Gaia turns blue under natural sunlight, or use the UV torch provided if confined to indoors.
• Anthro goes clear under water, and returns to initial state when dry.
• The glow in the dark ink on Techne is eco-conscious and light absorbent, retaining light to release in the dark. It therefore makes its own light and can represent a form of renewable electricity. This could be discussed with the students to explain renewable resources in a visual and lateral way.
• The glow in the dark ink also responds well to the UV light, if darkness cannot be achieved. 

Indesign Layout:
(Printed A5 and folded)

After printing it was worked out that the design needed more space and the bottom section should be in a lower size type to balance the overall composition to line up.