Tales of ‘Genium

Project Description:

Overview: Ingenium Role-Playing Games RPG
The digital team of Ingenium, Canada’s national museums of science and innovation, have asked us to come up with an approach to engage Gen Z’s, 18-24 year olds, across Canada. This would be an approach that could be used across the 3 museums and across collections while being accessible to and inclusive of all Canadians of that demographic.

Solution Plan:
Ingenium museums would design role-playing games of different adventure-themed stories based around artefacts in their possession, gathering them in many contexts: eras, geographical regions, collections, technological progression, for example.

Adventure Planning
The manuals for campaigns, or main story arc, would be written by Ingenium historians/curators in collaboration with well-loved RPG authors. This would ensure that they are based on fact and history as much as possible in the set-up of adventures, but the storyline and game possibilities (including rules) would be designed by people experienced in role-playing games.
Playbooks, character sheets and other materials that define the game would be created and uploaded on Ingenium’s website as guides for users. The manual would include a quick guide with the basics as well as the in-depth story and rules. The sessions would be run on a messaging/sharing platform like Discord.

Genium Masters
Organizing and running the Campaigns (games) would be the Genium Master(s). They would run the (eventually automated) sign-ups on the Ingenium website and arrange the plan for the whole Adventure and each session. Sessions would be opened with the Genium Master framing the current section of the adventure and what the next steps are. Genium Masters could be curators of the museum or contracted professional Game Masters. As players become more engaged, they can become Game Masters.

Character Creation
Each player creates a character at the beginning of an Adventure with a Character Creation Guide. Users have the freedom to be whoever they want to be, so far as it fits the story. They do so by defining traits including interests, abilities and back stories. As this solution has as one of its mandates to be inclusive of all Gen Z throughout Canada, the character trait options will include diversity that represents the multiple cultures, different abilities, genders and other perspectives that are experienced throughout our country.

Character Avatars
Once the character is imagined, it can be depicted by the creation of a virtual character in a tool/app /platform with options to use their video & overlay IG (or Ingenium) filter on one’s own pic (like Snapchat) or build a completely new avatar.
Getting the Word Out
Posters/ads would be posted on Ingenium’s official social media accounts. IG, Facebook and Tiktok would be used for promotional purposes and to engage users in short interactive story hooks, polls, Q & A, and provide links and info on each RPG.
Campaign Booking
Users would click on story highlights in their social media and swipe up to read more on Ingenium’s website and sign up for the stories they are interested in the booking system maintained by the Genium Master(s).

Accessibility
Built into the solution would be aspects to meet and exceed Canadian and Ontario accessibility standards and be as inclusive of all abilities as possible.

Contact the Team

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