Project
Capital Quest: The Great U.S. Adventure
Challenge
In a 4-day sprint, our team was tasked with creating an AI-driven interactive platform that would engage middle school students in learning U.S. geography and culture.
Solution
Our team created Capital Quest: The Great U.S. Adventure, an innovative educational game featuring AI-driven chat tutors, interactive maps, and geography-focused mini-games to make education enjoyable.
My Role
As a Product Designer, I conducted target audience and competitor research, collaborating on UI design, developing the AI-driven chat tutor feature, and fostering effective communication among team members.
Project Kickoff:
Project Kickoff:
Our journey commenced with a briefing session to understand the project goals and familiarize ourselves with the competitive landscape, analyzing platforms like SchoolAI and Khanmigo. Leveraging our pre-existing collaboration, our team—consisting of Sarah Nguyen, Julio Ramirez, Kamal Ramesh, Sara Chong, and myself—was eager to hit the ground running.
Our journey commenced with a briefing session to understand the project goals and familiarize ourselves with the competitive landscape, analyzing platforms like SchoolAI and Khanmigo. Leveraging our pre-existing collaboration, our team—consisting of Sarah Nguyen, Julio Ramirez, Kamal Ramesh, Sara Chong, and myself—was eager to hit the ground running.
Understanding
the Audience
Understanding
the Audience
Our target audience comprised middle school students aged 11-14. We identified their primary pain points as limited engagement and the absence of personalized tools in existing educational platforms. However, the 3-day sprint posed a constraint on the extent of user research we could conduct.
Our target audience comprised middle school students aged 11-14. We identified their primary pain points as limited engagement and the absence of personalized tools in existing educational platforms. However, the 3-day sprint posed a constraint on the extent of user research we could conduct.
Feature Brainstorming
Feature Brainstorming
Reality AI highlighted several essential features: an AI-driven tutor to deliver adaptive learning experiences and personalized activities, interactive mini-games such as drag-and-drop exercises, quizzes, and collaborative whiteboards, and automatic session recording for progress tracking.
Optional features included a teacher-friendly "Space Creation Studio" for customizing lessons and dashboards to monitor analytics and student engagement.
Reality AI highlighted several essential features: an AI-driven tutor to deliver adaptive learning experiences and personalized activities, interactive mini-games such as drag-and-drop exercises, quizzes, and collaborative whiteboards, and automatic session recording for progress tracking.
Optional features included a teacher-friendly "Space Creation Studio" for customizing lessons and dashboards to monitor analytics and student engagement.
Ideation & Wireframing
Ideation & Wireframing
Each team member contributed their unique perspective by creating low-fidelity wireframes that captured their vision for the product. We then employed dot-voting to determine the most promising ideas and design elements before settling on the main game flow that would guide our development process.
Each team member contributed their unique perspective by creating low-fidelity wireframes that captured their vision for the product. We then employed dot-voting to determine the most promising ideas and design elements before settling on the main game flow that would guide our development process.
High-Fidelity Prototype
High-Fidelity Prototype
Navigating the challenge of working across three time zones, we collaboratively developed high-fidelity designs using Figma. We tackled obstacles, such as incorporating the AI tutor into the user interface, by introducing an adaptive AI tutor sidebar that evolves alongside the student's learning journey.
Navigating the challenge of working across three time zones, we collaboratively developed high-fidelity designs using Figma. We tackled obstacles, such as incorporating the AI tutor into the user interface, by introducing an adaptive AI tutor sidebar that evolves alongside the student's learning journey.
Testing & Iteration
Testing & Iteration
Rapid usability testing enabled us to refine our prototype and ensure a user-friendly experience. We polished the final slide deck, which showcased our game design and unique features, before submitting our project.
Rapid usability testing enabled us to refine our prototype and ensure a user-friendly experience. We polished the final slide deck, which showcased our game design and unique features, before submitting our project.
The Final Presentation
The Final Presentation
On the fourth day, all participating teams presented their projects through a live Zoom session, which included a 5-minute pitch followed by a Q&A. Despite being the only design-focused team amidst developers and generative AI specialists, we successfully showcased our prototype's potential, delivering a compelling presentation.
On the fourth day, all participating teams presented their projects through a live Zoom session, which included a 5-minute pitch followed by a Q&A. Despite being the only design-focused team amidst developers and generative AI specialists, we successfully showcased our prototype's potential, delivering a compelling presentation.
Outcome
Outcome
Our dedication and hard work paid off when Capital Quest emerged as the Marvel AI Hackathon winner. This achievement earned us a 3-month collaboration with the Reality AI Lab Pro Luna Team to further develop and refine our innovative educational game.
Our dedication and hard work paid off when Capital Quest emerged as the Marvel AI Hackathon winner. This achievement earned us a 3-month collaboration with the Reality AI Lab Pro Luna Team to further develop and refine our innovative educational game.
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
& Looking Ahead
Conclusion: Key Takeaways
& Looking Ahead
Our success in the Marvel AI Hackathon was a testament to the power of agile processes, rapid wireframing, and prototyping, enabling us to deliver a polished design within a tight timeline. Seamless collaboration across different time zones also played a pivotal role in achieving our goals. Venturing into game design for the first time was an exhilarating experience that deepened my understanding of creating engaging learning experiences.
Looking ahead, Capital Quest has a bright future with the continued support of the Reality AI Lab. Our team is eager to refine and expand this innovative platform, ensuring it reaches its full potential. This experience reinforced my passion for creating user-centered designs that meaningfully merge education and technology, inspiring me to continue pursuing projects that make a difference in people's lives.
You can explore our journey by viewing the high-fidelity prototype and slide deck on Figma:
Our success in the Marvel AI Hackathon was a testament to the power of agile processes, rapid wireframing, and prototyping, enabling us to deliver a polished design within a tight timeline. Seamless collaboration across different time zones also played a pivotal role in achieving our goals. Venturing into game design for the first time was an exhilarating experience that deepened my understanding of creating engaging learning experiences.
Looking ahead, Capital Quest has a bright future with the continued support of the Reality AI Lab. Our team is eager to refine and expand this innovative platform, ensuring it reaches its full potential. This experience reinforced my passion for creating user-centered designs that meaningfully merge education and technology, inspiring me to continue pursuing projects that make a difference in people's lives.
You can explore our journey by viewing the high-fidelity prototype and slide deck on Figma: