Dr Tan's Evaluation on KNeo World Website

While the students were working on their assigning, i.e. evaluating the aesthetics of KNeo World website, I have completed my consultation task. By comparing what I have done with students' submissions, the students can estimate how far they are from being a professional designer, particularly in making design aesthetics judgment.

Herewith the ACTUAL evaluation I did for my client, Knowledge Nation Inc. (KNI) on the KNeo World project website:

The problems faced by KNI can be grouped into two levels: micro level which is the internal limitations encountered by the design of KNeo World; and macro level that is mainly related to the marketing of KNeo World and the products it intends to sell.

Micro-level problems: 
1. The need for active proclamation
As I pointed out in March 2012, the developers, the teachers and the public are not sure what the core business of Knowledge Nation is, or specifically, what KNeo World is all about now. Of course, we have worked out the wiki-like contents and put them nicely in Bundle 1 website. However, such passive proclamation did not work and is not going to work for the current bundle. Hence there is a need of active proclamation effort, in which every visitor of the KNeo World website should be told what KNeo World is and why they should come back and engage with its contents over and over again.

2. The need for an effective metaphor
To achieve maximum effect with minimum means in the above mentioned proclamation, KNI should consider inventing a mascot, whom can be a metaphor of integration between learning and playing among kids. The first idea that crosses my mind is the Prof Owl. Prof Owl in should be actively informing visitors what KNeo World is and why KNeo World is worth visiting. The narrative delivered by Prof Owl would be the non-interactive part of KNeo World's story, the part in which we tell visitors things without letting them do anything. If sources are available, the mascot should be a 3D animated character. However, a 2D animation might be sufficient to catch visitors’ attention. In worst case scenario, there ought to be a static Prof Owl graphic with dialogue bubbles.

3. Games selection should be done by GBL experts
One of the key issues of KNeo World is the lack of unity in the variety of game selection. In fact, the game selection should be done by game-based learning experts to ensure each chosen game is congruent to the learning or playing theme of the bundle. When there is an overarching theme, the bundle would be regards as a unity of different games by parents. To parents, KNeo World sells only one consolidated bundle; to players, KNeo World offers a variety of games in the bundle. 

4. Most novel games and yet acceptable platforms
Every KNeo game should be regarded as the most novel in the eyes of players, and yet they need not unlearn their existing playing habit and preferences in order to learn new interaction platform. In other words, they should purchase the games from KNeo World and then play them in platforms which they are already familiar with, e.g. Facebook (in non-US regions), Android operating tablets and iPhone or iPad. To sell games in Apple Store, KNI should change its role from publisher into co-developer or co-designer of KNeo games. The features of KNeo Meter might not be suitable for inclusion in this model, but the KNeo Badges can be embedded as a meta-game feature of the games KNI acquired from game markets. Players can no longer see their accumulated achievement, but do they really care whether there is an accumulation system or not? KNI has been assuming the players care about the accumulation, but no statistically significant figure has indicated this so far.

5. Adding contents to KNeo World Facebook page
Since there is already a pool of fans in the KNeo World Facebook page, they should be kept warm and informed about whatsoever news and knowledge that KNI intends to disseminate. One idea in my mind is introducing one KNeo Badge in depth a day campaign, in which the fans are learning something about KNeo World every day. When the Facebook group starts to enrich its contents, the fans should be encouraged to create user-generated contents. Of course, there is a serious need to manage the FB group. 

Macro-level problems:
Many reasons have caused no buyers of Bundle 2. It might be a lot of the targeted parents are not aware of the launch; children cannot buy the bundle themselves; adult players distain to buy the bundle as it is labeled as games for kids ages 6 - 14. Instead of pointing finger to who had caused the problems, I think it would be more pragmatic to spend time thinking about how to hard-sell games in Bundle 2. Herewith some common-sensical strategies for marketing:

• Identify specific target market, i.e. the parents
• Promote Bundle 2 games through traditional media, e.g. local newspaper, magazine, TV, Radio, etc.
• Promote Bundle 2 games through new media, YouTube (open a special channel), Podcast, Facebook and Twitter.
• Promote Bundle 2 games in-person, e.g. walk into schools, community gathering events, public libraries, etc.

Having said that the above strategies are common-sensical, it has been very surprising and disappointing that none of them was seen in the launching of Bundle 2 to date.