Island Beat
A nostalgic mixed-reality game for Chinese Gen Z that promotes sustainable education on mobile phone recycling
Overview
This project explores how immersive technologies and nostalgic elements can enhance mobile phone recycling education for Chinese Generation Z, fostering environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior through a three-stage mixed reality experience inspired by Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.
Tool
Background
Need sustainable education about phone recycling on Chinese Gen Z
Today, nearly half of the mobile phones are idle in China, and Generation Z aged 18 to 24 lacks awareness of recycling them (16.29%). Eco environment education has been proven to be a fundamental approach to improve consumers’ attitudes and behaviours.
Research
Notable features: Nostalgia
Chinese Gen Z shaped by Growth and Technology. They grew up in a period of rapid economic growth, with 313.7% and the merging of internet technology from 1997 to 2010, but witnessed the growth rate drop of 166 % in their adolescence from 2010-2020. In today’s unstable economy, they turn to childhood nostalgia for comfort and happiness—77% say they love nostalgic things.
Nostalgia as motivator and immersive technology as facilitator
Immersive technology can fulfil the youth’s expectations for sustainable future education. Gen Z hope that future sustainable education can be practical, experiential and interactive, while Immersive technology can be proven to make abstract concepts tangible and provide an engaging learning experience.
Nostalgia has a positive effect in promoting pro-environmental behaviours. It can awaken intrinsic motivation – a sense of meaning to encourage individuals to recycle more.
Design Concept and Technical Test
Understand metals and the environmental damage they cause
Various metals are used in phone production, and mining them can cause serious environmental problems. This project aims to convey that the more you recycle, the better the environment becomes, making environmental issues feel closer and more tangible to them.
Catching beats in nostalgic music, changing nostalgic the environment
Inspired by the nostalgic cartoon Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf, this project incorporates similar visual elements and a themed song as background music. Idle phones appear from the drawers in sync with the music beats, turning each rhythm into an interactive recycling moment.
Technical Test: Beat Detection and Environmental Changes
Record the timestamps of strong beats in the music, then retrieve them in Unity to trigger corresponding object changes at those moments.
Environmental changes are based on different collection percentages. A global variable monitors the number of collected phones, and different functions call this value to trigger animations that modify the environment accordingly.
