Journey

Journey is a quest based app that uses augmented reality to bring stories to life in the ordinary world. It invites you to use your imagination, or borrow one.

This was a six week long project done in collaboration with Kylie Della.

Journey users are looking for a way to experience more magic in the world around them. It lends them the fresh eyes of some of the most compelling creative storytelling minds allowing them to see the world differently.

Our user persona, Jonah, loves stories, but reading tends to be too isolating and slow. Instead, he prefers consuming new stories by watching movies and television shows with his friends. Unfortunately, he finds these pastimes too sedentary and wishes he could engage with narratives more actively.

More often than not, Journey users are very familiar with all sorts of narratives, from movies and television to novels and fan fiction. One intriguing draw to Journey is the incorporation of known stories that have captivated imaginations. Using known narratives allows users to interact with characters and plot devices in an entirely innovative way.

Quests can also be filtered by difficulty of riddles, terrain, and duration, as well as by author and genre. Reviews about quests and messaging to invite friends brings community into Journey.

Journeys begin at a designated location with a story introduction and a clue to the first model drop point. The user then begins to walk toward the drop point, and when he arrives within a radius of the model, is prompted to turn on his phone’s camera, but the image is blurred and darkened. As the user moves closer to the drop point, the camera input becomes clearer and brighter until the user finds the specific drop point.

When the drop point is uncovered, the user is given written clues that correspond to the augmented reality model he just gathered. The clues will continue to guide the user along the Journey. If he ever strays from his path for too long, his mobile device will alert him and question if he wished to pause the Journey or if he would rather be given a hint.

Upon completion of the Journey, the user is granted a virtual token to signify the Journey. This three dimensional model is an emblem of the route, the models uncovered, and the friends who helped him solve the riddles. All of this information, along with the ability to purchase a three dimensionally printed physical token, is kept in the user’s personal token gallery where he can look it up whenever he wishes.

When Journey is used