Invisible Man
PROJECT OVERVIEW
From the perspective of the game, to enable us to see the efforts of sanitation workers in the battle with urban garbage, to give them more real respect and recognition, to help them gain a greater sense of achievement.
CHALLENGE:
SKILLS:
TOOLS:
TIMELINE:
TEAM MEMBER:
Complete the hardware prototype.
User research, Interviewing, MVP, Wireframing, UI design, Prototyping, Video editing, 3D Modeling, Storytelling
Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Illustrator
8 Weeks, June 2022 to August 2022
Qi Luo
A game that looks at the work of sanitation workers through the lens of the trash being thrown away.
Chapter
The sanitation worker throws the paper ball into the trash, and the paper ball’s great adventure of escape begins.
Chapter One
Dumpster Escape
Jump upwards from the bottom to the top with the help of the garbage in the dumpster and try to jump out of the dumpster.
Chapter Two
Race for Time
Dodge the sanitation worker's hand.
Chapter Three
Garbage Truck Adventure
Walk the maze within the driving time of the sanitation workers for a limited time.
Chapter Four
Garbage Classification Hide-and-Seek
As recyclable garbage, try to hide behind different categories of garbage not to be found and sorted by sanitation workers.
Ending
Failure to Capture
Chasing garbage sanitation workers were hit by a car and fell into a pool of blood.
Garbage City
The city is full of garbage. With a chaotic garbage transportation system, no one is able to handle the garbage, and the city is plunged into a foul-smelling, muddy environment.
Perfect Use
The recycled paper ball becomes recycled paper, made into a book and given a new life.
Messy Landfill
Garbage was landfilled randomly, causing serious pollution problems such as leachate.
Reasearch
Sanitation Workers
We make garbage and live in symbiosis with it in this city, forming a unique ecology. The sanitation worker, however, is often unknown as one of the obscurely existing urban sustainers. What would it be like to take a fresh look at the sanitation worker who impedes his escape from the perspective of a discarded paper ball?
Problems Faced
Problem 1: Aging Personnel
We make garbage and live in symbiosis with it in this city, forming a unique ecology. The sanitation worker, however, is often unknown as one of the obscurely existing urban sustainers. What would it be like to take a fresh look at the sanitation worker who impedes his escape from the perspective of a discarded paper ball?
Problem 2: Heavy Workload
China has 4.747 billion square meters of roads, 2.667 billion square meters of sidewalks, and 311 million tons of garbage to be cleaned by hand each year. The average person needs to sweep 1,040.78 square meters of roads and 584.74 square meters of sidewalks per day and carry 68.2 tons of garbage per year.
The ease of sanitation work is not entirely proportional to the city's GDP level, and it is possible that the more developed the economy is, the more sanitation workers the city will employ without a corresponding increase in the number of sanitation workers, and therefore the burden of sanitation work may be heavier.
Peoblem 3: High Risk
Sanitation workers are faced with occupational injuries such as road traffic accidents, heat stroke or hypothermia, and physical injuries caused by intense physical work and long-term contact with garbage.
Some sanitation workers face harsh natural conditions, poor food and rest conditions, and even purely manual work without mechanical assistance.
Problem 4: Low Benefits
The protection of sanitation workers' wage rights and interests system is still single and insufficient, and there is a big gap between policy and actual implementation. In many places, sanitation wages mainly consist of basic wages and job allowances, and the low basic wages lead to low levels of overtime pay, which, together with the widespread failure to pay overtime in accordance with the law, makes the actual income of sanitation workers less than what they deserve.
The sanitation workers still have the problem of low participation rate and low insurance base. At the same time, the problems of "capitation fee", punishment instead of management, excessive harshness, and GPS positioning monitoring are common.
Problem 5: Low Concern
The above problems are exacerbated by the low level of attention. On the Internet, such as People's Daily Online, Xinhua, and Weibo, sanitation workers receive far less attention than firefighters, doctors, nurses, and teachers.
Why not enough attention
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Practitioners are relatively disadvantaged groups, low education, high age, women are the majority.
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Silent and have few channels and opportunities to speak out, and do not understand how to fight.
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People tend to ignore the daily but seemingly less noble work.
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Mostly outsourced, not directly managed by the government.
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Low wages and low benefits.
What are the jobs of sanitation workers
Road and Facility Cleaning and Maintenance
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Road cleaning
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Sanitation and cleaning along highways
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Comprehensive management along the railroad line
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Public toilet management
Garbage Management and Transportation
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Domestic garbage cans
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Domestic garbage transfer station operation
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Management of urban domestic garbage classification
Regional Sanitation Management
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Property management of urban railway station area
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Dust regulation of construction sites, commercial concrete and mixing stations
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Operation and management of disposal sites, public bicycles, sewage pumping stations and pipe networks, and the city's comprehensive solid waste treatment and application industrial park
Maintenance of Public Facilities
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Daily cleaning and maintenance of bus shelters
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Assessment and supervision of bus stop sign management
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Winter snow removal, summer flood control
Ideation
What would it be like to re-see the sanitation worker who hinders his escape from the perspective of a discarded paper ball? With such a mindset, I designed this game. Perhaps from this perspective, we can see the efforts made by sanitation workers in their battle with urban garbage, give them more real respect and recognition, and help them gain a greater sense of accomplishment.
Moodboard
Flow Chart
Reflection
Although I hope that this game can raise awareness for sanitation workers, I have come to realize some issues that need to be seriously addressed and resolved during the design process. The game may present stereotypes and a superficial portrayal. I may have simplified the work and challenges of sanitation workers to the extent that their hard work and difficulties are not truly conveyed. Additionally, the game may have overlooked the emotional and psychological aspects of sanitation workers. They not only face physical challenges but also potential social discrimination and psychological pressure. I should consider focusing more on the emotional needs of sanitation workers, allowing players to gain deeper insight into their inner world. This is perhaps my greater expectation for this project.