Nature Detectives Mania is an app for iOS and Android and was developed as part of a big national campaign for Migros, Switzerland’s largest retail company. The Nature Detectives app is designed to educate children between the ages of 8 and 11 about Swiss nature in a playful way. The kids learn interactively, by solving fun puzzles and small tasks which habitats exist in Switzerland, which plants and animals inhabit them and how to recognize them. The children can roam through 8 Swiss ultra realistic 3D environments filled with true to life details. Each habitat can be discovered in at least seven different camera perspectives. With the help of an animated character called Minspector and the two protagonists Mia and Leon, users solve tasks and questions about Swiss nature and its flora and fauna to collect badges.
What I like
I think having the two protagonists and the Minspector makes the game more appealing to kids and they can get attached to them so children want to use the app more. I also believe that the quick mini games are a great idea to keep the children’s attention and in addition to that each win causes a dopamine release. Lastly, I like the reward system and it is a clever idea to combine it with the parents spending at the Migros stores.
What I don’t like
It may be a clever idea to incorporate the parents purchases at the Migros stores, but whether that’s ethical or not is debatable. It casts a bad light on the app and the intention behind it. Additionally, I don’t like that the entire game is happening in the app. Not only is the environment completely digital, but the interactions with nature are also close to none. Making the digital environment look realistic and modeling it after an actual place cannot replace the real thing. This app is essentially a game about nature, rather than a game with nature.
Sources:
https://demodern.com/projects/migros-nature-detectives-mania-app
