Concept: Castle Library

User Experience

You enter the Castle of Miracles, excited to see the newly-opened Castle Library. There are a series of signs leading towards the newly opened castle library. You follow them to the library where you are immediately immersed in the stacks of books, filled with stories and tales of the castle’s rich history. Exploring the ancient tomes and richly decorated wood décor, you then notice a sign posted: “Welcome to the Castle Library! Feel free to explore and learn about tales from places all over the world!

Our newest addition, the ‘Secret of Sweet Dreams’, is located in the center of the library. However, this book has had a spell cast upon it, and we’ve been unable to unlock it. It has been foretold that only those who have a vast knowledge of the stories in this library can open the book. Only uttering the three magical phrases can unlock this book. When unlocked, this book will reveal to you the secret of sweet dreams. Please take a look around and see if you can locate the magical phrases to open the book. ”

You make your way to “The Secret of Sweet Dreams”, located in the middle of the library on a pyramid-like structure. Reaching the book, you try to open it but it just won’t budge. Looking around, you notice three large open books at the base of the library stacks, with symbols above each one. You walk over to one of the books and look inside. You read the title of the book and turn the page. The next page displays the following: “Welcome to the story of (story name). In order to read this book, you must help (main character complete his or her objective). If you are able to do so, you will be rewarded!” You turn to the next page and begin to read the story. You help the character move and perform certain tasks in the story. (See the ‘Example of an Interactive Story’ section for a possible story.) At the end, it reveals to you a symbol. This symbol could be one of the following:

• An on-screen symbol that represents a word that is told to you in both audio and textual form.
• A small physical object that is given to you in the shape of the symbol representing the story.
• Before the experience the child is given a “Castle Library Card” embedded with an RFID tag. When a story is completed, the system saves their actions to the child’s card.
Excited, you wander over to another book and read its story. At the end you get another symbol. You wander over to the last book and read its story. After finishing, you receive the final symbol. Thinking that you have figured out the magical phrase, you rush back over to”The Secret of Sweet Dreams”. In order to break the spell you do one of the following:
• Shout out the phrase based on the three on-screen symbols that you were shown
• Insert the physical objects into a slot either in the book or in the pyramid structure underneath

• A RFID sensor detects the child’s library card and begins the spell breaking when the child is near the book.

After the spell has been broken, the book starts to rumble. You start to inch closer to it. The rumbling stops and you hear a “click”. You open up the book and inside is a pillow! You take it out and close the book, knowing that you have earned the secret to sweet dreams, and have broken the magical spell.
Example of an Interactive Story

Here’s an example of a possible interactive story: Mayor Clayton Goes to the Dentist “Welcome to the story of Mayor Clayton Goes to the Dentist. In order to finish this story, please help Mayor Clayton get his teeth cleaned.” *The page turns.* “Mayor Clayton was looking in the mirror one day and noticed there was
something on one of his teeth.” *The page shows Mayor Clayton’s reflection in the mirror. If you touch the tooth, Mayor Clayton moves his arm up and rubs a finger up against it. The page turns.* “Mayor Clayton decided to go to the dentist to have it checked out.” *The page shows Mayor Clayton on a road to the dentist’s office. If you drag Mayor Clayton over to the dentist’s office, he goes inside. The page turns.* “The dentist said, ‘Oh my, Mayor Clayton, it looks like you don’t brush your teeth often enough. I’ll clean your teeth for you.’” *The page shows Mayor Clayton’s face with his teeth showing and a toothbrush off to the side, if you move the toothbrush over his teeth, the toothbrush moves up and down and the spot magically disappears. The page turns.* “Mayor Clayton said, ‘Thank you, I’ll remember to brush everyday!’ As a gift, the dentist gave Mayor Clayton a lollipop to remind him of the sweet things in life. The End” *The page shows a lollipop and the word ‘sweet’. If using a physical object, a lollipop prop gets dispensed.*


Location Treatment

There will be signs mounted on the walls of the Castle of Miracles pointing towards the library. Inside the library section will be “stacks” of books, standing out like huge pillars. These pillars should be quite tall and employ perspective tricks to create the illusion of a huge, encompassing library. They should be unevenly stacked and placed around the location. Around the stacks will be three stations, allowing multiple children to play each game at the same time. This allows for greater throughput and a longer experience. Each side contains a sign indicating a certain story and a part of the phrase that the children will need to reveal. Towards the bottom there is a touch screen placed inside the model of a book. There will be speakers embedded in each station. The touch screen and speakers will be connected to one computer which would regulate the display and receive input from the touch screens. At the center of the Library will be the Secret of Sweet Dreams tome. This big book will be on a pyramid-like structure. In actuality this book will be the physical device that dispenses and stores the pillows. The book will be capable of rumbling and emitting sound effects as well. The book will have one of the following:

• Voice sensor so that when a certain phrase is mentioned the book “opens”

• An object detector that can read in the physical symbols deposited, possibly via RFID tags

Underneath the book in the pyramid section, will be the mechanism for pushing pillows up into the book. The pyramid should also have a door for easily refilling the pillows, and should have enough of a capacity such that it should only need to be restocked once per day.
The castle library utilizes a number of off-the shelf technical solutions readily available today. Each book station uses simple touch screens linked into one computer running an animation style game. The touch screens are hidden within a large model book creating an interactive page. Upon the completion of the game, the child receives the symbol representing the story, dispensed in the form of a physical object, a key phrase, or linking a pre-existing object with an RFID tag (such as a “Castle Library Card”) to the completion of the story. Once the child collects all three symbols, the large book in the center can be opened. The symbols may contain RFID tags that will trigger the book’s opening sequence. By placing the symbols into the lock on top of the book, the motors underneath as well as subwoofers activate to create a rumbling effect. The book then uses simple motors to open up and reveal a pillow for the child to take. An additional option would be for a customized certificate to be printed for the wish child shortly before receiving the pillow. The customizing can happen while the child plays the interactive games at the stations.

The charm of the castle library design is in its modular nature. Every part of the design can be updated depending on the needs of the village. The stories on the touch screens can be changed to fit multiple themes throughout the year. Also, the reward mechanics for each game can be updated easily as well. Originally the system can start with a physical prop as a reward, but it can be updated to voice recognition or RFID systems. The central device that dispenses the pillows is fairly robust and shouldn’t require too much work to upgrade. The theming of the library can be easily upgraded and re-themed. The books in the stacks can be interchanged for cosmetic books or even real children’s books and function much like a real library. Simple changes in lighting or additions to the book shelves can make the library adapt to seasonal themes.
With its modular nature as well as the ability to serve multiple children at the same time, the Castle Library can bring sweet dreams to hundreds of children in the village.

Game Design

The basic game design for the each book station is to read stories in order to acquire knowledge and receive a clue at the end. There will be three different stories for each station. The objective is to guide a character through the story and accomplish the task. The pages of the book will contain an animated drawing. There will then be text explaining the story and a narrator to speak these words aloud. The objective is to move these characters along in the story to complete it. This can involve a variety of things, including:

• Dragging a character to a physical place on the screen
• Clicking on or dragging certain objects in order to make them complete certain tasks
• Dragging the environment to change the scene

If you are having a hard time completing the task, the screen will show you what to do using semi-transparent action arrows. If you take too long, or are having a tough time, the game will advance along so that you don’t need to worry about not knowing how to complete a certain task. This also makes sure that children aren’t waiting too long to use a certain station. Once you complete the task mentioned, there will be a small animation showing the story and it will advance onward. The page will then automatically turn to the next couple of pages and you’ll have to perform the next task. Once the game is over, you will be given a symbol which you must then use to break the spell. Each task should take about a minute and will include 3-4 interactions.