CoffeeQuest

ii

Concept and design by James Harris

Experience Design (senior year)

Teacher: Julia Pellicciaro

Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design

October 2012

www.dawnpaladin.com

iii

table of contents

1 Intro

5 Personas 7 Stu Owen 9 Michelle Britz 11 Victor Schuss

13 Scenario

1

It’s a coffee shop where you play board games and make friends.

2

Amazing new board games

come out all the time, but

people don’t buy them

unless they have friends

who’ll play with them. This

coffee shop supplies the

games and hopes you’ll find

friends on the spot who’ll

have you coming back again

and again.

3

Every month, CoffeeQuest staff pick the

hottest new game on the market and buy

a copy for our customers to play with. Visit

our shop and you can enjoy the best new

games on the market, along with classics

like Chess and Settlers of Catan, all in the

comfort of our elegantly-designed lounge

while being served frothy drinks by our

attentive staff, who are fully trained in the

rules of all our games and are available

if you need a referee or another player.

We stock rulebooks, accessories, and

expansions for games like Magic: The

Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons, and

Pokemon, and we hold regular tournaments

and game nights.

Let me tell you about your new favorite coffee shop.

4

Never played anything more advanced

than Checkers? That’s fine! We’re happy to

explain gameplay and recommend a game

you might enjoy. Wednesday nights we run

D&D Encounters, an ideal introduction to

role-playing games and a perfect place to

make friends. You’ll also find a generous

collection of comic books, novels, and

scientific literature if you’re not in the mood

to socialize. And the free wifi we provide is

faster than any you’ll find at a competing

coffee shop—which is good, because it

keeps the latency low on our in-house TF2,

Battlefield, and Minecraft servers.

Come for the games, stay for the friends you’ll make.

5

So what sort of people might you expect to run into at CoffeeQuest?

6

PersonasLet’s meet some of the regulars...

7

Stu OwenFull-time studentAge: 34Priorities: Quiet, comfort, connectivity

Gaming knowledge - Coffee knowledge - Social level - Tech usage level - Visit frequency

8

Stu is midway through his Master’s Degree

in Electrical Engineering. He’s a driven,

focused young man, with little patience

for anything standing in the way of his

dream. His friends have learned not to

bother him when he’s plowing through a

mountain of homework, but they admire

his dependability in a crunch. In his rare

free moments, Stu enjoys intricate strategy

games, discussing politics, and Indian Pale

Ale beer.

“Your strategy, like your candidate, is

inadequate to the challenge at hand.”

9

Michelle BritzSocialiteAge: 25Priorities: Comfort, atmosphere, meeting new people

Gaming knowledge - Coffee knowledge - Social level - Tech usage level - Visit frequency

10

Michelle works as a hairdresser in a local

salon. She’s extraordinarily bright, scoring

a 1550 on her SATs, but isn’t able to afford

college and couldn’t acquire a scholarship.

She isn’t happy at her day job, which keeps

her on her feet all day and doesn’t provide

stimulating conversation. She wants a place

where she can sit in a comfy chair, kick ass

at her favorite board games, and sharpen

her wits against fellow fans of Sailor Moon,

Battlestar Galactica, and Buffy the Vampire

Slayer. She’s also on the market for a date,

but finding someone who can keep up

with her in conversation is a challenge...

“You’re sweet, but I want a man with a

higher K/D ratio.”

11

Victor ShussPower gamerAge: 18Priorities: food, knowledge, winning

Gaming knowledge - Coffee knowledge - Social level - Tech usage level - Visit frequency

12

Anyone who needs a rules clarification,

no matter how obscure, can always rely

on Victor. Somehow he’s memorized the

rules to every game in the store and has

opinions on the merits of each. He’s happy

to show off his knowledge, which makes

him a valuable resource—and a dangerous

opponent. No-one knows how he affords

his vast collection of games and comics, or

why a black armored van drops him off for

each tournament. Victor never, ever talks

about himself, so the world may never know...

“Magic? Yeah, I can show you how to

play. Heh.”

13

ScenarioVictor’s Story

14

Having finished that regrettable business

with MI-6, Victor found himself hungry. The

loss of his pilot meant that he would likely

be stuck in Denver for at least a few weeks,

and the Libyans were probably watching,

so instead of reaching out to his contact

network, he did what any ordinary tourist

would have done and opened Google Maps

on his phone.

The screen showed the usual sprinkling of

coffeeshops and fast-food chains, along

with something new. Tapping at his phone

to bring up more details, Victor raised an

intrigued eyebrow. This will do nicely.

15

16

Victor strolled inside CoffeeQuest and up to

the counter. The drinks on the menu were

numbered one through twenty, formatted

in the style of the Dungeon Master’s

Guide, and a small sign offered guests the

opportunity to roll to determine their order.

Charming. Victor ordered a sandwich (BLT,

and make sure the lettuce is fresh) and

turned to examine his surroundings.

17

A game of Settlers of Catan was in progress

nearby. The players were arguing loudly

over the rules for a victory condition; Victor

smoothly moved in and explained the ap-

parent contradiction. His words explained

the nuances so skillfully that the players

invited him to join the next round, which he

won.

18

19

20

Rather than rubbing it in, Victor elected to sit out the next game and chat about the nuances of the game with a girl named Mi-chelle. He noticed her tapping at her phone, and she mentioned the CoffeeQuest app; he downloaded a copy and was pleasantly surprised at its functionality. Not many cof-feeshops awarded experience points, much less titles and discounts for leveling up.

Victor could tell he was going to like it here and resolved to visit again the next time he was in North America. CoffeeQuest would make a fine home-away-from-home when the Queen’s business wasn’t calling him to more urgent matters...

21

Research AppendixPreparatory to this design project, I

conducted research to determine what sort

of new coffee shop was needed most, as

well as Denver’s economic climate. I visited

six local businesses, conducted interviews

with employees, and talked to patrons

to determine customer expectations and

create the personas listed on pages 7-12 of

this document.

Sadly, CoffeeQuest is but a fantasy. I’d be

thrilled to visit a shop like the one outlined

in these pages, though; if you’re an

enterpreneur with loads of cash, permission

is granted to steal this business model and

turn it into a success. I’ll be a loyal patron.

Contact me (dawnpaladin@gmail.com) if

you need someone to design an awesome

visual look!

22

I’d like to express my thanks to several

different business which helped to inspire

CoffeeQuest. First is the two-story Borders

Bookstore which used to occupy a place

of prominence in Colorado Mills Mall.

They had a great little lounge and a broad

selection of D&D books, and I spent many

happy hours there with my laptop working

on design projects. I was truly saddened

when it vanished, and angered when its

memorable signange was appropriated by

the sofa store that moved in to replace it.

Thanks also go to The Wizard’s Chest,

gaming store and costume shop par

excellence, and a primary pillar of the

gaming community here in Denver. Finally,

I’d like to recommend Fireside Books &

Coffee, which sheltered me into the wee

hours of the morning when I was slaving

over this project. The world needs more 24-

hour coffee shop/bookstore combinations.

Check them out!

www.dawnpaladin.com

©2012 by James Harris