Squawk!
Senior Degree Project | 2026
Squawk is a collaborative board game for family and friends, designed to create awareness of ecological instability without generating unproductive guilt. The fully developed game is the product of my self guided Senior Degree Project course in which I used extensive research to guide and justify my process.
How Might We…
celebrate natural ecosystems threatened by unsustainable land use, through a collaborative board game for family and friends that promote awareness of ecological instability through constructive messaging, rather than generating unproductive guilt?
For the initial phase of this project, I used the this question to guide me throughout the process of research, analysis, and design intervention.
Whats the Problem?
Current media outlets are known to use extreme amounts of ecological guilt to make viewers feel as if they are primary contributes to unsustainable land use. While its important that we are aware of our practices, the pathos heavy news viewers consume is dangerous and causes disengagement.
As someone who loves the outdoors and worries for the future state of the environment, I want to encourage others to gain a similar appreciation for nature through connection and curiosity as motivators for positive change.
This board game is meant to be used as a tool to spark interest in the outdoors and wildlife as well as generate constructive and comfortable conversations surrounding unsustainable land use.
Looking Deeper
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Interviews / Qualitative
For this method of research I interviewed a range of people and households on topics surrounding media/news consumption patterns, childhood activities and their impact on adulthood development, perspectives on the threats of unsustainable land use, and engagement with board games.
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Autophotography / Quantitative
For this method of research I asked participants to send a photo of their board game collection as well as their favorite game within their collection. This data allowed me to see what boardgames people are investing in and enjoy playing. Placing each board game into a category based on genre and mechanics, I was able to see what types of board games are most popular amongst households.
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Description text goes here
Early Development
World Building & Identity
paragraph about world building. place names, story, logo and reason behind it