For some people games are a big part of life, and a work trip shouldn’t mean a worse game. Gaming gear still serves only the eyes and ears.
ROG Nask gives the nose and mouth a part in the game.
YEAR
2024
TIMEFRAME
Spring 2024 · 14 weeks
COURSE
Product Design 5 · ArtCenter
CATEGORY
Gaming wearable · brand extension
TOOLS
Sketching · SolidWorks · KeyShot · 3D printing
ROLE
Solo · personal project
01
The brand.
ROG began with engineers who gamed.
ASUS in-house engineers, gamers and overclockers · Commando board 2006 → G752 2015
Then it had to travel.
A ROG executive flew with the G752 and felt it next to the MacBooks in the lounge. So ROG made its laptops thin enough to travel.
Four promises, one design language.
We offer
ground-chasing experience
We are
the technology vanguard
We release
the potential of gaming
We break
the conventions of hardware
Brand evaluation in full
↓
Laptops up to $3,899. Nothing for the nose and mouth.
Zephyrus · Strix · Flow · Ally · AeroActive Cooler · Cetra · Kunai 3 · US prices, spring 2024
02
The market.
Gaming is now a mass event.
3.32B
people who play games · 2024
$272.86B
games market · 2024
90%
of Gen Z engage with games
94%
of Gen Alpha engage with games
Sources: Statista 2024 forecasts (players, revenue) · Newzoo 2022 (Gen Z) · Newzoo 2023 (Gen Alpha)
Games moved from the screen to the body.
1998 visual + sound · 2015 vibration feedback · 2020 VR, 3D interaction
ROG can move from traditional to immersive.
Razer, Disney and Apple already build hardware you wear or sit in. ROG still sells boxes you look at.
Qualitative · positions from my week-2 scan
03
The user.
Gaming is part of their life, even on a business trip.
On the road it is still eyes and ears only.
Limited space
A plane seat or a hotel desk. A VR headset is hard to use when there is also work to do.
Short sessions
Battery life and controls don’t last a long trip.
Social distance
Planes, lounges, lobbies: strangers are close, and playing in VR is awkward for both sides.
Eyes and ears only
Nothing reaches the nose or mouth, so the room stays in the game.
A work trip runs from one hour to a full day.
1–3 h
Read · Game · Sleep
5–12 h
Film + read + game · One meal · Long sleep
1 day +
Several films, longer games · 3–4 meals · Hard to sleep well · Several lounges
User case analysis, week 5 · airport to landing
Nothing on the market works as a mask.
Dyson Zone: heavy on the neck, not portable, not an N95 · Xupermask: short earbud leads, not an N95, can’t rest on the body · Axent cat-ear: gives identity
04
The gap.
The nose and mouth are left out.
1 Game scent · 2 Clean air · 3 Noise cancellation · 4 Breath control
How might we
Make an immersive, portable gaming device for ROG in the age of mixed reality?
What if we
Build a mask around the nose and mouth that rests on the body like a headphone.
Four needs, from my notes.
01
Comfortable, easy to wear
Long sessions decide it. It has to sit well for hours.
02
A long-term benefit
Clean air still helps once the game ends.
03
Doesn’t get in the way
With a headset on, the head is busy. Rest it on the neck.
04
Nose and mouth, in the game
Scent for the world. Low noise can also mean speaking low.
Insight note: a smart mask alone is a bad idea. The electronics come first, the mask second.
05
The design.
From research to design
So the mask had to do four things.
How I got there · 14 weeks
The final design · Ivory · rendered in KeyShot
Ivory leads · Abyssal is the alternate
Side · the band rests on the neck
Under construction
Product film
A slow turn around the mask, then the cartridge going in.
01 · Sketch
Twelve faces, then one.
Form-based ideation · twelve front views
Wear-on and rest states · charging and air flow · attach by magnet · over the head
Simplified: filter, microphone, battery loop around the neck
Feature solution · support, button, diffuse, filter, battery
02 · Form language
Prismatic, like the rest of ROG.
Faceted shell
Sci-fi helmet
Diamond volume
Stacked faces
Prismatic
Hard surfaces and straight lines build the form.
Diamond face
A diamond reads from the side and the back.
Dotted light
The logo is drawn in dots of light.
03 · Model
Modelled face by face in SolidWorks.
Shell + band
Inside the shell
Band wraps the neck
Earlier band
Shell from above
Front faces
Form render 1
Form render 2
Form render 3
Form render 4
04 · Print and wear
Printed, then worn by classmates.
Five wearers · checking the nose bridge and chin
Under construction
What the fit tests changed
Nose bridge, chin and band length, with a short wearing clip.
05 · Shell
Faceted shell, logo in dots of light.
Front · the ROG logo drawn in dots of light
See-through · the frame inside the shell
06 · Controls
Two buttons, on the side.
Microphone adjust · band adjust
From above
07 · Cartridge
Scent comes in a cartridge.
Each cartridge has three scent inputs: one dominant, two complementary.
01 · The case, closed
02 · Open: a cartridge for each game
03 · Bottom plate off: the socket
04 · The cartridge goes in under the chin
Animal Crossing gets the green cartridge, Call of Duty the red one
08 · Colour
Ivory leads. Abyssal is the alternate.
01
Ivory · lead colourway
09 · In use
At the desk, and on the way there.
At the desk, under the headset
On the street
Under construction
Wearing clip
Putting it on, adjusting the band, one round of a game.
06
The result.
In one line
A gaming mask for the nose and mouth, with a scent cartridge for each game and a mic built in.
Solo · Spring 2024 · SolidWorks · KeyShot · 3D-printed fit tests
01
Comfort, easy wear.
Band adjust on the side. Fit checked on 3D-printed prototypes.
03
Stays out of the way.
Only the nose and mouth are covered; eyes and ears stay free for the screen and headset.
04
Nose and mouth, in play.
A scent cartridge for each game, three inputs in each.
Next
A1 · Brand evaluation
ROG today · the product family
Where it started · Commando 2006, G752 2015
Expression assets · storytelling, light, logo
Expression assets · consistency, packaging, trend
A2 · External signals
More companies serve a wider group of gamers.
Sony
Disney is building external hardware for VR.
Disney
Mobile gaming is bigger than PC.
Kevuru
Razer Project Esther: haptics for the body.
Razer
Gaming hardware ignores long-term health.
The Guardian
A3 · Engineering references
Noise cancelling
Scent tube
Air filter
Neck support
A4 · Boards
Mood board
Form details on the head model · SolidWorks
Gaming on the road · where it hurts
Under construction
User journey map
The week-3 journey board, door to door.