Sometimes designers undertake unusual experiments to free up their thinking. This here’s an example. The team at the London Advanced Design Studio for SAIC Motor (parent company of MG) decided to design an electric mobility concept inspired by a sedentary activity that hardly jives with going outside and getting around: Playing videogames. The idea, it seems, was to see if they could design a vehicle using cues from the gamer experience to entice gamers into wanting to leave the house to drive around.
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“Inspired from a simple concept of capturing the ‘at home’ gaming scenario and conveying that in the form of a car was our key objective with MAZE,” the designers write. “The layout, details, colour material are all driven by this idea to help connect and build a community around a mobility activity.”
“At the heart of MAZE is a familiar layout. A couch/sofa, a controller and a screen. Our objective was to emulate this comfortable situation into a vehicle that was equally exciting to look at as it was to use.”
“The exterior design is inspired by gaming hardware, high tech computers that show off their components and celebrate their processing power. The full polycarbonate exterior shell acts a window both into the car and also for the players to see their world in full view. The surface is pure and emotional in line with MG design values.”
“The front opening canopy configuration presents the interior space in a unique way, reducing the footprint of the vehicle in urban spaces. Like jumping onto a sofa in a lounge, the seats present themselves to aid entry and exit via the front of the car. MG MAZE conveys a real gaming experience through its open cockpit layout which offers a full panoramic view of the environment.”
“The 2 seat configuration gives players a chance to collaborate and compete in a social and interactive way. The ZERO gravity seat design also features a lightweight aesthetic with a transparent shell and high-tech fabric cushioning, taking inspiration from contemporary streetwear.”
“The chassis of the car is visible as a carrier for the technical componentry, and houses the motors and interchangeable battery at the rear in a ‘plug and play’ style configuration. Components such as the GPU, CPU and even cooling are visible and displayed as a key part of the overall aesthetic.”
“Drivers, or Players, can now ride along using their phones as the access and control points for the car. A sophisticated User Interface covers the whole front of the car, with a 3D map, avatar status, and mission information, which leads to the overlaying of images and digital content from the occupant’s perspective. The reductive nature of the physical design and layout allows the UI to be much more immersive than we would usually find on a car interior.”
Needless to say, the MAZE is just a concept. Teaser video below if you need the eye tickles.
Source: core77