The story behind Morph Tales

The Executive Board wanted a playful way to raise the general public’s awareness of AI research at ETH Zurich and the aims of the ETH AI Center. In line with these goals, AI should be widely accessible, inclusive, reliable, transparent and trustworthy.

The game developers faced the challenge of translating the logic behind AI research into entertaining gameplay. The player experience was the main priority. With this in mind, developers turned real research projects into a jaunty gaming world with cute, likeable characters that are also lively, expressive and funny. The aim was to appeal to players from a variety of age groups.

Augmented Reality Technologie

The development team used novel augmented reality (AR) approaches to combine a real, on-campus player experience with an extended reality digital player experience. Tablets are the medium for the game. AR technology makes it possible for four gaming worlds to be created through interaction with the four physical gaming stations. Players who hold their tablets over the game plans (called markers) can see how the entire gaming world, with its landscapes and characters, starts to come to life.

The “Morph Tales – Exploring Artificial Intelligence” game was jointly developed by the Game Technology Center, the ETH Zurich AI Center and ETH Corporate Communications at the request of the Executive Board.

ETH AI Center

The AI Center acts as a hub for artificial intelligence at ETH Zurich. It brings together researchers from all departments with an interest in the fundamentals, applications and implications of AI. The AI Center supports research excellence, industrial innovation and entrepreneurialism in the AI space in order to facilitate the creation of AI systems that are trustworthy, accessible and inclusive.

Learn more about the ETH AI Center

ETH Game Technology Center   

ETH Zurich’s Game Technology Center (GTC) is a research centre dedicated to research, teaching and outreach activities in the field of gaming. The centre focuses on the development of video game technology and on the gamification of areas such as education, creativity and culture.

Its research explores the potential of game technologies to revolutionise how we experience digital and virtual worlds, enabling us to learn and create in these worlds in new ways. Home to a top-notch team of researchers, software developers and digital artists, the GTC strives to conduct research at the frontiers of game technology and to apply its findings in a variety of fields.

More information about the GTC  and the development of Morph Tales.

Corporate Communications

Corporate Communications (CC) is responsible for the strategic communication of ETH Zurich. Corporate Communications acts as a link between ETH and the public, communicates the services, concerns and values of the university internally and externally, and ensures that ETH Zurich’s identity is professional and consistent. The department manages communication projects that are aimed at the general public

More information about Corporate Communications.