I. The "At a Glance" Summary

II. The Deep Dive: Process and Rationale

A. Discovery & Research

This project began with a deep dive into the game’s player ecosystem to understand who the core audience is and what motivates them to engage beyond the screen. Through 167 survey responses, user interviews, sentiment analysis across social platforms, and competitive analysis of past game pop-ups, we identified a mature, narrative-driven player base with strong emotional attachment to characters, lore, and social identity.

User persona derived from research

Key insights revealed that players value immersive storytelling, meaningful social interaction, and ritualised participation over spectacle alone. Many players already treat the game as a form of emotional refuge and self-expression, actively sharing gameplay moments, cosplay, and offline experiences on platforms such as Weibo and Xiaohongshu. This highlighted a clear opportunity: extend the game’s emotional and narrative depth into a real-world setting that supports identity, belonging, and replayable participation.

B. Define & Ideate

From research, we framed the core design challenge as:

How might we translate a story-rich mobile RPG into a physical experience that preserves emotional agency, encourages social bonding, and feels intrinsically “playable”?

Main event poster and standee designs

The central concept, “Fate Restarted: The Four Realms Reawaken”, reinterprets the game’s lore into a linear, ritual-based journey spanning four realms: Human, Ghost, Deity, and Demon. Each realm represents a different emotional and moral axis, allowing players to make symbolic choices, complete narrative tasks, and shape a personalised “fate path.”

Event venues across Hubin Intime in77 and the West Lake

Rather than designing a single static venue, I led the ideation of a distributed spatial system, anchoring the main event at Hubin Intime in77 while extending key interactions into the West Lake urban fabric. This allowed the pop-up to feel expansive, exploratory, and aligned with the game’s world-building logic.

C. Develop, Prototype & Refine

I took the lead in structuring the end-to-end experience system, ensuring narrative, spatial design, digital touchpoints, and reward mechanics were tightly integrated.

Key developments included:

A linear quest flow (Realm Selection → Realm Trials → Final Awakening) that mirrors in-game progression.

Four fully differentiated realm environments, each with its own architectural language, colour system, interaction mechanics, and symbolic artefacts.

Hands-on interactive modules such as mask-making, wish projection, moral choice installations, and cooperative rituals to encourage participation and reflection.

A custom mini-program that handled registration, realm selection, NFC check-ins, progress tracking, and reward redemption, bridging physical and digital continuity.

A layered reward system combining collectible artefacts, in-game bonuses, and limited blind boxes, reinforcing motivation without breaking narrative immersion.

Prototyping focused on spatial layout logic, interaction timing, and emotional pacing, ensuring that players felt a clear sense of progression rather than fragmented activities.

III. Final Product & Reflection

The final proposal presents a holistic pop-up event ecosystem, not just an installation, but a narrative service experience.

Virtual venue walkthrough with our physical prototype

Players move through a carefully orchestrated journey that blends myth, play, and social ritual, culminating in a shared “awakening” moment that reinforces emotional payoff and community bonding.

Final Service Blueprint

As the lead planner, my role centred on:
- Overall experience architecture and narrative translation
- Spatial zoning and interaction sequencing
- Digital & physical integration strategy
- Ensuring conceptual consistency across all realms and touchpoints

Final concept presentation to NetEase stakeholders

As the main presenter, I articulated the full event strategy, experience logic, and value proposition directly to NetEase stakeholders, translating complex narrative systems and spatial flows into clear, actionable concepts. This required aligning creative ambition with brand expectations, feasibility, and audience impact, reinforcing my ability to communicate design decisions at a strategic, stakeholder-facing level. This project strengthened my ability to design experience systems at scale, balancing creative world-building with operational clarity and user psychology.

Value Creation
- For players: A rare opportunity to embody the game’s narrative physically, strengthening emotional attachment and social identity.
- For the brand: A scalable offline engagement model that drives community activation, social sharing, and long-term loyalty.
- For the city context: A pop-up format that meaningfully integrates with public space rather than occupying it superficially.

Future Vision
This system is designed to be modular and extensible, easily adapted for touring pop-ups, festival collaborations, or permanent experiential zones.
Future iterations could integrate AR overlays, live role-play narratives, or season-based realm updates, allowing the experience to evolve alongside the game’s ongoing storyline.