Know it All- Debate Game | Naomi's Portfolio.

Know It All — Reimagining How We Disagree Online

A conceptual debate game that transforms fact-checking into play and makes changing your mind feel like progress.

TL; DR

The Challenge:
Online discussions favor speed and confidence over accuracy, leaving many people hesitant to speak, unprepared to research, or punished for being wrong—especially around complex or polarizing topics.

The Solution:
Know It All is a conceptual multiplayer debate game where anonymous users are randomly grouped to challenge or validate claims using reputable sources. Structured rounds, private badges, reflective voting, and difficulty settings shift debate from performance to practice.

Impact at a Glance:

Promotes research-first thinking through play
Makes changing your mind feel like progress
Lowers intimidation through anonymity and private growth
Encourages thoughtful participation over hot takes

What I Learned:
Well-designed systems can make intellectual humility feel safe. Thoughtful structure—timing, anonymity, and feedback—can transform disagreement into learning.

Summary

Designed For

Conceptual / Portfolio Project exploring research-driven discourse and game mechanics

Make of the Team

1 Designer (solo project)

My Role

Product Designer, UX Designer, Systems Thinker
Concept creator, rule designer, interaction designer, and narrative writer.

AI Collaboration

ChatGPT (ideation, system design, rules, stress-testing, copy)
Figma Make (interactive prototyping, demo walkthroughs, flow visualization)

High level Timeline

~5 hours total
From initial concept → fully structured ruleset → interactive prototype → demo walkthrough

Methods Used

Design thinking & systems design, Rapid ideation and concept validation, Game mechanics design, Rule definition and stress-testing, User flow mapping, Interaction design, Conceptual walkthroughs, Iterative refinement through AI collaboration

Prototyping and Research Tools

ChatGPT, Figma Make, Manual UI refinements and layout adjustments in Figma

Project Details

Know It All is a conceptual multiplayer debate game designed to help people practice research-first thinking in a low-pressure, anonymous environment. Players are randomly grouped into small rooms to challenge or validate claims using reputable sources, earning private feedback and progress markers that reward curiosity, reflection, and growth rather than “winning” arguments.

By collaborating with AI tools, I rapidly translated a complex idea into a structured ruleset and interactive prototype—demonstrating how thoughtful system design and AI-accelerated workflows can bring ambitious concepts to life in hours instead of weeks.

BREAKING DOWN THE PROCESS

Introduction

Public discourse increasingly rewards being loud over being right. As misinformation and opinions presented as facts spread across social platforms, nuance disappears, cultural divides widen, and many people either disengage or argue without understanding.

Fact-checking these conversations revealed a deeper issue: people lack accessible spaces to practice critical thinking, research, and thoughtful communication without social penalty.

Problem Statement

Most online platforms incentivize speed, certainty, and performative debate rather than evidence and reflection. This leads to misinformation, fear of being wrong, and repeated arguments without understanding—leaving no low-stakes environment to practice meaningful discourse.

Goals

Encourage research-first thinking before public discussion
Make nuance and reflection feel safe and rewarding
Reduce intimidation through anonymity and structure
Help users build confidence in thoughtful communication

RESEARCH & DISCOVERY

Exploratory Research

Through observation and synthesis of online debates, fact-checking viral claims,

and analyzing participation patterns, clear behavioral gaps emerged between

confidence and understanding in public discourse.

Proto-personas

The Silent Observer: Curious but hesitant to speak due to fear of being wrong
The Confident Repeater: Actively debates but often relies on secondhand arguments

Both lack systems that support learning, reflection, and nuance.

PROBLEM DEFINITION

Findings

From observational research and synthesis, the challenges were clear:

Public platforms reward speed and certainty over accuracy and reflection
Misinformation spreads easily when opinions are presented as facts
Fear of being wrong discourages participation and learning
Nuance is penalized, while confidence—regardless of understanding—is amplified
There is no low-stakes environment to practice research-based discourse

These conditions reinforce cultural division and discourage thoughtful engagement.

IDEATION & STRATEGY

Proposed Solutions

Introduce a structured, game-based environment that prioritizes research over reaction
Use anonymity to reduce intimidation and encourage intellectual risk-taking
Require reputable, non-social sources to support claims
Replace “winning” debates with reflective voting and contextual recognition
Track growth privately through badges rather than public rankings
Together, these mechanics reframe disagreement as learning rather than conflict.

DESIGN PROCESS

Design Principles

Guiding principles ensured the experience encouraged learning over winning:
Research Before Reaction
Claims must be supported by reputable, non-social sources.
Psychological Safety Enables Bravery
Anonymity reduces fear of being wrong and encourages participation.
Reflection Over Dominance
Recognition focuses on insight, clarity, and growth—not debate “wins.”

Core Gameplay Loop

A repeatable, low-friction loop that reinforces critical thinking:

Enter a Room.
- Users are randomly placed into a small, anonymous group around a submitted claim.
Research & Respond.
- Players investigate the topic and submit evidence-backed arguments.
Reflect & Vote.
- Participants vote using contextual prompts (e.g., “Most Convincing,” “Challenged My View”).
Private Progress.
- Users earn personal badges that track growth over time—without public ranking.

Defining the Game Loop

Gameplay Screens in Context

AI-Accelerated Design & Prototyping

AI tools enabled rapid iteration and validation of a complex system:

Used ChatGPT to pressure-test rules, edge cases, and gameplay mechanics
Used Figma Make to translate logic into a functioning interactive prototype
Enabled end-to-end concept development in ~5 hours, allowing more time for refinement and critique

AI acted as a design collaborator—accelerating ideation, not replacing decision-making.

Prompting as System Design

Why This Matters

This process demonstrates how thoughtful systems—not louder platforms—can change how people engage with ideas.

From Logic to Interactive Prototype

Once the rules and flows were defined, I used Figma Make to translate the system into a functioning interactive prototype using simulated states—without CMS or backend data. Keep in mind this is the first iteration.