Galaxy NRG Battlestation

Samsung Sponsored Project. This project is an extension of the Samsung x NRG Mobile E-sport sponsorship. A Battlestation designed for Mobile E-sport.

Time - Summer 2024

Duration - 14 Weeks

Team Member - Jeff Yap / Jerome He

The Objective

Propose a bold brand collaboration between Samsung and a relevant partner to captivate and resonate with the Gen Z & Alpha in north America

Understanding NRG E-sport

NRG is a professional gaming and entertainment company founded in 2015 in LA. With its championship teams and gaming lifestyle content

What sets them apart?

Content Influence

Blending high-energy gaming culture with entertainment, producing viral videos, lifestyle vlogs, and creator-driven series that connect deeply with Gen Z audiences through humor, personality, and behind-the-scenes access to esports and internet culture

NRG has over 2 Billion content views in 2024

Founded in 2015

One of the leading e-sport & lifestyle brand in North America

Creator to Co-owner - Nicholas Armstrong

One of the most prominent Minecraft, Valorant streamers with over 20M followers

MRG Spectrum Castle

$10M USD, 20,000 square foot, multi-functional facility located in LA, it serves as a content creation hub, event venue, and a social space for gamers

NRG Fundamentals

Apparel line targeting lifestyle and culture. Selling lifestyle products like crew, hoodie, tees to promote their brand image

Mobile E-sport Is The Future

There is a noticeable shift in gaming preferences among Gen Z and Gen Alpha, with a growing trend toward mobile gaming as their platform of choice, rather than PC and console gaming

26%

Decrease in playtime on PC and console games since 2021

73%

Gen Alpha are mobile gamers in north america

41%

Increase in watch time of mobile e-sport from 2023 to 2024

Mobile E-sport audience expected to reach over 318 million by 2025

Number of views of e-sport content expected to reach 548 million by 2025, it was at 418 million in 2019.

E-sport players are real athletes

Professional esports players are recognized as athletes in the US since 2013. who compete full-time as a career instead of playing video games as a hobby

College & Scholarships

Hundreds of U.S. colleges offer esports scholarships and treat players as student-athletes, with structured training and competition schedules.

Samsung

Leader of the mobile tech industry, constantly pushing the boundary with their innovative advancements

NRG

Forerunner of e-sport culture, inspiring new generations of mobile gamers and e-sport lovers

Collaboration Value

Redefine mobile e-sport experience for the athletes and for the audiences. Expand demographics base through the power of e-sport

Design Opportunities

The Rule -
Design Limitation

Players must only compete on an eligible device and may not use any kind of external device or attachment of any kind that modifies the game’s controls

(e.g. bluetooth controllers, wired controllers, mouse, keyboard etc.) without the express consent of IGE Staff.

Design Observation

Learning player posture & habbits through live streams & recordings of live tournaments

Players are prone to physical strains

More than 40% of esports athletes have reported musculoskeletal pain, which limits their performance

8 to 12 hours per day - Average training hour of an e-sport athlete

Abnormal postures caused by poor ergonomic setup

Forward neck / Slouched / Rounded shoulders

- Nintendo neck
- Shoulder pain
- Pain around scapula
- Lumber muscle strain

Problematic holding habits

Holding on to the weight of the phone a primary problem contributing to pain around wrist and grip

The habbit is cuased by players needing to hold the phone while maintaining performance ready hand posture, the weight of the phone becomes unbearable over period of time

The lack of live audience engagement

Viewers enjoy the game via a large screen hanging on top of the arena, it is a huge missed opportunity where tournaments can be made much more enjoyable with better visual cues indicating player actions

The Concept

A battlestation designed to standardize the mobile e-sports scene by enhancing athlete ergonomics, performance, and live audience engagement

Design Direction

Geometric Sensuality Evovled

Vivid Disruption

Process Works

This section showcases my design process from research, concept development to form development

Galaxy NRG Battlestation

A battle station designed to enhance environmental ergonomics for mobile e-sport athletes for better in-game performance, while enhancing viewer interactions for on-scene audiences

Battlestation on standby

Battlestation on standby

Battlestation game ready

Battlestation ecosystem

A series of Samsung product meant to be used alongside the battlestation

Galaxy ring integration

Athletes are each issued a galaxy ring for data monitoring. Their health data are recorded and will be used to achieve intelligent ergonomic support provided by the battlestation

Ignition through galaxy ring

The ring serves as an ID, when the ring is placed into the battlestation, the station will adjust itself to the setting customized by the athlete

Ignition through galaxy ring

The ring serves as an ID, when the ring is placed into the battlestation, the station will adjust itself to the setting customized by the athlete

Ignition through galaxy ring

The ring serves as an ID, when the ring is placed into the battlestation, the station will adjust itself to the setting customized by the athlete

Upon Ignition

The battlestation adjusts itself based on anthropometric data recorded from the player, recreating the optimal environmental ergonomics for each individual athlete