Internet infrastructure is essential — yet for most people, it remains abstract, invisible, or taken for granted. To counter this, we created IPGO, a mobile APP designed to make the architecture of the Internet not only understandable, but compelling.

The idea was based in learning design principles: to foster engagement, we needed to scaffold complex technical concepts — like IP addressing, routing, and Internet governance — in a way that was intuitive and accessible. Our target audience? Young, non-technical digital natives who’ve grown up online but have rarely questioned how the Internet actually works.

The project began with a gamified card game I originally designed to explain the Internet addressing system. From that seed, IPGO evolved into a narrative-based puzzle app — with players following the story of Nara, a brave woman living in a post-apocalyptic world where the Internet has vanished. As Nara uncovers fragments of old technologies and reconnects with other survivors, players learn the logic, governance, and cooperative spirit behind global Internet infrastructure.

Gameplay invites users to solve puzzles inspired by real-world Internet challenges — delegating resources, restoring networks, and making routing decisions. Through storytelling and metaphor, the game gently introduces technical ideas in ways that resonate emotionally and intellectually.

Beyond its educational value, IPGO was also a strategic exercise in community engagement. It has been used to foster curiosity, conversation, and shared discovery. By lowering the barriers to entry, the game became a doorway into a broader ecosystem of Internet governance — one that many previously found inaccessible.

I managed the IPGO initiative from concept to delivery: from securing funding, to defining the vision, to overseeing the project. I brought in a learning designer and commissioned a game development company, ensuring that pedagogical integrity and creative quality remained central throughout.

At its core, IPGO embodies a simple belief: that understanding the Internet should not be limited to engineers and policymakers. With the right design, we can invite anyone — even a curious newcomer — to rediscover the networks that connect us all.