L'Opéra en jeu
An educational game kit revealing the world of the Opéra to young audiences.
- Year
- 2026
- Category
- Branding
- Discipline
- Game design · Print production
- Client
- Opéra national de Paris, with Copotato
Overview
The Académie of the Opéra national de Paris asked Copotato to design and produce an educational kit for the Micro-Folie network: five original games that introduce children, teenagers and young adults to operas and ballets, the craft professions behind the stage, and the architecture of the Palais Garnier and Opéra Bastille.
Agency project by Copotato, where I worked as a Graphic & Motion Designer. My role: the graphic design of the cards and game boards, and the art direction of some of the games. Card illustrations: @manonsnl. Photos: Copotato.
Challenge
Make a rich, sometimes intimidating cultural world playful and accessible to audiences who know little or nothing about opera — including partner groups such as hearing-impaired children — while staying faithful to the institution.
Direction
Five games, five angles:
Game 1
Take the Stage! aims to recreate scenes from an opera or a ballet. Players discover some iconic productions while becoming familiar with stage vocabulary.
Game 2
Behind the Scenes focuses on the technical professions: stage machinery, lighting, stage engineering, costume design and stage management. The game board recreates the environment of the Opéra Bastille.
Game 3
Design Me an Opera is a creative activity in which players must bring a stage production to life before time runs out. Each player takes on a different professional role (sculpture, painting, props, costumes, wigs and make-up, etc.) while discovering new productions.
Game 4
Shall We Dance? invites players to create their own choreography while discovering and practising different ballet positions.
Game 5
Detail Detective is an investigative game in which players must find hidden architectural details in the two opera houses: the Palais Garnier and the Opéra Bastille.
Process
- 01
Co-design
Workshops with the Académie team to define the goals and content of each game.
- 02
Prototypes
Successive prototypes, each one tested with users to refine the rules and the design.
- 03
Graphic design
Card systems, game boards and a mediator booklet giving extra content on the professions, the shows and the buildings. This is the part I personally spent most of my internship working on.
- 04
Production
Follow-up with the manufacturers (Osmea, Ludotopia): 300 kits distributed in April 2026 across the Micro-Folie network, plus tutorial videos for mediators.
Deliverables
- 5 board & card games01
- Wooden carry case02
- Mediator booklet03
- Tutorial videos04
- Social media visuals05
