Dropping in to game design

Purpose This paper aims to present an iterative approach to creating a collaborative design-and-play skatepark videogame for a children’s museum physics exhibit. Intended for children of 5-8 years old and accompanying adults, this interactive tabletop game encourages players to build a skatepark and then skate through it with a skater character. This case study describes the authors’ design perspective shift to make the game’s possibilities for tinkering more “perceptible.” Design/methodology/approach This paper presents a case-based design narrative that draws on the project’s iterative playability testing with parent–child dyads and reflections from the design team’s endeavors. This analysis draws on methodological elements adapted from agile game development processes and educational design-based research. Findings The initial game prototype inhibited the collaborative tinkering of parent–child dyads because it used interface abstractions such as menus, did not orient to the task of tinkering with skatepark design and did not help players understand why their skatepark designs failed. Subsequent game versions adopted blocks as a metaphor for interaction, gave players explicit design goals and models and provided players with more explicit feedback about their skater’s motion. Originality/value Museum games that provide tinkering experiences for children are an emerging medium. Central concerns for those designing such games are presenting multiple modes of play for different players and contexts and clearly and quickly communicating the possible activities and interactions. The design approach in this study offers players the opportunity to – at both short and long timescales – take up game-directed challenges or explore the skatepark physics through self-generated goals.