Fun by design: The game design activity and its iterative process as (playful) learning practices

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilaria Mariani ◽  
Judith Ackermann
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Mobile Games ◽  
Iterative Design ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Verification Process ◽  
Play Experience

This contribution proposes a critical review of the results of a workshop held at Politecnico di Milano problematising how playfulness and ‘fun by design’ affect game design activities and contribute to giving students a different awareness of the play experience. The presented activities are part of the authors’ joint research in the domain of situated gaming as a form of playful learning in higher education, which investigates the part of both the designers and the players (Ackermann & Mariani, 2015). The analysis investigates how the iterative design process simultaneously elicits fun and activates reflections on the game design practice and the playtesting activity as a nodal moment for players and designers, where seriousness and playfulness intersect.Allowing and requiring playful participation on multiple levels, and aiming to emphasise the players’ perspectives, we asked 45 students to (1) design location based mobile games, (2) perform the observation/verification process and (3) explore its elusive and challenging phases. Data was collected from rapid ethnographies and questionnaires compiled in the process. The contribution expands the reasoning from the fundamental discourse of meanings embedded and communicated through games, to the importance of the game design activity as a recursive process of knowledge acquisition and as a specific form of playful learning. 

An ARM Framework for F2P Mobile Games

2019 ◽  
pp. 177-198
Author(s):  
Marisardo Bezerra de Medeiros Filho ◽  
Farley Fernandes ◽  
Felipe Matheus Calado ◽  
André Menezes Marques Neves
Keyword(s):  
Game Design ◽  
Single Source ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Game Development ◽  
Mobile Games ◽  
Literature Research ◽  
Development Professionals

This chapter presents an ARM (acquisition, retention, and monetization) framework for F2P (free-to-play) mobile games to be used as to support game design practice and research. ARM strategies are dispersed throughout various sources such as websites, papers, and books, hampering the work of researchers and practitioners in this field. The aim of this framework is to list and organize these strategies into a single source. A literature research about ARM strategies in F2P mobile games was conducted to identify and select elements. Based on surveys with game development professionals, some of these elements were polished, merged, or removed. Finally, these elements were organized into a single framework, consisting of 3 main categories (acquisition, retention, and monetization), 8 subcategories, and 59 specific elements.

FEATURES OF THE ORGANIZATION OF ARTISTIC AND DESIGN ACTIVITY OF JUNIOR SCHOOLCHILDREN

2020 ◽  
pp. 62-70
Author(s):  
Olesia Makoviichuk ◽  
Alona Shulha
Keyword(s):  
High School Students ◽  
Primary School ◽  
Junior High School ◽  
Fine Arts ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
School Students ◽  
Art And Design ◽  
Artistic Activity ◽  
Labor Training ◽  
Design Activities

The article analyzes the theoretical aspects of art and design activities, considers the features of the integrative organization of art and design activities of students in the lessons of fine arts and technology in primary school. Artistic and project activities of junior schoolchildren are realized through the disciplines of fine arts and labor education (technology) in primary school. The concept of "artistic and design activity" is analyzed through the prism of the concepts of "activity", "artistic activity". The following are considered: interconnected structural components of artistic design, types of activity and types of tasks aimed at the implementation of artistic design activities of junior schoolchildren. The article emphasized the potential of an integrated combination in primary school of fine arts and labor training (technology) for art and design activities of junior high school students.

DESIGN ACTIVITY MODELING IN DISTRIBUTED KNOWLEDGE RESOURCES ENVIRONMENT

2011 ◽  
Vol 10 (01) ◽  
pp. 69-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
XUDONG DAI ◽  
XUEFEN MA ◽  
YOUBAI XIE
Keyword(s):  
Integrated Design ◽  
Knowledge Flow ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Distributed Resources ◽  
Value Analysis ◽  
Knowledge Resources ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Design Requirements ◽  
The Common ◽  
Different Levels

For the definition of knowledge flow, knowledge-flow control and knowledge-acquisition in integrated product design within distributed knowledge resources environment, this paper studies the structural modeling of design activity for integrated product design. The common features of integrated design in distributed resources environment are summarized as follows: centering on specific design requirements, organizing related design resources to perform design activities, outputting design results, carrying on value analysis of design results, and then making design decisions on the basis of value analysis. Based on the common features, a structural model of integrated design activities in distributed resources environment is built, which presents the structural expression of knowledge flow by defining the design requirements, the design resource input, the result output, the design activities, the relationship between the design activities, and the values of the design activities. Design activities at different levels are defined according to the design process models at different levels. A design activity that has been defined can be packaged into design components. The essence of integrated design lies in knowledge integration, which is to be realized by defining the input and output relationship between the design components and the knowledge components.

Modeling Relationships Among Design Activities

1996 ◽  
Vol 118 (4) ◽  
pp. 454-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
U. Belhe ◽  
A. Kusiak
Keyword(s):  
Design Activity ◽  
Theoretic Approach ◽  
Due Date ◽  
Activity Network ◽  
Graph Theoretic ◽  
Graph Theoretic Approach ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Exclusive Or

In this paper, a graph theoretic approach for transformation and analysis of a network of design activities with different types of logical relationships is presented. In addition to the AND type relationship, OR and EXCLUSIVE OR relationships may exist between design activities. This relationship is captured using the IDEF3 notation. The algorithm generates various alternative precedence networks and clusters of design activities in each of these precedence networks. These alternative transformations are further used to analyze the risk of violating the due date of the design activity network. The concepts introduced in this paper are illustrated with an example.

An Overview of Accessibility and Usability of Educational Games

2013 ◽  
pp. 63-101
Author(s):  
Marion A. Hersh ◽  
Barbara Leporini
Keyword(s):  
Learning Environments ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Educational Games ◽  
Virtual Learning Environments ◽  
Educational Game ◽  
Mobile Games ◽  
Games Studies ◽  
Educational Computer ◽  
Computer Based ◽  
Guidelines And Recommendations

This chapter presents an overview of accessibility and usability for educational computer-based games and the first survey of the accessibility and usability of digital educational games. The overview includes a discussion of accessibility and usability, both in general and in the specific context of educational games, as well as a brief presentation of issues relating to game design, including of mobile games. Since there are no previous studies of the accessibility and usability of educational computer-based games, studies of the accessibility and usability of the related areas of virtual learning environments, digital games for entertainment and PDF documents, are also presented. The overview of accessibility and usability and the results of the survey are used to draw up a structured list of 62 guidelines and recommendations, organised into three categories at the first level and ten at the second level. These guidelines and recommendations are illustrated by an example of their application to a fictitious new educational game.

Linking the Elements of Learning, Assessment, and Play Experience in a Validation Framework

2019 ◽  
pp. 93-122
Author(s):  
Chin Ike Tan
Keyword(s):  
Subject Matter ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Educational Games ◽  
Knowledge Retention ◽  
Learning Assessment ◽  
Game Based Learning ◽  
Validation Framework ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
World Environment ◽  
Play Experience

Educational games are often described as a balancing act between the entertainment aspects of video games—be it the engagement, motivational, or immersive advantages of it—and the serious subject matter of teaching, learning, and assessment. Thus the key challenge of game-based learning is how the merging of these two aspects could assist in the knowledge retention and application of the subject matters within the real-world environment, especially in the realm of education. The chapter proposes a validation framework that can link elements of learning and assessment in a subject matter to play experience in educational games before those games are developed. The framework will allow game designers and developers to understand the cognitive processes of learning, not only in designing effective educational games, but also to comprehend the intricacies and connections between learning and principles of game design. This in turn enables game researchers to develop effective educational games which are pedagogically and ludologically sound.

scholarly journals The Case of This War of Mine: A Production Studies Perspective on Moral Game Design

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 387-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie de Smale ◽  
Martijn J. L. Kors ◽  
Alyea M. Sandovar
Keyword(s):  
Design Process ◽  
Game Design ◽  
Formal Analysis ◽  
Visual Methods ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Iterative Design ◽  
Production Studies ◽  
Everyday Work ◽  
Game Designer ◽  
Interviewing Techniques

This article reports on a study with 11 bit studios and their game, This War of Mine. Rather than a formal analysis of the game, our objective was to situate the research in game production studies by documenting the design context (gamework) and designer perceptions about the game that inform morally complex gameplay. The research was conducted with four team members of 11 bit studios: a senior game designer, a writer, a senior writer (with stakes in marketing), and a quality assurance lead. We employed reflective interviewing techniques and visual methods to better understand how moral gameplay was designed. Our analysis illustrates the roles underlying narratives in the design process and balancing everyday work negotiations play in the design of moral gameplay, how a designer’s research informs the vision to create emotional realism in the game, and the importance of a player-centered iterative design process to produce morally engaging gameplay.

scholarly journals Investigating the Impact of Spatial Augmented Reality on Communication between Design Session Participants - A Pilot Study

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1973-1982 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorenzo Giunta ◽  
Fatma Ben Guefrache ◽  
Elies Dekoninck ◽  
James Gopsill ◽  
Jamie O'Hare ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
3D Models ◽  
Controlled Study ◽  
Set Design ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Multiple Stakeholders ◽  
Spatial Augmented Reality ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Impact

AbstractSAR provides an unobtrusive implementation of AR and enables multiple stakeholders to observe and interact with an augmented physical model. This is synonymous with co-design activities and hence, there is a potential for SAR to have a significant impact in the way design teams may set-up and run their co-design activities in the future. Whilst there are a growing number of studies which apply SAR to design activities, few studies exist that examine a particular element of a design activity in a controlled manner. This paper will begin to fill this gap through the controlled study of SAR and its effects on the communication between participants of a co-design activity. To do so the paper compares a controlled design session, using more traditional methods of design representations (3D models on a screen), to sessions run using SAR. The sessions are then analysed to gather information on the gestures used by the participants as well as the overall efficiency of the participants at completing the set design task. The paper concludes that the data gathered tentatively supports a link between the use of SAR and improved communication between design session participants.

Back and Forth: Using Conversation Analysis to Explore Dialogues of Sharedness of Mental Models

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Yi ◽  
Nicole B. Damen ◽  
Christine A. Toh
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Mental Models ◽  
Design Process ◽  
Team Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Design Teams ◽  
Design Practice ◽  
Team Mental Models ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Design Activities

Abstract Shared mental models have been shown to enhance team performance. However, research has not observed the different types of sharedness of mental models that may uniquely impact the design process. Therefore, this study examines the types of sharedness of mental models that occur in design teams using Conversation Analysis on data collected from two design teams that performed activities in the early design process in a controlled lab environment. Designers were asked to develop an agreed upon list of ranked design principles, and then generate one or two solutions using the list. These design activities allow for the examination of the varying ways that designers share knowledge, negotiate, and reach understanding. Through our analysis, we identify characteristics of conversation that designers used to build shared understanding. Our results also show how team mental models are built from patterns of conversation that are evident during open-ended and unstructured design discussions. This work sets a foundation for future research to gain a deeper understanding of how designer mental models are shared in unstructured conversations that take place during design practice.

scholarly journals Revisiting Problem-Solution Co-Evolution in the Context of Team Conceptual Design Activity

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (18) ◽  
pp. 6303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tomislav Martinec ◽  
Stanko Škec ◽  
Marija Majda Perišić ◽  
Mario Štorga
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Design ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Solution Space ◽  
Design Activity ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Conceptual Design Phase ◽  
Design Activities ◽  
Conventional Models ◽  
Concept Review

The conventional prescriptive and descriptive models of design typically decompose the overall design process into elementary processes, such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. This study revisits some of the assumptions established by these models and investigates whether they can also be applied for modelling of problem-solution co-evolution patterns that appear during team conceptual design activities. The first set of assumptions concerns the relationship between performing analysis, synthesis, and evaluation and exploring the problem and solution space. The second set concerns the dominant sequences of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation, whereas the third set concerns the nature of transitions between the problem and solution space. The assumptions were empirically tested as part of a protocol analysis study of team ideation and concept review activities. Besides revealing inconsistencies in how analysis, synthesis, and evaluation are defined and interpreted across the literature, the study demonstrates co-evolution patterns, which cannot be described by the conventional models. It highlights the important role of analysis-synthesis cycles during both divergent and convergent activities, which is co-evolution and refinement, respectively. The findings are summarised in the form of a model of the increase in the number of new problem and solution entities as the conceptual design phase progresses, with implications for both design research and design education.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document