“It’s just part of being a person”— Sincerity, Support & Self Expression in Vignette Games


Henderson Thryn Iacovides Ioanna
2020 DiGRA ’20 – Proceedings of the 2020 DiGRA International Conference: Play Everywhere

Personal vignettes are encapsulated game works with minimal interactions, focused on aspects of lived experiences. Often created by under-represented games creators, they draw on techniques of poetry, art and theatre to tell diverse and complex stories in small spaces. This study explores the experiences of personal vignette creators and their creative processes. The study conducted a thematic analysis of 16 interviews with creators, focusing on how they engaged with their practice and their audiences. The findings suggest that facilitation, experimentation, disruption and expression are cornerstones of the vignette game ethos; a form of game creation under the creator's own terms, which utilises design through positive restriction, as a playful creativity and for self expression.

 

Making sense of game-play: How can we examine learning and involvement?


Iacovides Ioanna Aczel James Scanlon Eileen Woods Will
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

It has been argued that there is a need for more “rigorous research into what players do with games (particularly those that don’t claim explicit status as educational), and a better understanding of the thinking that is involved in playing them.” (Squire, 2008, p.167). This paper introduces a set of methods developed to explore these issues via a multiple case study approach, including; game-play observation, cued post-play interview, the collection of physiological data and the use of gaming diaries over a three week period. An examination of the strengths and limitations of the approach adopted is presented with reference to two particular methodological issues (i) how to identify breakdowns and breakthroughs that occur during game-play; (ii) how to identify learning occurring beyond game-play. The paper will conclude by emphasising the importance of taking both micro and macro level experiences into account when it comes to capturing learning and involvement within this context.