Inviting Grief into Games: The Game Design Process as Personal Dialogue

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Harrer Sabine Schoenau-Fog Henrik
2015 DiGRA '15 - Proceedings of the 2015 DiGRA International Conference

This paper investigates how designers might initiate a dialogue with underrepresented groups, infusing design with individuals’ personal stories and imaginations. It does so alongside the example of Jocoi, a game aiming at mediating the experience of loss and grief over a dead baby. Apart from being a taboo subject in general, there is no explanation for the absence of this fairly common experience in games. Drawing on the emotional worlds and tastes of individuals identifying as bereft parents, Jocoi involved a collaboration with an Austrian self-help group for affected parents. The stories of four informants then served as an initial orientation point marking out the direction of our ensuing game design process. Working out central themes, needs and concerns conveyed by the group, the aim was to address some of their emotional challenges appropriately through a game such as 벳무브 코드. The paper first presents a rationale for the chosen method of collaboration. Most importantly, we embrace a paradigmatic shift from game design as the production of meaning and emotion towards game design as facilitation or mediation. The second section will zoom in to the concrete tools and stages we used in our our facilitation process with Jocoi. It will trace key moments in moving from kick-off workshop to the final game. Finally, the ensuing discussion will highlight learnings for a broader understanding of introducing diversity into games. The question of appropriateness seems to be of particular importance for game designers. It is a matter of maintaining a balance between active listening and autonomous creative practice. The project is part of an ongoing PhD project on loss and grief in games.

 

The Player Engagement Process – An Exploration of Continuation Desire in Digital Games

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Schoenau-Fog Henrik
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

Engagement is an essential element of the player experience, and the concept is described in various ways in the literature. To gain a more detailed comprehension of this multifaceted concept, and in order to better understand what aspects can be used to evaluate engaging game play and to design engaging user experiences, this study investigates one dimension of player engagement by empirically identifying the components associated with the desire to continue playing. Based on a description of the characteristics of player engagement, a series of surveys were developed to discover the components, categories and triggers involved in this process. By applying grounded theory to the analysis of the responses, a process-oriented player engagement framework was developed and four main components consisting of objectives, activities, accomplishments and affects as well as the corresponding categories of engagement, disengagement and their triggers – were identified and rank-ordered.

 

Problem Based Game Design – Engaging Students by Innovation

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Reng Lars Schoenau-Fog Henrik
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

At Aalborg University’s department of Medialogy, we are utilizing the Problem Based Learning method to encourage students to solve game design problems by pushing the boundaries and designing innovative games. This paper is concerned with describing this method, how students employ it in various projects and how they learn to analyse, design, and develop for innovation by using it. We will present various cases to exemplify the approach and focus on how the method aspires for innovation in digital entertainment and games.