Towards a Model of the Design Process for Games


Healy John P. Cullen Charlie
2022 DiGRA ’22 – Proceedings of the 2022 DiGRA International Conference: Bringing Worlds Together

In this paper, we present an approach to studying the game design process by drawing upon general models of design to support research into the process of game design. Several general models of design exist to consider the processes through which designers work. Many of these fit within a structure of analysis, synthesis and evaluation that was first proposed by Christopher Jones in 1963 and later adapted by Bryan Lawson to account for the messy nature of design and the undertaking of these activities while negotiating between problem and solution. This paper proposes the adaptation of Lawson’s model of design to study the activities of game designers and to potentially find opportunities to improve and refine the process of game design. Specifically, the paper seeks to propose a model for facilitating the study of the game design process as it relates to the individual actions designers take when developing games.

 

Using the VNA Ideation Game at Global Game Jam


Kultima Annakaisa Alha Kati
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play

In this article we present the findings of a game idea experiment run at the Global Game Jam (GGJ) 2010 and 2011 events in Tampere, Finland. We were examining how well the game-based ideation method Verbs, Nouns, and Adjectives (VNA) and similar approaches fit the constrained game design processes. GGJ 2010 and 2011 both had a theme for which ideas were produced. Our previous studies indicate that the VNA ideation method is well-suited to blue-sky ideation, but it is harder to use the ideas in ongoing design processes. In this study we compared four different approaches and the ideas resulted by using these methods. This study shows that the theme-tuned VNA variant performed best both in theme-related and interesting ideas, indicating that the method for coming up with new ideas matters.

 

Around Sigeru Miyamoto: Enactment of “Creator” on Computer Games


Inoue Akito Ushijima Seido
2007 DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play

This report argues the duality of creators in designing games through works of Sigeru Miyamoto. Computer game is created not just by developers, but also players. This duality forces game developers to be conscious of a balance between developers and players, and how players commit in the game. Our analysis repeal that his designing way such as level design and self-motivation, obviousness of Rules, operations on handling strongly focused on designing the duality and his such intention also fall into his specific bound trapping players to his miniature world.