Digital Library Keyword Archives
- Proceedings of DiGRA23
design
- 28 articles or papers
‘Can’t Stop The Signal?’ The Design of the Dutch Firefly LARP
Lamerichs Nicolle
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play
In this paper, I analyze the design of a Dutch live-action role-playing game (LARP), based on the television series Firefly. I discuss it as part of the recent participatory culture in which fans mediate existing fiction into other products such as games. Game studies have often bypassed types of gaming that are initiated by players themselves by taking professional and digital games as their starting points. By focussing on a local example of a fan game, I hope to provide new insights in game design and play. After disseminating between fan and game practices, and sketching some of the previous research thereof, I shall elaborate upon the design of the game in four ways by focussing on the designer, the context, the participants and its construction of meaningful play. I argue that the fan LARP displays a particular design perspective based on the co-creative ethos of role-playing and fandom itself. Whereas existing research isolates the actors that are relevant in game practices, designer, player and fan modes clearly interrelate here.
Narrative Friction in Alternate Reality Games: Design Insights from Conspiracy For Good
Stenros Jaakko Holopainen Jussi Waern Annika Montola Markus Ollila Elina
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play
Alternate Reality Games (ARG) tend to have story-driven game structures. Hence, it is useful to investigate how player activities interact with the often pre-scripted storyline in this genre. In this article, we report on a study of a particular ARG production, Conspiracy For Good (CFG), which was at the same time emphasising the role of strong storytelling, and active on-site participation by players. We uncover multiple levels of friction between the story content and the mode of play of live participants, but also between live and online participation. Based on the observations from the production, we present design recommendations for future productions with similar goals.
PlayFit: Designing playful activity interventions for teenagers
Sturm Janienke Tieben Rob Deen Menno Bekker Tilde Schouten Ben
2011 DiGRA '11 - Proceedings of the 2011 DiGRA International Conference: Think Design Play
Young people spend a large part of their day sedentary, both at school and at home. The aim of the PlayFit project is to persuade teenagers to lead a more active lifestyle by using digital as well as non-digital games and play. In this position paper, we describe in detail the three key principles of our vision concerning the design of game-based interventions for stimulating physical activity: playful persuasion, ambient action and play profiles. In our vision teenagers take part in playful activities and games throughout the day. In these activities, casual action is inherent to the fun experience, thus reducing teenagers’ sedentary behavior. Relevant information about their activities and preferences is stored in a personal play profile, which affects the games they play and through which they can communicate to their peers. We illustrate this vision by means of several innovative game concepts.
The Order of Play: Seeing, Teaching, and Learning Meaning in Video Games
Hung Aaron Chia-Yuan
2009 DiGRA '09 - Proceedings of the 2009 DiGRA International Conference: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory
This paper explores the locally-produced meaning-making practices of video game players, taking the position that the contingent properties of situated actions play a significant role in the construction of meaning. The participants of this study are Asian adolescents from China, currently studying in New York City, who play video games after school. There are four participants in the following example: Jason, Andrew, Kevin, and Li. As Li was a novice player to the game, her participation yielded interesting insights on the underlying assumptions that both expert and novice players possessed. In particular, it reveals that the expert players had their own definition of proper play that they needed the novice to understand, and the initial failure to communicate with the novice showed that the experts’ interpretation differed from that of the novice. The study is guided by ethnomethodology, an approach that has been applied to many studies involving human-machine interactions, and has been increasingly important in helping us understand how people make sense of environments that involve different interfaces and equipment.The findings show that, even when their interpretations of the action diverge from the game designers’ intentions, these interpretations continue to make sense within the context of their interaction. The findings also highlight the importance of describing these meaning-making practices as they emerge in situated time, as they demonstrate how players are able to comprehend one another in an inherently ambiguous environment. It demonstrates how players’ actions are shaped by their social relationships and are continually refined and clarified by the ongoing deliberation with other players. These findings can help future educational researchers better understand the process of learning in virtual environments, the role of social interaction during play, and can potentially improve our approach towards designing better games for education.
Research as Design-Design as Research
Stapleton Andrew J.
2005 DiGRA '05 - Proceedings of the 2005 DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play
This paper details a research methodology that emerged during an inquiry into game design aimed at promoting conceptual learning in physics. The methodology, Research as Design-Design as Research (RADDAR), is outlined and a case study example is provided as means to illustrate its application.
Motivational Factors in Game Play in Two User Groups
Kellar Melanie Watters Carolyn Duffy Jack
2005 DiGRA '05 - Proceedings of the 2005 DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play
Motivation is one of the driving forces behind the recent interest in games with educational goals. People willingly play complex games and we would like to channel that willingness to participate in complex challenges into the educational context. In this paper, we report on a survey administered to computer science and business students, two distinct groups of game players, in order to examine the role of motivation in electronic games. The results of the survey are presented, including a gaming profile of each group, as well as a series of design suggestions for educational games and activities that are based on these results.
Narrative Structure in Trans-Reality Role-Playing Games: Integrating Story Construction from Live Action, Table Top and Computer-Based Role-Playing Games
Lindley Craig Eladhari Mirjam
2005 DiGRA '05 - Proceedings of the 2005 DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play
Trans-reality role-playing games are conceived of as a form of role-playing game evolving from and integrating established table-top, live-action and computer-based role-playing forms. Each of these established forms has specific strengths and modalities for the ongoing articulation of the history of a game world regarded as an unfolding story. Integrating these forms in a trans-reality role-playing game involves the evolution of their techniques and technologies to allow each to function as a staging approach for game play within a single coherent game world. To achieve this integration, new technologically based design concepts are required to allow players within the different strategies to interact with each other as characters within the same game world.
Player-Character Dynamics in Multi-Player Role Playing Games
Tychsen Anders McIlwain Doris Brolund Thea Hitchens Michael
2007 DiGRA '07 - Proceedings of the 2007 DiGRA International Conference: Situated Play
This paper presents the results of a comprehensive empirical study of the impact of integrating complex game characters in multi-player Role Playing Games across tabletop and digital formats. Players were provided with characters that had detailed background history, personality and goals. Player and character personality were assessed using the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire (EPAQ) and further questionnaires administered to measure player enjoyment and the player-character relationship. Results include a high level of player enjoyment across all formats, a high correlation between enjoyment and player engagement with their character and no correlation between enjoyment and similarity between player and character personality.