DiGRA '05 - Proceedings of the 2005 DiGRA International Conference: Changing Views: Worlds in Play
, 2005
Volume: 3
ISBN / ISNN: ISSN 2342-9666
This paper examines the issues of puzzle design in the context of collaborative gaming. The qualitative research approach involves both the conceptual analysis of key terminology and a case study of a collaborative game called eScape. The case study is a design experiment, involving both the process of designing a game environment and an empirical study, where data is collected using multiple methods. The findings and conclusions emerging from the analysis provide insight into the area of multiplayer puzzle design. The analysis and reflections answer questions on how to create meaningful puzzles requiring collaboration and how far game developers can go with collaboration design. The multiplayer puzzle design introduces a new challenge for game designers. Group dynamics, social roles and an increased level of interaction require changes in the traditional conceptual understanding of a single-player puzzle.
computer-supported collaborative play, group dynamics, multiplayer puzzles, problem solving, Team game