Poster Information
| Title | Using Multiple Design Approaches towards Meaningful Games |
| Presenter(s) | Michael Lee, Felix Park and Daniel Lin |
| Session | Conference Reception, Game Exhibition, and Poster Session |
| Time | Thursday, October 18, 7:00p-10:00p |
| Location | East Lansing Technology Innovation Center |
| Format | Poster Presentation |
| Description | How can one design for a meaningful game, a game that provokes introspection, reflection and poignancy through its use of gameplay mechanics. Over 15 weeks, we explored different approaches for developing meaningful games through rapid prototyping. We wanted to see how starting with different approaches would alter the development of meaningful game mechanics. These approaches included developing collaboratively versus developing individually, developing a meaningful system of play versus developing a meaningful moment, and developing games around different messages and themes.
There is no "right" way to develop for a meaningful game, but we hope these differing methods can provide some insight to developers who also want to create a meaningful experience for players. Developing games with a single creator or designer for instance tended to result in more personal games (like the experience of leaving someone) while developing in a group resulted in games with broader messages and ideas (relationships are hard to maintain over time). Developing a game around a system usually created an environment where the player must first learn how the game works in order to arrive at the meaning while developing the game around a moment lets the player arrive at the meaning in a more prescribed narrative environment. Developing games with different messages and themes also resulted in different kinds of gameplay mechanics. Creating a game around the need to work cooperatively lends itself to a multiplayer experience while trying to convey an introspective message can result in a level-based puzzle game. In this poster through specific examples we hope to detail each approach and its variations and provide insight to developers on how each approach affected the development of meaning and mechanics. |