Visualising game design thinking: Insights from design probes and qualitative analysis
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School of Arts, Design and Architecture |
Master's thesis
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Date
2024
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Taiteen ja median maisteriohjelma
Language
en
Pages
83+20
Series
Abstract
For a novice designer, the game design process may seem complicated and difficult to understand. Visualisations and observations of the game design process may help alleviate this issue, but they are limited. Additionally, there have been few efforts to elaborate on the relationship between game design and design thinking. This thesis investigates game design with a focused inquiry: How can the game design process be visualised through the lens of design thinking? I present and discuss insights from design probe interviews with 20 participants from three distinct focus groups within games: students, educators/researchers, and industry professionals. Hands-on methods were incorporated into the design probe to initiate deeper cognitive processes and gain insights from participants' varied experiences. The investigation yielded two major groups of artefacts: first, presentations of the participants' understanding of ‘game idea’, ‘game concept’, and ‘game prototype’; second, participants' visualisations of their game design process through a variety of hands-on activities from the design probe. Following a thorough analysis, patterns, trends, and outliers are highlighted and discussed. The artefacts and corresponding discussions may help upcoming designers better approach game design and experience a smoother integration. Additionally, this research may help individuals from various sectors understand and reflect on the game design process.Description
Supervisor
Niinimäki, MattiThesis advisor
Lucero, AndrésBhatnagar, Prabhav
Keywords
game design, design thinking, design probe, tactile, focus group, visualisation