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Needs and Pleasures Design is a way to ask questions. Design research, when it occurs through the practice of design itself, is a way to ask larger questions beyond the limited scope of a particular design problem. When design... See more » Needs and Pleasures Design is a way to ask questions. Design research, when it occurs through the practice of design itself, is a way to ask larger questions beyond the limited scope of a particular design problem. When design research is integrated into the design process, new and unexpected questions emerge directly from the act of design. This chapter outlines one such research design methodology -- the iterative design process -- using three recent game projects with which I have been involved (SiSSYFiGHT 2000, LOOP, and LEGO Junkbot). The creation of games is particularly well-suited to provide a model of research through design. In this book’s introduction, Brenda Laurel makes a distinction between the notion of designing “for needs” and designing “for delight.” {see Laurel, Introduction}While all forms of design partake of both of these categories in some measure, game design is particularly skewed toward the creation of delightful experience, rather then the fulfillment of utilitarian needs. Although it is true that we can create and play games for a particular function (for exercise, to meet people, to learn about a topic), by and large, games are played for the intrinsic pleasures they provide. As a form of designed “delight,” the process of interacting with a game is not a means to an outside end, but an end in and of itself. It is this curious quality of games that makes them wonderful case studies for design research through the process of design. As a game evolves (through the iterative process outlined below), it defines and redefines its own form and the experiences it can provide for players. Through the iterative play of design itself, entirely new questions can come into being. Iteration Iteration Iterative design is a design methodology based on a cyclic process of prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining a work in progress. In iterative design, interaction with the designed system is used as a form of research for informing and evolving a project, as successive versions, or iterations of a design are implemented. Test; analyze; refine. And repeat. Because the experience of a viewer/user/player/etc cannot ever be completely predicted, in an iterative process design decisions are based on the experience of the prototype in progress. The prototype is tested, revisions are made, and the project is tested once more. In this way, the project develops through an ongoing dialogue between the designers, the design, and the testing audience. In the case of games, iterative design means playtesting. Throughout the entire process of design and development, your game is played. You play it. The rest of the development team plays it. Other people in the office play it. People visiting your office play it. You organize groups of testers that match your target audience. You have as many people as possible play the game. In each case, you observe them, ask them questions, then adjust your design and playtest again. This iterative process of design is radically different than typical retail game development. More often than not, at the start of the design process for a computer or console title, a game designer will think up a finished concept and then write an exhaustive design document that outlines every possible aspect of the game in minute detail. Invariably, the final game never resembles the carefully conceived original. A more iterative design process, on the other hand, will not only streamline development resources, but will also result in a more robust and successful final product. Case Study 1: SiSSYFiGHT 2000 Summary: SiSSYFiGHT 2000 is a multiplayer online game in which players create a schoolgirl avatar and then vie with 3-6 players for dominance of the playground. Each turn a player selects one of six actions to take, ranging from teasing and tattling to cowering and licking a lolly. The outcome of an action is dependent on other players’ decisions, making for highly social gameplay. SiSSYFiGHT 2000 is also a robust online community. You can play the game at www.sissyfight.com. In the summer of See less »

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ericzimmerman iterative videogame design

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From the list : CMS 998 by alist

Eric Zimmerman's theory of "iterative" game design.

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Iterative Design

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