ANALOGUE GAMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PLAYING WITH PURPOSE

Professor Sam Illingworth

s.illingworth@napier.ac.uk

www.samillingworth.com

🦋 @samillingworth.com

Why analogue games?

The strength of analogue games lies in the creation of a ‘safe space’ in which to engage in discussions of complex, and at times contentious, topics and in enabling people to take control of their own learning.

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Lean J., Illingworth S. and Wake P. (2018) “Unhappy families: using tabletop games as a technology to understand play in education”, Research in Learning Technology, 26. https://doi.org/10.25304/rlt.v26.2027

Games you play

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Game development

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Design development

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Carbon City Zero

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Carbon City Zero: World Edition

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Design your own game

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1. Identify your topic

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1. Identify your topic

• What do you want to communicate?
• How do you want this communication to take place (dissemination or dialogue)?

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2. Identify your audience

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2. Identify your audience

• Who do you want to engage with?
• What constraints does this put on you (time, space, gaming literacy)?

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3. Adapt an existing game

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3. Adapt an existing game

• Are there any COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) games that already deal with a similar scientific topic?
• Are there any other COTS games that you would like to adapt?

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4. Use mechanics (not text) to convey messages

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4. Use mechanics (not text) to convey messages

• Which mechanic is best suited to the topic you wish to communicate?
• Is this mechanic suitable for your intended audience?

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5. Use artwork and graphic design to reinforce your message and improve gameplay

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5. Use artwork and graphic design to reinforce your message and improve gameplay

• What style of artwork do you like?
• How can you match this to your proposed topic?

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6. Make your game accessible

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An image showing how a selection of cards from the game Carbon City Zero: World Edition look to someone with no colour blindness (A), anomalous trichromacy with red-weak protanomaly (B), anomalous trichromacy with green-weak deuteranomaly (C), and anomalous trichromacy with blue-weak deuteranomaly (D). This image was prepared using the free “Color Blindness Simulator” from the website www.color-blindness.com.

6. Make your game accessible

• What are the specific needs and experiences of your intended audience?
• How can you make your game easier to play for everyone?

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7. Make your game fun

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7. Make your game fun

• How can your game present a challenge that is suitable for your intended audience?
• How might your game treat the relationship between skill and luck?

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8. Playtest all aspects of your game

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8. Playtest all aspects of your game

• Who will you playtest your game with?
• What do you want to ask and how will you capture this?

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9. Supplement your game

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9. Supplement your game

• What other information do you want to provide?
• How are you constrained by both your target audience and the spaces in which they are likely to encounter the game?

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10. Collaborate and share

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10. Collaborate and share

• How will your game be distributed?
• How might others be encouraged to discover and adapt your game?

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Further reading

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ANALOGUE GAMES IN HIGHER EDUCATION: PLAYING WITH PURPOSE

Professor Sam Illingworth

s.illingworth@napier.ac.uk

www.samillingworth.com

🦋 @samillingworth.com