Design games in codesign: as a tool, a mindset and a structure

Abstract

The increasing interest in engaging users and other partners in collaborative design has led to an increase in the number of methods for organising collaboration. The aim of these methods is to support collaborative explorations of future opportunities in inspiring atmospheres. In this discourse, design games have become a popular concept that has been widely adopted to describe various design activities, which at first glance do not necessarily share many qualities. This paper aims to provide further understanding about the purposes that design games serve in codesign. The main contribution of the paper is the introduction of a play framework that highlights three perspectives on how design games appear to different people experiencing them: as a tool, as a mindset and as a structure. To clarify the components of design games, the paper reflects on the relations between design and games, the two parts of the concept 'design games', and two further qualities embedded in games: play and performance.

Everyoone has a part to play : games and participatory design in healthcare

“…Design games are by definition playful and involve elements that can be perceived as fun, e.g., make-do, achievements, joking etc. The relaxed atmosphere of games supports creativity and collaboration (Vaajakallio, 2012). …”

“…Whereas this description might apply to most design approaches, the tools used in design games are usually more elaborate and inspired by traditional board games (e.g., role-playing, taking turns, make-believe (Vaajakallio, 2012)), as they are typically developed for non-designers to participate in the design process. They are often scenario-based "to deliberately trigger participants' imagination as a source of design ideas" (Vaajakallio, 2012). The difference between leisure games and design games is that the latter aim at serious outcomes that may affect the user beyond the game.…”

“…A design game is a playful activity in which one or more persons are asked to achieve a specific design goal with a set of rules and materials. While this definition is quite general and may apply to any design approach, the tools used in design games are usually more elaborate and inspired by traditional board games (e.g., role-playing turn-taking, make-believe, see Vaajakallio (2012)). Design games come in many different forms, but especially table board games with tangible game pieces as boundary objects promise engagement of all individuals in a low threshold manner.…”

“…According to Vaajakallio (2012), miniature role-playing games focus on interaction and dialogue, less on evoking empathy. Users move play figures in order to play out situations instead of playing them out by themselves.…”

The "Creative Workspace”: A Comparative Analysis of Stakeholder Perceptions

“…Exploratory design games is a type of participatory design or co-design tool that helps to get answers to design questions using more than one method and thus increasing the accuracy of the answers through triangulation. In addition the outcome of such games is not supposed to be a final design, but rather "a co-constructed understanding about the context, people's experiences, potential designs and dreams" (Vaajakallio, Mattelmaki, 2014), which reduces the potential pressure for the participants to be wrong or silly and allows them to free their thoughts from the existing situation to the near as well as speculative future (Vaajakallio, Mattelmaki, 2014). Design games also allow for "direct involvement of people in the shaping of future artefacts" (Brandt, 2006).…”