game design for social networks
DESCRIPTION
Slides for my talk at SIGGRAPH 2009. The paper is published in the Sandbox Game Papers, and writings on the topic are available on my website.TRANSCRIPT
Aki Järvinen
Ph.D., Assistant Professor in Game Design [email protected]
Game Design for Social Networks
www.itu.dk
Aki has a ten‐year experience from both academic game studies + both experimental & commercial game design across various media
Ph.D. from 2008 on game studies, psychology, and design methods
Teaching game design classes at the IT University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and operaOng a game design consultancy
Lately focusing on social games
BACKGROUND
Game applicaOons played in Facebook, Myspace, Hi5, Bebo, etc.
How do these games fit into the ‘ecosystem’ of game design?
Do the virtues of game design as we know it sOll hold?
What kind of design pracOce is this?
Game design < InteracOon design < Service design
DESIGN RESEARCH INTO ‘SOCIAL GAMES’
Method: Reviewing findings about
general user mo,va,ons regarding online social networks
and
forms of play in Facebook
...and translaOng them into design drivers for social games
STUDYING PLAYFUL ONLINE INTERACTIONS
In addiOon, conducOng ‘research into designs’
= an analyOcal, systemaOc look into a sample of games as design objects that consist of parOcular design choices
A mix of the most popular games (Mafia Wars) and ones with the most interesOng design soluOons (Parking Wars)
CASE STUDIES FOR DESIGN
Spontaneity Symbolic Physicality Inherent Sociability Narra,vity Asynchronicity
TranslaOng the idenOfied qualiOes of playful interacOon into a model that can be used for game design purposes that look beyond game design, and to the interacOon & service design aspects of the game applicaOon
RESULTS: DESIGN DRIVERS
SOll, there needs to be a core gameplay mechanic embedded into the network
Another model to facilitate designing and specifying game mechanics for social play
Mechanics/network‐driven approach vs. theme‐driven approach
RESULTS: DESIGN METHODS & MODELS
ParOcular, idenOfied design soluOons from exisOng games that can help in invenOng new features or solving design problems =
DESIGN FRAMEWORK: TOWARDS PATTERNS
Taking the design models into pracOce through prototypes
EvaluaOng and validaOng
Expanding the design research into other social networks, such as Twiher: ‘Twiher Game Design’ blog arOcle
Book project
WORK IN PROGRESS
‘Game Design for Social Networks’ – 1 or 2 day workshop with design exercises, debuOng at the MindTrek conference, Finland
‘Games and Social Media’ – class at ITU, starOng spring 2010
WORKSHOP & TEACHING
Academic: [email protected]
Commercial: [email protected]
Website: hhp://www.mygamestudies.com
Twiher: @aquito
CONTACT