Game Design is an Ecosystem-Nurtured Practice
Category: Innovation & Design · Effect: Strong effect · Year: 2018
The success and nature of game design are significantly influenced by the surrounding industry, community, and technological environment.
Design Takeaway
Designers need to recognize that their practice is not isolated but deeply intertwined with its environment, requiring continuous adaptation and engagement with external factors.
Why It Matters
Understanding the broader ecosystem in which a design practice operates is crucial for innovation. Designers must consider external factors like industry trends, available technologies, and community feedback to create relevant and successful products.
Key Finding
Game design is a dynamic process influenced by its specific time, diverse values, opportunistic approaches, abundant ideas, and the supportive environment it exists within.
Key Findings
- Game design is timely and particular.
- Game design is value pluralistic.
- Game design process is opportunistic.
- Game design process is a plethora of ideas.
- Game design practice is natured and nurtured by the surrounding ecosystem.
Research Evidence
Aim: To understand the factors that shape game design practices and the creation of games.
Method: Ethnographically informed exploratory study using multiple methods.
Procedure: Conducted ten years of research (2006-2016) involving nineteen sub-studies of game developers, including fieldwork at industry events and digital ethnography on social media platforms.
Context: Game development industry.
Design Principle
Design is an emergent property of an interconnected ecosystem.
How to Apply
When undertaking a design project, map out the key elements of its surrounding ecosystem (e.g., market trends, competitor activities, user communities, technological advancements) and consider how these influence your design decisions and process.
Limitations
The study focuses specifically on game development, and findings may not directly translate to all design fields.
Student Guide (IB Design Technology)
Simple Explanation: Game designers don't work in a vacuum; the industry, technology, and community around them heavily influence how they design and what they create.
Why This Matters: It highlights that successful design solutions often depend on understanding and responding to the wider world in which the product will exist.
Critical Thinking: How can designers proactively shape their ecosystem rather than just being shaped by it?
IA-Ready Paragraph: This research indicates that design practice is deeply embedded within its surrounding ecosystem, with external factors like industry trends, technological advancements, and community engagement significantly shaping the design process and outcomes. Therefore, a comprehensive design project must include an analysis of this broader context to inform design decisions effectively.
Project Tips
- When researching a design problem, look beyond the immediate user to understand the broader context.
- Consider how external factors like trends or available technology might shape your design choices.
How to Use in IA
- Use this research to justify the importance of contextual analysis in your design project's research phase.
Examiner Tips
- Demonstrate an awareness of the external factors that influence design decisions.
Independent Variable: Surrounding ecosystem (industry, community, technology)
Dependent Variable: Game design practices and outcomes
Strengths
- Longitudinal study over ten years provides a deep understanding of evolving practices.
- Multidisciplinary approach enriches the analysis.
Critical Questions
- To what extent can a designer influence their surrounding ecosystem?
- How do different ecosystems foster different types of innovation?
Extended Essay Application
- Investigate the influence of a specific technological shift (e.g., AI, VR) on the design practices within a particular industry over time.
Source
Game Design Praxiology · Tampere University Institutional Repository (Tampere University) · 2018