Defining a conceptual framework for a toolkit to game design: the Gamers4Nature project

Abstract

Seeking to capitalize the interest of younger audiences in game creation activities, the Gamers4Nature project aims to develop a toolkit designed to support game design by allowing the manipulation of the several elements that compose a game. Prior to the toolkit’s development, there was the need to establish the respective conceptual framework. This paper describes the process of defining the project’s conceptual framework. Based on Fullerton’s perspective on game design, the framework was defined following a participatory design approach with the participation of different stakeholders (postgraduate students with extensive knowledge about game design and experts in the game design field). To ease the discussion sessions, a physical artifact (19 hexagonal pieces, and a honeycomb structured board) was developed. Results suggest that a non-linear approach to game design may promote not only the definition of the game’s structure and gameplay but also allow a contextualised analysis of all its elements.