A Model of Game Design Activity New Perspectives on Creativity and Innovation

Laureline Chiapello Faculty of Environmental Design University of Montreal Queacutebec Canada laurelinechiapelloumontrealca Abstract Innovation and creativity seem to be mere buzzwords but the quest for innovation and creativity by game companies is very real This PhD dissertation suggests adopting a new p erspective on these concepts by abandoning a managerial attitude and favoring a design approach The design process of video games is under-studied and this research aims to create a model of video game design activity using the already existing

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CHI PLAY 14 Oct 19-22 2014 Toronto ON Canada ACM 978-1-4503-3014-51410

httpdxdoiorg10114526585372659011

literature in the field of design and the observation of actual game designers in Montreal

Author Keywords Game design design thinking innovation creativity

ACM Classification Keywords K80 [Personal Computing] General ndash Games

Research Situation The PhD in Environmental Design studies at the University of Montreal is a two-phased process During two to three years students take different courses and prepare their comprehensive exam after which they can start their data collection and dissertation I am currently at the end of my second year and I plan on taking my comprehensive exam soon

Environmental Design (as it is translated from Ameacutenagement in French) is a broad field I am working with Prof Rabah Bousbaci from the Design School and my specialty is video game design The University of Montreal also has a video game department that is part of Cinema studies but I chose the Design School in order to provide new and original insights about video game creation The faculty is currently building this

287

video game design department and I am one of the first two PhD students in the program This situation leads me to feel rather isolated and the doctoral consortium would be a valuable opportunity to interact with students and experts in the field of interaction design and to challenge my approach

Context and Motivation Creating new Intellectual Property (IP) in the video game industry appears challenging [1] For example in 2012 Funcom launched a new IP The Secret World Unfortunately the game did not take off This situation has been assessed mainly in terms of poor commercial and managerial decisions The point of view of creators was not considered as a determining factor [2]

Around the same time I was meeting game designers from the Montreal game area for my Masterrsquos research My interviews presented attention-grabbing results game designers from different companies responsible for the core features of games were encountering trouble understanding their role They often feel powerless when they need to justify their work This reinforces the literature acknowledging that management or marketing departments often challenge creative employeesrsquo decisions [3] This was particularly clear when my participants were working on projects with new elements such as a new audience or new Intellectual Property More specifically my results pointed out a lack of theory about game design activity What does a game designer do How do game designers think in action What is the ldquocreative processrdquo of game designers How and when does ldquocreativityrdquo happen This conjunction of events brings me to the hypothesis that tackling the problem of innovation from a design point of view might offer new

insights about video game projects Instead of blaming marketing or production choices I would like to start documenting how designers work I hope this will empower game designers and give us new insights about creativity and innovation in the video game industry

Background and related work Innovation and creativity issues in the video game industry have primarily been defined and assessed by economic and management studies [1 3-5] focusing mainly on product innovation (radically different video games) and ways to foster employee creativity While much debate exists around the definitions of innovation and creativity the fact I would like to underline is that authors insist on the importance of game design and the lack of knowledge concerning creative processes ldquoThe field still lacks an integrated view that more fully describes the creative process of a technological artifactrdquo [5]

Innovation has also been studied from the perspective of game studies especially by Annakaisa Kultima and her colleagues [6-8] These studies acknowledge the importance of innovation and creativity as core value in the video game industry even when their definitions are unclear Once again creativity is seen as the territory of game designers ldquoFurthermore games are said to be idea-based products where ideas can be seen as the outputs of creative acts and processes of game designersrdquo [8]

However game studies did not seem to have conducted any thorough study of game design activity While a large number of game design books exist nowadays literature reviews [9 10] show that these

288

works are mainly focused on the games themselves and Kuittinen and Holopainen conclude that ldquothe activity called design is left with too little attentionrdquo [10] Video game design is like a black box Kuittinen and Holopainen suggest borrowing concepts from design studies to bridge this gap but this remains to be done A similar bridging started in Human-Computer Interaction for example Erik Stolterman [11] insists that the very nature of design practice should have an influence on interaction design research

Statement of Thesis and Research Goal Video game research needs to encompass innovation and creativity challenges from the point of view of design This implies a better understanding of game design activity and creative processes and a clearer view of the manifestation of creativity in those processes This could be achieved by bridging the gap between video game studies and design studies and by diving into current practice

The main research goal is to theorize video game design activity with a focus on the creative dimension of the design process The theorization will take the form of a model of video game design activity Two main steps are guiding the elaboration of such a model

1 Diving into existing literature to elaborate a conceptual model This model not only has to give a rich vision of design activity but also must define and highlight the creativity behind game designersrsquo actions

2 Collaborating with actual game designers to enrich the model Observation and interviews will allow for confirming modifying and transforming current design theories These steps will be taken iteratively to produce a

descriptive model The goal is not to produce a recipe to enhance designersrsquo creativity but to accurately depict their actual practices and better understand the creative dimensions of what they do

Dissertation Status I am currently gathering the existing literature to elaborate a first draft of the conceptual model which I would like to discuss at the doctoral consortium

The study of designersrsquo creative process has been regrouped under the term ldquodesign thinkingrdquo and design thinking research already considers innovation However there are now two radically different understandings of design thinking one is drawing from design studies while the other from the managerial field The management discourse is very popular nowadays and tends to shatter the design discourse This is a problem as the management discourse tends to have ldquoa more superficial and popular character and is less academically anchored than the designerly onerdquo[12] However the design discourse is fragmented with several visions of design thinking making it difficult to grasp

Using my Masterrsquos research experience I chose to draw from one of the most important design approaches of design thinking Schoumlnrsquos model of reflexive practice [13] He constructed a theoretical model of design activity as a reflective conversation with a situation According to Dorst [14] studying the framing of design situations is a promising track to foster innovation However creativity issues are not directly dealt with in Schonrsquos model Thus I am revisiting the literature surrounding Schoumlnrsquos work especially the work of the pragmatist John Dewey According to the philosopher Hans Joas [15] pragmatism is a philosophy that allows

289

taking the creativity of human action into account and defining it in contrast with a rational vision of human action I am trying to bring these pragmatist influences in Schoumlnrsquos work to the foreground in order to enrich and further Schoumlnrsquos conceptual model I would therefore like to discuss this work at the CHI doctoral consortium since interaction design has a well-known interest in pragmatism experience (for the users but also for the designers) and creativity

Expected Contributions The model of video game design activity will show how and when creativity occurs in game designersrsquo design processes I hope this will help in understanding how video game projects can rely on designersrsquo creativity and in creating innovative products The model will be specially designed for video game design but it might also be useful for interaction designers or any form of design

The author would like to thank Rabah Bousbaci Amy Oliver and Nada Toueir for their comments and support

References [1] Hotho S and Champion K Small businesses in the new creative industries Innovation as a people management challenge Management Decision 49 1 (2011) 29-54 [2] Prell S Life after layoffs the former lead designer of Secret World looks back on the gamersquos struggles httpwwwpenny-arcadecom 2012 [3] Tschang F T Balancing the tensions between rationalization and creativity in the video games industry Organization Science 18 6 (2007) 989-1005

[4] Zackariasson P Walfisz M and W ilson T L Management of Creativity in Video Game Development Services Marketing Quarterly 27 4 (2006) 73-97 [5] Tschang F T When does an idea become an innovation The role of individual and group creativity in videogame design In Proc DRUID 2003 [6] Kultima A Koumloumlnikkauml J and K arvinen J The Four Different Innovation Philosophies Guiding the Game Development Processes In Proc Games a nd Innovation Research Seminar 2011 [7] Kultima A and A lha K ldquoHopefully everything Im doing has to do with innovationrdquo In Proc Games Innovations C onference IEEE 2010 [8] Kultima A The organic n ature of game ideation g ame ideas arise from solitude and mature by bouncing In Proc Future of Game Design and Technology IEEE 2010 [9] Djaouti D Alvarez J and J essel J-P Concevoir lrsquointeractiviteacute ludique une vue drsquoensemble des meacutethodologies de laquoGame Designraquo In Proc Ludovia 2010 [10] Kuittinen J and H olopainen J Some notes on the nature of game design In Proc DiGRA 2009 [11] Stolterman E The Nature of Design P ractice and Implications f or Interaction Design Research International Journal of Design 2 1 (2008) 55-65 [12] Johansson-Skoumlldberg U Woodilla J and Ccediletinkaya M Design Thinking Past Present and Possible Futures Creativity and Innovation Management 22 2 (2013) 121-146 [13] Schoumln D The Reflective Practitioner How Professionals Think in Action Basic Books New York 1983 [14] Dorst K The core of lsquodesign t hinkingrsquo and its application Design Studies 32 6 (2011) 521-532 [15] Joas H The creativity of action University of Chicago Press 1996

290

works are mainly focused on the games themselves and Kuittinen and Holopainen conclude that ldquothe activity called design is left with too little attentionrdquo [10] Video game design is like a black box Kuittinen and Holopainen suggest borrowing concepts from design studies to bridge this gap but this remains to be done A similar bridging started in Human-Computer Interaction for example Erik Stolterman [11] insists that the very nature of design practice should have an influence on interaction design research

Statement of Thesis and Research Goal Video game research needs to encompass innovation and creativity challenges from the point of view of design This implies a better understanding of game design activity and creative processes and a clearer view of the manifestation of creativity in those processes This could be achieved by bridging the gap between video game studies and design studies and by diving into current practice

The main research goal is to theorize video game design activity with a focus on the creative dimension of the design process The theorization will take the form of a model of video game design activity Two main steps are guiding the elaboration of such a model

1 Diving into existing literature to elaborate a conceptual model This model not only has to give a rich vision of design activity but also must define and highlight the creativity behind game designersrsquo actions

2 Collaborating with actual game designers to enrich the model Observation and interviews will allow for confirming modifying and transforming current design theories These steps will be taken iteratively to produce a

descriptive model The goal is not to produce a recipe to enhance designersrsquo creativity but to accurately depict their actual practices and better understand the creative dimensions of what they do

Dissertation Status I am currently gathering the existing literature to elaborate a first draft of the conceptual model which I would like to discuss at the doctoral consortium

The study of designersrsquo creative process has been regrouped under the term ldquodesign thinkingrdquo and design thinking research already considers innovation However there are now two radically different understandings of design thinking one is drawing from design studies while the other from the managerial field The management discourse is very popular nowadays and tends to shatter the design discourse This is a problem as the management discourse tends to have ldquoa more superficial and popular character and is less academically anchored than the designerly onerdquo[12] However the design discourse is fragmented with several visions of design thinking making it difficult to grasp

Using my Masterrsquos research experience I chose to draw from one of the most important design approaches of design thinking Schoumlnrsquos model of reflexive practice [13] He constructed a theoretical model of design activity as a reflective conversation with a situation According to Dorst [14] studying the framing of design situations is a promising track to foster innovation However creativity issues are not directly dealt with in Schonrsquos model Thus I am revisiting the literature surrounding Schoumlnrsquos work especially the work of the pragmatist John Dewey According to the philosopher Hans Joas [15] pragmatism is a philosophy that allows

289

taking the creativity of human action into account and defining it in contrast with a rational vision of human action I am trying to bring these pragmatist influences in Schoumlnrsquos work to the foreground in order to enrich and further Schoumlnrsquos conceptual model I would therefore like to discuss this work at the CHI doctoral consortium since interaction design has a well-known interest in pragmatism experience (for the users but also for the designers) and creativity

Expected Contributions The model of video game design activity will show how and when creativity occurs in game designersrsquo design processes I hope this will help in understanding how video game projects can rely on designersrsquo creativity and in creating innovative products The model will be specially designed for video game design but it might also be useful for interaction designers or any form of design

The author would like to thank Rabah Bousbaci Amy Oliver and Nada Toueir for their comments and support

References [1] Hotho S and Champion K Small businesses in the new creative industries Innovation as a people management challenge Management Decision 49 1 (2011) 29-54 [2] Prell S Life after layoffs the former lead designer of Secret World looks back on the gamersquos struggles httpwwwpenny-arcadecom 2012 [3] Tschang F T Balancing the tensions between rationalization and creativity in the video games industry Organization Science 18 6 (2007) 989-1005

[4] Zackariasson P Walfisz M and W ilson T L Management of Creativity in Video Game Development Services Marketing Quarterly 27 4 (2006) 73-97 [5] Tschang F T When does an idea become an innovation The role of individual and group creativity in videogame design In Proc DRUID 2003 [6] Kultima A Koumloumlnikkauml J and K arvinen J The Four Different Innovation Philosophies Guiding the Game Development Processes In Proc Games a nd Innovation Research Seminar 2011 [7] Kultima A and A lha K ldquoHopefully everything Im doing has to do with innovationrdquo In Proc Games Innovations C onference IEEE 2010 [8] Kultima A The organic n ature of game ideation g ame ideas arise from solitude and mature by bouncing In Proc Future of Game Design and Technology IEEE 2010 [9] Djaouti D Alvarez J and J essel J-P Concevoir lrsquointeractiviteacute ludique une vue drsquoensemble des meacutethodologies de laquoGame Designraquo In Proc Ludovia 2010 [10] Kuittinen J and H olopainen J Some notes on the nature of game design In Proc DiGRA 2009 [11] Stolterman E The Nature of Design P ractice and Implications f or Interaction Design Research International Journal of Design 2 1 (2008) 55-65 [12] Johansson-Skoumlldberg U Woodilla J and Ccediletinkaya M Design Thinking Past Present and Possible Futures Creativity and Innovation Management 22 2 (2013) 121-146 [13] Schoumln D The Reflective Practitioner How Professionals Think in Action Basic Books New York 1983 [14] Dorst K The core of lsquodesign t hinkingrsquo and its application Design Studies 32 6 (2011) 521-532 [15] Joas H The creativity of action University of Chicago Press 1996

290

taking the creativity of human action into account and defining it in contrast with a rational vision of human action I am trying to bring these pragmatist influences in Schoumlnrsquos work to the foreground in order to enrich and further Schoumlnrsquos conceptual model I would therefore like to discuss this work at the CHI doctoral consortium since interaction design has a well-known interest in pragmatism experience (for the users but also for the designers) and creativity

Expected Contributions The model of video game design activity will show how and when creativity occurs in game designersrsquo design processes I hope this will help in understanding how video game projects can rely on designersrsquo creativity and in creating innovative products The model will be specially designed for video game design but it might also be useful for interaction designers or any form of design

The author would like to thank Rabah Bousbaci Amy Oliver and Nada Toueir for their comments and support

References [1] Hotho S and Champion K Small businesses in the new creative industries Innovation as a people management challenge Management Decision 49 1 (2011) 29-54 [2] Prell S Life after layoffs the former lead designer of Secret World looks back on the gamersquos struggles httpwwwpenny-arcadecom 2012 [3] Tschang F T Balancing the tensions between rationalization and creativity in the video games industry Organization Science 18 6 (2007) 989-1005

[4] Zackariasson P Walfisz M and W ilson T L Management of Creativity in Video Game Development Services Marketing Quarterly 27 4 (2006) 73-97 [5] Tschang F T When does an idea become an innovation The role of individual and group creativity in videogame design In Proc DRUID 2003 [6] Kultima A Koumloumlnikkauml J and K arvinen J The Four Different Innovation Philosophies Guiding the Game Development Processes In Proc Games a nd Innovation Research Seminar 2011 [7] Kultima A and A lha K ldquoHopefully everything Im doing has to do with innovationrdquo In Proc Games Innovations C onference IEEE 2010 [8] Kultima A The organic n ature of game ideation g ame ideas arise from solitude and mature by bouncing In Proc Future of Game Design and Technology IEEE 2010 [9] Djaouti D Alvarez J and J essel J-P Concevoir lrsquointeractiviteacute ludique une vue drsquoensemble des meacutethodologies de laquoGame Designraquo In Proc Ludovia 2010 [10] Kuittinen J and H olopainen J Some notes on the nature of game design In Proc DiGRA 2009 [11] Stolterman E The Nature of Design P ractice and Implications f or Interaction Design Research International Journal of Design 2 1 (2008) 55-65 [12] Johansson-Skoumlldberg U Woodilla J and Ccediletinkaya M Design Thinking Past Present and Possible Futures Creativity and Innovation Management 22 2 (2013) 121-146 [13] Schoumln D The Reflective Practitioner How Professionals Think in Action Basic Books New York 1983 [14] Dorst K The core of lsquodesign t hinkingrsquo and its application Design Studies 32 6 (2011) 521-532 [15] Joas H The creativity of action University of Chicago Press 1996

290