Description
The workshop involves the experimentation of the Game Creator Set (GCS) system (base game and expansions) as a tool to prototype digital games. GCS has been tested in the Portuguese and Spanish game markets in 2024. GCS has been tested as a tool to support game design learning as a progressive and step-by-step tool. GCS box includes several game writable and modular components. The innovation of this system is that it proposes a process based on pre-constructed games the users play and can modify to understand the overall play effects. GCS has been tested successfully as a tool to support newcomers to analogue game design, tabletop, board, and card games. Children and adults use it successfully to create games that reflect their game culture. However, considering all the expansions being released this year, we want to playtest it with other game academics and experts to verify if it can support fast prototypes of digital and hybrid games. Some adaptations might be required, which means the COG is the perfect place to test it, collect feedback for future product development and establish methods of using analogue prototypes to develop ideas quickly for digital games.
Everyone is welcome to join, but this workshop may be especially valuable for game design researchers, educators, and industry professionals
Tentative Program
- Playing a combination of games associated with the GCS system mimics some standard digital game typologies. The purpose is to learn how the game components are combined to deliver different games using modern board game design elements.
- Develop a challenge of a game idea for a digital game using the GCS game components. Allow the participants to play with the game components and work in groups to try to concretize one game idea quickly.
- Debate with the participants (focus group) on the advantages, disadvantages, limitations, and potentials of such a tool in developing fast game ideas for future digital game development. The purpose is to share perceptions and experiences, engage among peers and get their valuable input and learning experiences.
- Show a summary of the findings during the workshop by using participatory session techniques and fast data analysis. The purpose is to collect information and deliver an organized summary of the experiment.
Organizers
- Micael Sousa, University of Coimbra / Polytechnic of Leiria / Lusófona Universit