Systems & Design Thinking – From Practice to Theory in Game Design

Systems & Design Thinking – From Practice to Theory in Game Design

Systems & Design Thinking – From Practice to Theory in Game Design

Jonne Harja

Abstract

“Game design is relatively young and immature as a practice and a field of study. This is clearly evident as a constant turmoil in professional vocabulary, models and education, but also as a frustration in general within the trade and also in the academic research. Especially the common notations and professional (digital) design tools are painfully lacking. In this concept-centric approach literature review central literature was collected on the topics of game design, systems thinking and design thinking to establish the status of professional discourse and research of the field. In addition, there was efforts to review if there is discussion about more general theory behind game design, and on which topics game studies are focusing at the moment on aforementioned section. Research found out that there isn’t established game design models or tools, and of those that have been discussed more broadly are still lacking evidence to support their effectiveness and proper evaluation. However, there is demand for such development while there is some foundational progress on the professional vocabulary and more universal tools for game designers”.

Reference

Harja, J. (2020). Systems & design thinking: from practice to theory in game design. https://jyx.jyu.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/73534/1/URN%3ANBN%3Afi%3Ajyu-202101051015.pdf

Keywords

Game Design, Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, Problem Solving