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M. Pichlmair:
"Design Instruments for Games · Shaping the elusive Character of Emotions";
Talk: 1st International Conference on Games and Emotion, Copenhagen, Denmark; 2006-11-06.

Game design is a design discipline. Historically design theory described design as a rational process of solving a problem. Yet for developing emotionally stimulating experiences, design must not be grounded in rationality. The descartian heritage in design methodology has to be overcome (see Pichlmair 2004). Instead of regarding design as a problem solving process, recent research into design suggests a design instrument based approach (Gedenryd 1998, Lawson 1980 & 2004, Schön 1983) that leads to an interactive design process. Such instruments include, among others: Roughs, Sketches, Placeholders, and Prototypes. This paper discusses design instruments regarding their role in respect to shaping the emotional experience of a game. In order to develop new design instruments for computer games, those theories of emotions that focus on interactive properties have to be revisited (see Cacioppo & Gardner 1999, Gray 2004). Aligning research about how emotions are elicited with a design instrument based process of creation can yield insights into how emotional stimuli and specific gaming situations relate. Through that the potential of computer games might be expanded and theories on specific emotions in gameplay can be constructed; Theories witnessing the interactive aspects of design, emotions, and games.

Cacioppo, J. T. & Gardner W. L. (1999): Emotion. In: Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 50, Issue 191, p. 214ff.

Gedenryd, H. (1998): How designers work. Ph.D. dissertation, Cognitive Studies Department, Lund University, Sweden.

Gray, A. J. (2004): Integration of Emotion and Cognitive Control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, Vol. 13, April 2004, p. 46-48.

Lawson, B. (1980): How Designers Think. Third and revised Edition, Architectural Press: Oxford, 1997.

Lawson, B. (2004): What Designers Know. Elsevier: Heidelberg.

Pichlmair, M. (2004): Designing for Emotions - arguments for an emphasis on affect in design. Dissertation, Faculty of Informatics, Vienna University of Technology.

Schön, D. (1983): The Reflective Practitioner. The MIT Press: Cambridge, MA.

Game Design ist eine Designdisziplin. Historisch betrachtet war Design-Theorie immer von der Bestrebung einer Rationalisierung eines Designproblems geprägt. Für die entwicklung von emotional stimulierenden Erfahrungen muss Design jedoch anderen Gesichtspunkten folgen und somit auch die betreffende Designtheorie. Dieser Beitrag diskutiert neue Entwicklungen auf dem Gebiet des Interative Design Process und setzt diese mit Game Design in verbindung um die interaktiven Aspekte der Gestaltung von digitalen Spielen zu beleuchten.

Game Design, Design Theory, Design Instruments, Interactive Design Process