Abstract
This empirical study aims at understanding student game designers’ perception of cross-cultural design concepts in games and gamified applications. The main objectives of this study are (1) to study common patterns in student project work that explain how students conceptualize cross-cultural game design approaches for effective player engagement (2) to develop pedagogical approaches to discuss culturalization topics in classrooms. Gamification, the introduction of game play elements such as digital animations and rewarding gameplay mechanics into non-game applications, is a technique commonly used to enhance end user engagement, enjoyment, and learning experiences with interactive digital applications. However, these approaches often fail to acknowledge the impact of cultural variation among end users. This necessitates an understanding of the influence of cultural variation on user response to gamification for diverse end-users. The data for this study was collected from 25 students enrolled in the course titled player-centered approaches to designing games. Students had a background in game development and user experience research and were asked to explore culturalization aspects in an existing game and to develop cross-cultural design strategies to re-design the experience for a culturally specific video game audience. A textual analysis of the students’ work and their reflections provide a better understanding of how students perceive cross-cultural game design concepts in existing games and gamified applications. The results provide pedagogical guidelines for discussing culturalization topics in game design education.
Presenters
Nandhini GiriAssistant Professor, Computer Graphics Technology, Purdue University, Indiana, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2024 Special Focus—Cultures of Transformative Design
KEYWORDS
Games and Gamified Applications, Cross-cultural Design, Culturalization, Game Design Education
