COMPUTER GAMES FOR THE REAL WORLD Designing a Design Method for Site-Specific Computer Games ERIK KRISTIANSEN Ph.D. Thesis Performance Design Dept. of Communication, Business, and Information Technologies Roskilde University 2009 PREFACE This dissertation on the design of computer games for the real world is meant to show the path I followed during my design work, as well as presenting the field of study. This means that practical design work is interspersed with the necessary presentation of theory and discussions. This puts the material in a strict chronological order, which shows the sequence of the reflections I have made. However this also means that some subjects are spread over the text while others are kept together. The pictures of the games and other illustrations are all provided by myself, unless otherwise stated. The web addresses are checked as per November 2009. I would like to thank my colleagues at the visual communication and performance design research group (VISPER, Roskilde University) for many fruitful discussions over the past three years. Many thanks to the many students who have worked with me, participated in my workshops, and played my games. Special thanks goes to Lise Iwanouv and Anne Bùgh for their effort on the game Klintespillet. I would also like to thank professor Christoph Schlieder at the University of Bamberg, who kindly invited me to stay at the university during the spring of 2009. And to my German colleagues at the university who every week, in the most enjoyable manner, taught me the art of playing German board games. My two supervisors Niels Erik Wille and Jan Pries-Heje have supplied lots of enthusiasm, support, critique and ideas for my work, for which I thank. However, without the enduring support of my family, this thesis would never have seen the light. The front page shows the Guide Psychogeographique de Paris: Discours Sur Les Passions D©Amour by Guy Debord (1957), published by Permild & Rosengreen, Copenhagen. Roskilde University, November 2009 Erik Kristiansen page 2 of 265 Contents 0 ABSTRACT...........................................................................................................................6 1 INTRODUCTION..................................................................................................................7 1.1 Designing a Game for the Real World..........................................................................7 1.2 Site-specific Games and Performance Design.............................................................14 1.3 From ªGeoCachingº to ªMulighedernes Landº...........................................................16 1.4 Research Question......................................................................................................21 1.5 Conclusion..................................................................................................................22 2 RESEARCH METHOD........................................................................................................24 2.1 Game Design..............................................................................................................24 2.2 Pervasive Game Design Methods................................................................................26 2.3 Overview of Research Methods..................................................................................27 2.4 Design Science Research............................................................................................30 2.5 Developing the SSG-process and SSG-product...........................................................37 2.6 Research Plan.............................................................................................................39 2.7 Evaluation..................................................................................................................41 2.8 Conclusion..................................................................................................................43 3 ITERATION I......................................................................................................................44 3.1 Gainers N© Drainers....................................................................................................44 3.2 Klintespillet................................................................................................................50 3.3 Game Workshop.........................................................................................................54 3.4 Conclusion..................................................................................................................56 4 DEFINING SITE-SPECIFIC COMPUTER GAMES................................................................58 4.1 ªBringing computer entertainment back to the real worldº.......................................58 4.2 Pervasive Games.........................................................................................................64 4.3 Site-specific Computer Games ...................................................................................69 4.4 Play and Game...........................................................................................................71 What is Play?...............................................................................................................71 The Magic Circle..........................................................................................................76 Games as Open and Closed Systems............................................................................82 Pervasive Games and the Magic Circle.........................................................................83 4.5 Conclusion..................................................................................................................85 5 PLAYFUL PERFORMANCES...............................................................................................87 5.1 From Ritual to Performance.......................................................................................87 5.2 The Game Performance..............................................................................................90 5.3 Site-Specific Performances.........................................................................................93 5.4 Designing Site-specific Performances.......................................................................102 5.5 Conclusion................................................................................................................106 6 EMBODIED DESIGN........................................................................................................108 6.1 Embodiment and HCI...............................................................................................108 6.2 Human Geography...................................................................................................109 page 3 of 265 6.3 Place-Specific Computing.........................................................................................110 6.4 Site-specific game design.........................................................................................111 6.5 Pervasive game design methods...............................................................................114 6.6 Conclusion................................................................................................................119 7 DESIGNING THE DESIGN METHOD...............................................................................120 7.1 The Game Affordance of Site...................................................................................121 7.2 The Game Affordance of Locomotion.......................................................................122 7.3 Creativity Methods for Game Design........................................................................124 7.4 Psychogeographie, Heterotopias and Tactics............................................................128 7.5 A Manifesto for Site-specific Game Design...............................................................130 7.6 The Design Method..................................................................................................132 7.7 Evaluating the Conceptual Design............................................................................135 7.8 Conclusion................................................................................................................139 8 ITERATION II...................................................................................................................141 8.1 Evaluating ªKlintespilletº.........................................................................................141 8.2 Evaluating the Design Method.................................................................................142 8.3 Revising the Design Method.....................................................................................143 8.4 Design Sessions........................................................................................................145 Method.......................................................................................................................145 Games Designed.........................................................................................................148 8.5 Comparison Study....................................................................................................149 Observations from Play Tests.....................................................................................150