Navigating Complexity: Investigating How Students Move Through the Game Design Process

Game design has become a common feature at many higher education institutions since the first programmes emerged in the early 90s and a growing body of research around games education has emerged in recent years. This paper is part of an ongoing research project investigating how game design takes place and how designers navigate the complexities of the discipline. Student development logs (DevLogs) were produced throughout a six-week game design project and were analysed using a grounded theory approach. The study took a naturalistic approach and attempted to capture the process by which students moved from project brief to final deliverable. Through this analysis, four specific design approaches applied by students were identified: Open-Ended Design, Player Experience Design, World Design and Technical Design. In addition to this, we observed an overarching process of design moving from initiation to outcome and specifically we discuss the complexity of design approaches and their interrelated nature. Finally, we ask game design educators to consider if this complexity is necessary and if so how can we design learning to better support their academic development.