Gameplay Design of Applied Games - Designing Games for Promoting Awareness about Visual Impairmen

Abstract

The initial goal for this master thesis was to answer the question: What should be considered when designing gameplay to promote awareness through an applied game? However, during the development of the thesis it was decided to narrow that research question down to: What should be considered when designing gameplay to promote awareness about visual impairment through an applied game? This made it possible to deliver a more relevant and higher confidence result. The goal of answering the question was achieved by investigating previous guidelines developed for applied and serious games and then analyzing the usability of those guidelines through the development process of an applied game. The development of the game was conducted together with Hedy Pettersson and Markus Grahn, who wrote the sister thesis on what should be considered when designing the audiovisual and narrative to promote awareness in an applied game [1]. The resulting game developed was Fabian and Fables, an awareness game that informed about and represented visual impairment. From the final analysis of the guidelines used during the development process and from the experience gained by creating an applied game a set of new guidelines is presented.