Features of using diversifiers of Hackathon-contests in canvas-oriented approach to game design

Abstract

The article suggests a canvas-oriented approach to the design of computer games in the creative process of problem-oriented execution of development stages: studying consumers as players (the outline of a business model, the outline of an empathy card); studying the aesthetics of the game based on player needs (the outline of psychotypes and aesthetics of players , the outline of player’s ability to manage information and actions); study of “Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics” model properties (the outline of gamification model, the outline of game mechanics and dynamics); research and design of the game world (outline of the narrative, outline of the game world, outline of game levels, outline of ethical dilemmas). But canvas are not considered in the standard pre-defined development process but are considered in a special event-competition for rapid design in so-called Hackathon-competition, for example, in the Global Game Jam competition (GGJ) with a 48-hour game development cycle. A short period of time to design a game requires the same operational verification of the canvas of ethical dilemmas to reduce the risk of incorrect content of the game among beginner development teams. The analysis of the ethical dilemmas of the game was based on logic of the semiotic chain (sign - context - meaning - addressee), where each game object is a sign that in the specific context of the game narrative and player experience expresses meaning (meaning different connotations in terms of additional emotional, estimated, stylistic value of an object or phenomenon). The authors described GGJ-features in the form of diversifiers – optional restrictions that can be used by participants in their work so that their implementation in various variations can often create an innovative game. At the same time, it is noted that in research on design of computer games diversifiers are not given due attention as indicators of consumer requirements. Therefore, the purpose of the article was the inclusion of diversifiers in a canvas-oriented game design approach, which will take into account the effect of the short duration of the competition for the stability of the game design process. The prototypes of diversifiers in Hackathon-conditions of computer games design are presented. The structure of the diversifiers presented at two Hackathon contests (GGJ 2018 and GGJ 2019) was analyzed: five groups of diversifiers (sponsor, accessibility, art, sound, and design, narrative) with 64 diversifiers which were suggested to be grouped according to the “Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics” model and copyrighted works on the design of the game. It is shown that the use of canvas structures the development process, reducing the time to generate design ideas in the process of inventing game mechanics and dynamics, when the canvas can become a roadmap for making creative decisions when designing a game. They can be a convenient basis for automating the process of designing a paper prototype of a game as a quest game process, provided that each outline represents a location with quest tasks, the variability of which depends on the capabilities of project team members. Diversifiers in the hackathon competition are important meta-components for the entire outline-oriented design of the game, optimizing the processes of creative and technical development not only from the point of view of competition, but also daily professional activity, creating a constant interaction of each stage of development with the requirements of the future game user.