The document discusses the distinctions between actionable and emancipatory research in game design, emphasizing the practical needs of designers in commercial contexts versus theoretical knowledge. It highlights the importance of aligning academic research with the realities of game development, advocating for research that informs design practices and is relevant to stakeholders. The speaker, Aki Järvinen, calls for a re-evaluation of how research can effectively contribute to game design and management, implying that research should aim for actionable results to be considered valuable in the industry.

1. Ac#onable
vs.
Emancipatory
Game
(Design)
Research
Capturing
Game
Design:
Who
Should
Care?
Aki
Järvinen
Lead
Social
Designer,
Ph.D.
May
31,
2010

2. Aki
Järvinen,
Social
Game
Developer,
Ph.D
Aki Järvinen has a unique mix of experience from:
Mobile game design
Online & Social game design
Online gambling design
Board game design
User experience design
Business development
Academic research & development
Since 2009, focusing on Social Games:
• first doing contract work for startups both in
the US & Scandinavia
• from January 2010, as the Lead Social
Designer at Digital Chocolate Helsinki Studio

3. DChoc:
From
Mobile
to
Social
Games

5. The
Problem
and
puPng
it
into
context

6. Goals
of
the
talk
• The
talk
discusses
the
different
interests
for
knowledge
between
those
researching
game
design,
those
prac#cing
it,
and
those
doing
both.
• What
are
the
key
pragma#c
aspects
of
game
design
in
a
commercial
context
that
o/en
make
it
theory-­‐aversive?
• Can
game
design
ac#vity
be
captured
for
research
purposes,
and
more
importantly
what
domains
of
knowledge
would
that
serve?
• What
is
the
role
of
design
management
in
this?
• The
talks
aims
at
giving
researchers
sensi#vity
towards
the
challenges
game
designers
face
daily,
and
places
game
design
prac#ces
into
the
contexts
of
design
management.

7. Problem
formula#on
• How
can
game
studies/research
produce
results
that
are
ac9onable
for
game
design,
and
who
are
the
stakeholders
in
this?
• Caveat:
Not
all
game-­‐related
research
needs
to
contribute
to
prac#cal
game
design
–
but
be
honest
about
it!
• Yet:
Ac#onable
results
best
emerge
from
the
prac#cal
experience
of
design
within
marketplace
and
management
constraints;
when
academic
problem
formula#on
combines
with
the
tacit
knowledge
of
game
design
prac#ces

8. Contextualiza#on
of
the
problem
• Jürgen
Habermas:
Knowledge
Cons#tu#ve
Interests
• ’Habermas'
basic
claim
is
that
different
forms
of
knowledge
with
different
object
domains
and
standards
of
validity
are
cons#tuted
by
different
interests
that
are
founded
in
dis#nct
forms
of
human
ac9vity.’

9. Design
&
Research
Clarifica#on:
I
do
not
believe
that
only
u#litarian
research
is
useful;
I
do
believe
in
the
tradi#onal
role
of
academia

10. Design
• ‘Every
problem
posed
to
a
designer
demands
that
the
constraints
of
technology,
ergonomics,
produc#on,
and
the
marketplace
be
factored
in
and
a
balance
be
achieved.’
• ‘Design
[...]
is
a
process
of
crea#on
and
decision
making.’
• Design
and
corporate
strategy:
Design
is
a
tool
for
making
strategy
visible
(Borja
de
Mozota:
Design
Management,
2004)

11. Design
management
• ‘Design
management
is
the
planned
implementa#on
of
design
in
a
company
to
help
the
company
achieve
its
objec#ves.’
(ibid.)
• Academically
studied
by,
e.g.,
Brigije
Borja
de
Mozota
in
Paris
• Why
is
this
important?
– because
the
game
designer
reports
to
whomever
is
responsible
for
design/studio
management
– thus
the
knowledge
gained
from,
e.g.
research,
is
subject
to
evalua#on
in
an
organiza#onal
structure

12. Design
as
Process:
The
4
Cs
• Crea.vity
• Complexity
• Compromise
• Choice
• =
Design
is
both
a
crea#ve
and
a
management
process
• Which
of
these
does
your
research
address?

13. Design
Research
• Three
possible
dimensions:
– Research
for
design
– Research
into
design
– Research
as
design
(Lunenfeld
in
Laurel
[ed.]
Design
Research,
2004)
• Q:
In
your
work,
do
you
explicitly
iden#fy
your
work
belonging
into
one
or
more
of
these
dimensions?

14. Who
are
the
actors
in
GDR?
• ‘designer
is
an
entrepreneur,
an
authority
in
aesthe#cs,
and
an
ini#ator
of
change
in
the
society’
• players
–
the
ones
who
want
to
have
fun
• researchers
–
those
who
try
to
observe
and
understand,
from
various
perspec#ves?

15. Game
Design
Researcher’s
posi#on?

16. How
to
be
cuPng
edge?
• E.g.
with
the
metrics-­‐driven
development
in
the
social
games
industry,
it
is
very
difficult
to
do
academic
research
(outside
technology)
that
is
cuPng
edge
• -­‐
from
afar!
• Poten#al
of
methods
such
as
Ac#on
research
and
Ethnography

17. Gallup
part
1
• Q:
How
many
of
you
do
research
with
the
inten#on/belief
that
it
can
contribute
to/
inform
game
design
in
prac#ce?

18. Gallup
part
2
• Q:
How
many
of
you
do
research
with
the
inten#on/belief
that
it
can
contribute
to/
inform
commercial
game
design
in
prac#ce?

19. Ac#onable
or
Emancipatory?
Ask
this
of
your
research;
which
kind
of
knowledge
is
it
targe#ng?

20. The
Ques#on
of
Ac#onable
• How
to
surpass
the
insufficient
‘theory
vs.
prac#ce’
dis#nc#on?
• How
about:
research
that
either
creates
ac#onable
vs.
‘non-­‐ac#onable’
results?
– Ac#onable
implies
immediacy,
applica#on
– Non-­‐ac#onable
implies
reflec#on,
emancipa#on
• Yet
‘non’
is
a
nega#on
with
connota#ons
• Therefore
let’s
call
it
Emancipatory:
– Emancipa.on:
‘set
free,
esp.
from
legal,
social,
or
poli.cal
restric.ons’

21. Habermas’
categories
[reference
(.doc)]
Academic
Game
Research
Commercial
Game
Design

22. Emancipatory
research
results
tend
to
be:
• Descrip9ve
–
rather
than
prescrip#ve
–
in
tone
• ‘Packaged’
into
academic
discourse
• Non-­‐specific
in
terms
of
demographics
• Or,
too
specific
to
the
point
of
being
marginal
• At
best
inspira9onal
for
ac#onable
purposes,
yet
may
demand
an
extra
layer
of
interpreta9on
(i.e.
a
specific
skillset)
in
order
to
be
ac#onable
• Example:
‘Game
layers
of
DJ
Hero‘
-­‐
Games
as
Services
project,
University
of
Tampere,
Finland
hjp://futureplayproject.wordpress.com/resources/

23. Ac#onable
results
tend
to
be:
• such
that
relate
explicitly
to
a
specific
design
domain
&
problem
–
note
the
parallel
to
crea9vity
oren
being
domain-­‐
specific
• prescrip9ve
• tangible
–
repackaged
for
the
design
stakeholders
• such
that
discuss
consequences
for
exis#ng
business/
educa#on/development
models
or
methods
• pragma9c:
Something
you
can
sell
to
your
boss
in
commercial
contexts
• Example:
Gamespace
project
-­‐
hjp://gamelab.uta.fi/gamespacetool/

24. Conclusions
• Claim:
Any
research
that
does
not
aim
at
ac#onable
results
cannot
call
itself
‘design
research’
or
anything
‘design’
for
that
majer
–
even
‘design
theory’
implies
prac#ce!
• If
your
goal
is
to
produce
emancipatory
knowledge,
just
call
your
work
game
studies
or
game
research!
• Whichever
road
you
choose,
in
the
process
you
will
come
to
define
your
primary
audience
• ...and
it
is
them
who
should
care.

25. Thank
you.
http://www.facebook.com/socialgamesbook
Emancipatory
contact:
Ac#onable
contact:
aki@gameswithoutron#ers.net
ajarvinen@digitalchocolate.com