Modelling Experimental Game Design

This paper uses two models of design, Stolterman’s and Löwgren’s three abstraction levels and Lawson’s model of designing, from the general design research to describe the game design process of an experimental pervasive mobile phone game. The game was designed to be deployed at a big science fiction convention for two days and was part of a research through design project where the focus was to understand which core mechanics could work for pervasive mobile phone games. The design process was, as is usual for experimental designs, very iterative. Data were gathered during the design process as entries in a design diary, notes from playtesting and bodystorming sessions, user interface sketches, and a series of software prototypes. The two complementary models of design were used to analyse the design process and the result is that the models give a good overview to an experimental game design process and reveal activities, design situations, and design choices which could have otherwise been lost in the analysis.