P4K Grow A Game

Value-Centric Game DesignGrow A GameGrow A Game Workshop

“If games can’t communicate ideas, then why does he carewho buys them?” (from: http://www.penny arcade.com/comic/2002/04/26)

May 6, 2002 | "[There is] no conveyance of ideas, expression, or anything else that could possibly amount to freespeech. The court finds that video games have more in common with board games and sports than they do withmotion pictures.” -- U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Sr (decision overturned in 2003)

Image courtesy of Mary Flanagan and theTiltfactor Laboratory, http://www.tiltfactor.org.

Why bother?

We have a choice to keep doing what’s been donebefore, or to explore new possibilities and make

better games

Heidi Boisvert - Hunter College

ayiti GLOBAL KIDS PARTNERSHIP

katamari damacy value: peacefulness

bioshockideas: individuality, objectivism

Four categories in “Grow a Game”cards: Verbs Challenges Games Values

1. Let’s start. I’ll remove the blue Values cardsfrom the whole deck, and shuffle them.

2. Draw a card from the Values deck and discusswith your neighbor a game that you think hasthis value in it.

1. Now, I’ll draw one blue and one pinkcard

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2. Let’s brainstorm a game that could use theconstraints of the Game on the pink card

with the blue Value

Now for the real challenge

We’ll draw 1 Challenge Card for everyoneto use.

2. Now each group should use it’s own verb card andgame card together with the Challenge card everyone

is using to design a game mod

1. Break up into groups of 3 or 4 and draw newGame (pink) and Verb (green cards.

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Be Creative! Be Bold! Be A Little Weird!