Design games as a tool, a mindset and a structure Kirsikka Vaajakallio

utilized card based approaches in software development processes, to let
participants discuss each other’s needs within relatively egalitarian atmosphere.
Games have also been used increasingly in relation to education,
either in forms of computer games and video games, or in more traditional
forms of board games. As an example, Warmerdam et al. (2007) have been
developing a serious game, SimPort, which is an extensive management
game for building an international port. In regard to computer games, the
authors recall considering players’ computer skills: whereas many children
are “native” computer users, many adults may still be considered as digital
immigrants and may need simple and intuitive user interfaces (ibid.).
A more marketing-oriented perspective has been taken by Hohman
(2007) in his book Innovation Games – creating breakthrough products
through collaborative play, in which he presents several easy-to-adopt
game-like methods, which, according to him, make meetings more productive,
innovative, and fun. The games he discusses employ playful attitude,
but instead of game pieces they use pen and paper to create design
representations; thus these are easy and cheap to produce. The focus is
on envisioning customers’ needs and preferences and on guiding roadmap
creation, strategy decisions, etc., accordingly. A similar approach is
taken by Gray et al. (2010) in their book Gamestorming – A Playbook for
Innovators, Rulebreakers, and Changemakers, where they give hands-on
examples how to create own innovation games. Like Hohman, they also
utilise post-its and line drawings as their main medium, unlike design
games that mainly trust on fine-tuned predesigned game material.
Schrage’s (2000) book Serious Play: How the World’s Best Companies
Simulate to Innovate looks at innovation and also highlights the importance
of various prototypes, models and simulations to lure people into
what if considerations and to allow them to step outside their every-day
roles. Hence, it has some similarities with the qualities of design games,
although in his book serious play merely denotes a “philosophy of innovation”,
which sees playing with prototypes as a central factor for
successful innovation, but one that is not connected to games. Schrage’s
(ibid.) argumentation and examples are in line with the tradition of industrial
design, where mock-ups and prototypes have been utilised,
among other things, to make mental models explicit and invite people
to play with the alternatives without specific rules or other game-like
characteristics.
The above examples aim at giving an overview of various game applications
to broaden the perception of the different uses and interpretations
of games. One approach in which I find a possible source for
improving understanding of the particularity of design games are simulations
games, which have a rather long history in the organizational
change context. I will next give some brief examples of their descriptions,
and compare them with design games.
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