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Computer Games for Design Creativity Research: Opportunities and Challenges

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Design Computing and Cognition’22 (DCC 2022)

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Abstract

This paper discusses opportunities and challenges related to the use of computer games for design creativity research. Two bodies of work were analysed: (1) scientific papers published in design and creativity journals and (2) commercial computer games available on the Steam game platform. The qualitative analysis of the papers reviewed (n = 21) revealed the main games used and game features exploited, as well as the research challenges (e.g., managing game abstraction and real-world fidelity) and opportunities (e.g., novel data collection methods). Data analysis from the selected games (n = 68) enabled the identification of the most relevant game genres, features and technological aspects, which supported the discussion of novel avenues for research. The paper contributes to raising awareness of possible uses of games for design creativity research and provides recommendations for game use in future research endeavours.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A compilation of players’ videos with their participation in the Poly Bridge Olympics can be seen in this YouTube playlist (last accessed 5/jan/2022).

  2. 2.

    Table of available tags: https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/store/tags#12.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UK) in the form of a Doctoral Training Programme award. (RG105266/EP/T517847/1). Supporting data for this study is available at https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.83211.

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  1. Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Esdras Paravizo & Nathan Crilly

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  1. Esdras Paravizo
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Correspondence to Esdras Paravizo .

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  1. Computer Science and Architecture, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    John S Gero

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Paravizo, E., Crilly, N. (2023). Computer Games for Design Creativity Research: Opportunities and Challenges. In: Gero, J.S. (eds) Design Computing and Cognition’22. DCC 2022. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20418-0_23

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20418-0_23

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