Unpacking values: A laddering technique for value mapping game design | Rich Durham | NZGDC 2024
This talk is a presentation of a practical method I evolved over the years to address a common early game design challenge faced by learning clients (that is, clients looking at a serious game or for training). That challenge is clients presenting an unrefined goal, like "we want players to understand X and Y and Z."
Over years as a serious game designer and learning designer, I've used many techniques to unpack this into a a high-level framework for a game design, and have focused on a values-based exploration of the client problem.
Here I will present my current technique for moving from unrefined learning goal to a value-aligned game structure addressing game-goal, sub-goals, and play dynamics.