Umeå Institute of Design |

Serious Play 2009/10 1

Introduction

For the Serious Play 2009/10 the Umeå Institute of Design is teaming up with IDEO to bring some external inspiration and experiences. Two
themes are being suggested due to their relevance to society and consequently to how and what we design. They address the issues of: ageing
population and sustainability.

Serious Play is a twofold exercise. On one hand there’s the possibility of exploring the field of game design. What’s cutting-edge on that realm?
How to design a great game? Is it playable? Is it fun and engaging? Another perspective on the subject is related to what we can learn from
games that can applied on other areas. Can we use play to help the elderly have a more active lifestyle or to make individuals save energy? Can
we help people adhere to some activity and be compliant therefore promoting desired behaviors like recycling or taking chronic disease drugs?

2 Themes | It’s up to you!

01 Old Games Old 02 Green Play

Putting the old into the gaming. Supporting green behaviors through playful activities.

In the current panorama of gaming and gaming profiles, we would like
students to explore what is the new role and the new opportunities for
leisure activities like videogames and board games. Special focus
should be put in understanding how elderly people have embraced
gaming and for which specific reason as well as how old analog
games or gaming activities have influenced/inspired the development
of new games and gaming platforms.
The desired output of this class would be a series of games / gaming
explorations that vary from games to ‘enrich’ elderly people’s lives
to new games inspired or influenced by old analog toys, games or or
playful activities that have gone obsolete or forgotten.
Facts
“Most of the developed world now has sub-replacement fertility
levels, and population growth now depends largely on immigration
together with population momentum which arises from previous large
generations now enjoying longer life expectancy.”
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_ageing
With a global future outlook on behavior change, especially regarding
topics of conservation, recycling and better use of our resources; we
would like students embrace the metaphor of play as the tool to raise
more awareness and encourage more green behaviors.
Special focus should be put in combining indoor and outdoor activities
as well as combining analog and digital platform to support moments
like creating awareness, improving green behaviors, monitoring
consumption, improving logistics and rewarding positive results.
Facts
“Every year, the United States generates approximately 230 million
tons of “trash”--about 4.6 pounds per person per day. Less than one-
quarter of it is recycled; the rest is incinerated or buried in landfills.
With a little forethought, we could reuse or recycle more than 70
percent of the landfilled waste, which includes valuable materials such
as glass, metal, and paper.”
Source: http://www.learner.org/interactives/garbage/solidwaste.html

Who is coming?

Dario Buzzini Franz Blach Martin Frey Fabricio Dore

Interaction Design Lead Communication Designer Interaction Designer Interaction Designer

December 14-15 December 16-17 January 06-07 January 14-15

Kick off & Inspiration Set the focus Prototype & Refine Final Presentation & Reflection

Design as a Game UID + IDEO Schedule and Activities December 2009 / January 2010
 Umeå Institute of Design |

1
Schedule

December 14 - 21 December 22 - 31 January 31 - 07 January 07 - 14

User Research Synthesize Build Tell the Story

& Inspiration & Develop & Refine & Reflect

Get inspired by real people and
real stories! During this week
you will go out there and look for
stories from the field!
If you are working on theme
number 2, for instance, where
can you get inspired? Landfills?
Recycling Stations? Talk to as
many people as you can. Look for
extremes for inspiration!
Synthesize what you have seen
out there and start imagining a
few directions to pursue.
Capture the best stories from
your research and start sketching
ideas, brainstorm as much as you
can and explore!
At this point freeze the idea
wherever you are! From now on
it needs to become something
tangible (on screeen or physical
prototype, mockup...).
From here on you have a direction
to go! Prototype it! No matter
what level of resolution feels more
appropriate, get your hands dirty!
Behind every great design there’s
a powerful story to tell! What’s
the best way to represent your
concept? A video? A theatre
piece? An animation?
What did you learn?

Rules of the game

(1) You will work in teams of 2. Feel free to pick your buddy!

(2) We will communicate through Posterous: www.designasagame2009.posterous.com. To add a blog entry just send an email to:
post@designasagame2009.posterous.com. It takes videos, images, MP3s and text.

(3) Every Friday each team needs to make a 30s video describing what they have done during the week and what are the expectations and
plans for the next week. This videos will be posted to Posterous by one person from each team.

(4) Criteria for success: 50% concept & execution and 50% communication & storytelling.

(5) Play fair and have fun!

References

• [book] Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, ISBN-10: 0262240459

• [article] Facilitating Collaboration through Design Games, Eva Brandt and Jörn Messeter

• [article] When Play Works: Turning Game-Playing into Learning, Brittany Steiner, Nancy Kaplan, Stuart Moulthrop

• [article] Game Design for Social Networks: Interaction Design for Playful Dispositions, Aki Järvinen

• [web] http://socialmedia.globalthoughtz.com/index.php/earning-money-through-online-social-games/

Design as a Game UID + IDEO Schedule and Activities December 2009 / January 2010