Play in the Interaction Design Classroom As an Activity

Play in the interaction design classroom as an activity

and an end-result

LieseZahabi, Assistant Professor of Graphic/Interaction Design Department of Art, University of Maryland, College Park , 801-940-4369

The act of play is key in the art and science of Interaction Design. A sense of fun, of wonder, of the unexpected, help shape the games we play on our computers and phones, but also often helps shape interfaces and experiences we wouldn’t associate with games: working out with Fitbit, learning code with CodeAcademy, saving and managing our money with Mint. By making interfaces fun and using principles from games, designers can help motivate, engage, and teach users.

This poster will highlight the work of a group of Graphic Design students here at the University of Maryland from the fall of 2015. As part of ARTT437, Advanced Interactive Design, these students were charged with designing, prototyping and play-testing teaching/learning games. Students were free to choose a topic and target audience, and were tasked with conducting research about both topic and audience to help build the concept and content of the final game. The students conducted two rounds of play- testing to help them shape and revise their game designs, and were given five weeks to complete the project.

Twenty-two students were enrolled in the course, and resulting games ranged from phone and iPad apps, to board games and card games. Students explored a myriad of topics: grocery shopping, baking cookies, exercising, constellations, body language, packing gear for a music gig, and many others. Students conducted research, sketched ideas, created a concept map about their topic, and conducted play-testing as part of their process. From a set of written reflections gathered about the project, students stated they benefitted from (and were very surprised by) the play-testings sessions the most—they did not expect that part of the process to be as helpful or engaging as it was. I have experienced this reaction with students many times, as they start to understand the benefits of human-centered design and utilizing the knowledge and perspectives of users in the design process.

Engaging students in my classroom with games and play has achieved many positive outcomes. The students are often able to engage the material more deeply. Concepts are explained and experienced in different ways, reinforcing ideas within different modes. A sense of fun and play permeates the classroom, energizing students and encouraging true collaboration: you need players to play games, so students enlist each other for that purpose. Games are little worlds—suggesting systems-based structures, the creation of rational rule sets, demanding a focus on both design details and overall game experiences. Asking students to build and design games allows them to explore all these aspects in a contained way, and helps to make them better designers and thinkers.