Lindsay D. Grace

University of Miami | UM · Department of Interactive Media

The book provides a contemporary foundation in designing social impact games. It is structured in 3 parts: understanding, application, and implementation. The book serves as a guide to designing social impact games, particularly focused on the needs of, media professionals, indie game designers and college students. It serves as a guide for people...

One of the many challenges facing the growth and proliferation of game jam communities is the ambiguity between game jams and allied activities including hackathons and other high intensity events. This research identifies the distinguishing characteristics of games jams and uniquely identifies the technical, cultural and experimental differences t...

Love and Electronic Affection: A Design Primer brings together thought leadership in romance and affection games to explain the past, present, and possible future of affection play in games. The authors apply a combination of game analysis and design experience in affection play for both digital and analog games. The research and recommendations ar...

This case study describes a game designed to serve as new literacy education tool, playful polling system for research audience perceptions. The game underwent two primary designer iterations. As a result of design changes and renewed political chatter about fake news, the game's second iteration gathered more than 500,000 plays. The data collected...

This paper approaches the question about games as art from a fundamentally different perspective. Instead of asking questions of visual aesthetics and pursuing analogies to film or commercial arts, it demonstrates an even clearer analogy to poetic forms. Allying common practices in independent games in particular, this paper serves as an illustrati...

This report provides an overview of the common attributes of current news focused games and interactives. It aims to provide a snapshot of the state of newsgames and related digital media a decade after much of the original work on the topic was produced. It offers observations about the subjects covered, mechanics, aesthetic and experiential quali...

This paper collects a series of heuristics in game level design to articulate the relationship between designed experience, perceived experience, and the mechanics of play. This work aims simply to illuminate core concepts as a guide for framing the relationship between designer/author and player/participant. It is offered simply as a philosophical...

At the ten year anniversary of the Global Game Jam] we collected community provided stories and images from around the globe. We simply asked our community to share their experiences, which we have arranged chronologically for our readers. Some of the stories are funny, some demonstrate perseverance, and yet others just remind us how wonderful the...

Can games be made at the pace of news? The Newsjam, an event held in Miami, Florida in November of 2017, aimed to investigate whether short, simple games about current topics could be made in less than two days. While the plethora of game jam events does demonstrate that such games can be made, the larger questions was by whom and how? The Newsjam...

This paper outlines experiences and lessons learned in organizing a variety of digital art exhibits for small and large scale events. The perspective is provided as a cross-disciplinary set of heuristics, drawing on the decade long experience of the curator-artist and paying particular attention to playable electronic media (e.g. games and toys) as...

Game-based assessment (GBA) is a new frontier in the assessment industry. However, as with serious games, it will likely be important to find an optimal balance between making the game “fun” versus focusing on achieving the educational goals. We created two minigames to assess students’ knowledge of argumentation skills. We conducted an iterative c...

The format of conventional assessments (e.g., multiple-choice) can often make it difficult for students to be motivated or engaged, which can also make it difficult for students to perform to the best of their ability. Game-based assessments (GBA) are a new type of assessment that has been designed to address this issue. We conducted an in-depth in...

This paper is the product of 12 months of intensive study applying game design to the challenges of journalism and news community management. After conducting interviews and site visits with a wide variety of leaders in major print, web, television and news organizations, primary observations were made. The goal was to understand how the increasing...

We have created a game called Culture Code that allows researchers and teachers to host online games where teams have asynchronous abilities. Inspired by the game Barnga [11], which is designed to "explore factors related to communication problems in intercultural situations", our game, Culture Code, takes Barnga's basic mechanics and extends them....

Video games are a popular technology adopted by educators to help teach ideas. The benefits are due to pedagogically beneficial characteristics of such games including their ability to adapt to the learner, allow failure, and entertain and engage players. However, designing a video game is a significant effort that takes time and may not even teach...

As early as 2001, digital newsgames offered a noteworthy opportunity to engage audiences and provide a new news consumption experience. Nearly 5 years later newsgames have not clearly delivered on their potential. With such promise, why didn " t news presses give way to newsgame studios? This paper provides a simple case study in newsgame productio...

In contrast to the trend toward large scale, immersive games that aspire toward the polish and experience of conventional commercial games, the authors offer a design case study for the potential of microgames and assessment. Microgames are designed to be small, pointed experiences more analogous to a single question than an entire exam. Instead of...

VerilogTown is a game about cars, crashes and hardware design. The game is designed to help teach and practice the hardware description language, Verilog. The game uses the metaphor of traffic signals to help players understand and practice the code needed to implement combinational and sequential logic in digital circuits. Borrowing from the emerg...

In this paper, we examine how the traveling salesman problem (a combinatorial optimization problem) can be used to create virtual landscapes. For this work, we show how the entire search space of ten city TSP instances can be organized into virtual landscapes, and illustrate how by changing the TSP instance problem we can control some properties of...

Social, casual and mobile games, played on devices such as smartphones, tablets, or PCs and accessed through online social networks, have become extremely popular, and are changing the ways in which games are designed, understood, and played. These games have sparked a revolution as more people from a broader demographic than ever play games, shift...

Over the past ten years six new peach rootstocks have been released by UC Davis. All of these rootstocks have been shown to rely on a decreased rootstock hydraulic conductance mechanism to impart the size-controlling behavior. Previous research has indicated that strongly dwarfing peach rootstocks that depend on decreased rootstock hydraulic conduc...

The effects of embedding advertising in digital games has been explored in only a few controlled studies. This research provides results of an efficacy analysis of in-game advertising within the controlled environment of a racing car game, an environment in which advertising blends in naturally. The experiment was designed to understand the effecti...

You is a game about play and the illusive pursuit of meaningful play. Each level of the game is about problem solving a space for You to meet objectives while making sense of the in-game content. Using the player character You, the player is both making meaning out of nonsense and finding meaning where it is absent. The game is designed as a light-...

Affection games require players to flirt, hug, kiss, or make love to meet their goals. They are games whose core actions are affections. They are bereft of the complex narratives of dating simulations and differentiate themselves via short, situated play. In a society that still aligns digital play with violent play, affection games offer sharp and...

As a sign of the maturing game medium, critical games have grown to provide meaningful critique. Where once a critic might write an article, some have taken to making critical games. These games critique the conventions of digital experience to provide social commentary, examination of gameplay assumptions or simply create playful design. This pape...

Sports analysis is used to find deeper insights into understanding athlete performance and team strategy. One limitation to continuing progress in this area is acquiring data that represents player and puck (or ball) movement. In some sports, such as baseball and cricket, there are significant statistical events that are reasonably easy to record. Ot...

This case study outlines a methodology for adapting digital games from literature. The process maps key narrative events to human computer interactions via game verbs. Game verbs are distinct player actions that help the player accomplish their in-game goal. Through the use of tightly coupled narrative events and game verbs, the game engenders the...

This paper describes the theory and implementation of a 2-tiered procedural rhetoric game about race and stereotype. The game, Black Like Me, employs critical design to encourage players toward situational analysis instead of mere attribute matching. Players are presented with a color matching game at the surface, but the game is designed to reward...

This brief paper outlines the design and development challenges of a critical design affection game. Affection games require players to flirt, kiss, hug or make love to meet their goals. The game described, named Stolen Kisses, allows players to kiss a wider variety of individuals. The game is played by placing your lips on a mobile device and bala...

Big Huggin' is an alternative interface game designed to critique the way we play. It is offered as part of the ongoing Critical Gameplay project. Instead of firing toy guns or gesturing abstractly, players must hug a large stuffed animal to win the game. The game has been played by more than 2000 people at 8 venues in North America, South America...

The exhibition catalog to the 2014 Blank Arcade, a showcase of creative game designs at the Digital Games Research Association (DiGra) 2014 conference. The exhibition was held at Snowbird Resort, Salt Lake City, Utah. The exhibit was curated by Lindsay D. Grace and includes work by Roger Altizer, Barry Atkins , James Earl Cox Iii, Anjali Deshmukh,...

This paper outlines a linguistic approach to understanding the content of games. Understanding game verbs as the fundamental unit of interaction within game environments it provides perspective on popular play experiences. The benefits of such analysis include a scalable view of the self reported content of games and the ways in which problems are...

The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how the pattern of play technologies follows the patterns of play types in developmental psychology. This research provides an overview of dominant theories in developmental psychology and offers evidence of its parallel in play modalities adopted by electronic game audiences. The fundamental benefit o...

In technology, the growth of ubiquitous computing and the increased use of human computation games (HCGs) create a possibility space for games that convert the serious business of work into the seriously engaging experience of play. HCGs have witnessed a significant growth in the last few years. This chapter outlines the defining characteristics of...

While much attention has been focused on digital games and violence, little research exists on digital affection games. Affection games require players to flirt, hug, kiss or make love to meet their objectives. This paper takes the several hundred affection games offered online and in mobile marketplaces as a case study. Understanding play as instr...

Bikini Beach Zombie Massacre was designed as a critique of the tensions between sex and violence in digital games. It was created as a part of the Critical Gameplay project. The project is an ongoing effort to create alternate play experiences that critique the conventions of digital play. The games in the collection are designed to reevaluate play...

In this work, we describe a promising approach to harnessing human computation in mainstream video games. Our hypothesis is that one of the best approaches to seamlessly incorporating harnessing withing these games is by examining existing game mechanics and matching them to meta-heuristic algorithms. In particular, we believe that the best choices...

Today the world of human computer interaction is an impersonal one. It is one where touch is mediated through glass and plastic. Where multi-touch means antiseptic sleek materials with little texture. Why isn't touch more personal? Why isn't touch more tactile? Big Huggin' is a game played with a 30 inch custom teddy bear controller. Players comple...

Big Huggin' is a game designed for use with a custom teddy bear controller. Players complete the game by providing several well-timed hugs to a 30 inch teddy bear. It is an experiment and gesture in alternative interface and affection gaming. The game is designed around the action of hugging to support an onscreen character. If the players hug too...

Affection games are ludic experiences in which players are required to express culturally recognized expressions of liking as a primary goal in the game. Interestingly, while the physical world of analog play has many such activities, the digital world has been relatively limited in affording players the ability to express affection as the primary...

This paper discusses the critical gameplay design project and its newest evolution. After being exhibited in several international venues in 2009-2011, the project has evolved to employ a more pointed critique of game culture and how people play. The paper describes, Big Huggin', an affection game, Match, a game of procedural racism and Healer, and...

In this paper, we propose a research direction that will allow the harnessing of human computation to be included in mainstream video games. Human computing resources are vastly different and superior in some cases com-pared to traditional computing machines. Previous findings in this domain showed that humans playing FoldIt, a protein folding vide...

Expanding the bounds of digital educational games, this research describes the characteristics of games designed to modify player perspective, understanding, interests, activities or opinions. These persuasive play games include social impact games, games for change, and others games designed to persuade players. In summary the characteristics of 1...

Despite the common tendency to understand computer games as a medium somewhere between film and traditional software, this paper argues for a more appropriate position amongst literature. This writing explores the opportunities in analogizing digital games not as art, but as literature. Within this framing new opportunities reveal themselves for in...

Polyglot Cubed is an educational game to facilitate the learning of multiple languages. The game is an implementation of contemporary theories in motivation, education and entertainment. This document provides the results from a formal user evaluation of the game. This evaluation was designed to determine user defined difficulties in game experienc...

In game advertising or IGA is an increasingly common means of promoting brands and products. This study seeks to understand the effectiveness of in game advertising by understanding player retention of brand messages. The researchers created a controlled environment and 3D car racing game, embedding in game advertising and measuring player performa...

Consider that uncomfortable moment in life when people discover a playful experience ceases to be worth playing. Just as an arm is broken on the playground, or a relationship can no longer be mended, there are explicit moments when art transgresses some unforeseen territory leaving us with fear of its potential. This paper explores the potential of...

The paper explores the recent growth in critical gameplay, an application of critical design to the production of computer games. This paper outlines play pedagogy and game rhetoric, relating critical design practices to the creation of computer games. It attempts to explain the art practice of critical game design, providing a brief digital game h...

paper introduces a novel concept in the use of game technology and education. Instead of employing gaming technology to create entertaining fictions or develop practical training environments, this paper introduces the concept and demonstrates the practical benefits of docugames for preservation. A docugame for preservation is a simulation that inc...

As emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) initiatives increase, students are at a fragile point in their education. It is imperative that students learn core skills like computer programming and procedural logic necessary to living in today's increasingly digital society. Our new game Shapemaker solves these problems in game-...

Polyglot Cubed is an educational game to facilitate listening comprehension skills for a variety of languages. The modular language learning game works interchangeably with a variety of languages. The game relies on a matching mechanic intended to balance comprehension based language recognition with a casual game play mechanic. It is designed to e...

How do games affect the way we problem solve, socialize, or even view the world? When we shoot, do we learn to destroy obstacles instead of work around them? Does the binary world of enemies and adversaries teach us to ignore the gray in the everyday? Do games encourage us to ignore consequences and wait for second chances at the same problems? Are...

This paper serves as a postmortem for the game Third World Shooter. The game was completed as part of the Critical Gameplay project. The project endeavors to analyze common game mechanics and create games that demonstrate alternate ways to play. Third World Shooter was as a docugame employing critical gameplay. This paper illustrates how the design...

Music Box is an artistic implementation of emergent behavior to create music. Music Box employs a flocking algorithm (Reynolds, 1999) to display animated notes that rise from a written score and move to create a flock-lead musical arrangement. The result is emergent sound; a musical composition directed by the visual representation of flocking. The...

Collectible or Trading Card Games (CCGs or TCGs) are enormously popular. They achieve numbers of players normally associated with online digital games. Yet they are sparsely researched and rarely utilized in the growing field of games and learning. This ...

This paper discusses the critical gameplay design project and its newest developments. After being exhibited in five national and international venues in 2009--2010, the project has been reconstituted with 3 new games that critique specific aspects of standard gameplay. This short paper reflects on the experience of the exhibition and the design he...

The computer game software with which we interact on a daily basis not only entertains us, it trains us into specific patterns. Critical Gameplay is a design practice which endeavors to expose and redesign the patterns to which standard gameplay subscribes. The ongoing project seeks to identify the dominant values, philosophies and problem solving...

This research proposes a method for producing music via visual composition in a computer-game like environment. This is accomplished through the development of artificial intelligence software that applies the visual rules of standard emergent behaviors to the algorithmic arrangement of musical tones. This research presents the proposed system, def...

The author extends his previous publications on the observed effects of software design decisions on the creative process by offering a framework for the philosophical evaluation of software designs. The task, as described, involves the systematic decomposition of assumptions and intended use as they effect the creative process. This research combi...

This chapter introduces critical gameplay design as a technique for creating digital games that offer alternative play. Critical gameplay provides the opportunity to explore game ethics through the way games are designed to be played. Since game designers outline the rules of play, game designs outline designer's definitions of what is ethical and...

Polyglot Cubed is an educational game to facilitate the learning of multiple languages. It is designed to entertain while enforcing language listening comprehension. The modular language learning game system works interchangeably with a variety of languages. The game relies on a matching mechanic intended to balance comprehension based language rec...

Music Box is an artistic implementation of emergent behavior and its use to create music. Music Box employs Craig Reynold's flocking algorithm to display animated notes that rise from a written score, then move to create a distinctive flock-lead musical arrangement. The result is emergent sound; a musical arrangement directed by the visual represen...

This paper describes the design, development and user study of a text-to-speech system for reviewing email messages. The system retrieves messages, converts them to audio files, and facilitates transferring the messages to a portable listening device. This study reviews the efficacy of such a system and compares the users' ability to comprehend spo...

Enculturation is the act of passing cultural ideologies from one person to the other. It is what breeds innovation instead of new creation. It is the disease of derivation, instead of the birth of creativity. This chapter assumes the practical perspective of critical anthropological distance to understand the culture of art. Such critical evaluatio...

Software is philosophical. Software is designed by people who have been influenced by a specific understanding of the way objects, people and systems work. These concepts are then transferred to the user, who manipulates that software within the parameters set by the software designer. The use of these rules by the designer reinforces an understand...

Enculturation is the act of passing cultural ideologies from one person to the other. It is what breeds innovation instead of new creation. It is the disease of derivation, instead of the birth of creativity. This chapter assumes the practical perspective of critical anthropological distance to understand the culture of art. Such critical evaluatio...

Although sometimes used interchangeably in the industry, there is a distinct difference between game type and game genre in video games. When discussing game story, we distinguish game type as a description of game play, and game genre as a description of the narrative content of the game.

This paper seeks to outline a set of fundamental observations about the instructive nature of video games. It stands as a resource when considering the content of games, the design intentions, and the games' relationship to general society. It is, as asserted in this paper, true that games introduce fundamental approaches to problem solving and con...