Reflection at Design Actualization (RDA) : A Tool and Process For Research Through Game Design

TL;DR

Reflection at Design Actualization (RDA), an open source tool and process for collecting granular reflections at playtesting moments and automatically recording the playtests, bringing reflection and data collection closer to the point where design decisions concretize.

Abstract

There is a growing interest in researching game design processes, artifacts and culture through active game design. Tools and processes to support these attempts are limited, especially in terms of a) capturing smaller design decisions where rich tacit information is often situated, and b) visually tracking the project's growth and evolution. To address this gap, we present Reflection at Design Actualization (RDA), an open source tool and process for collecting granular reflections at playtesting moments and automatically recording the playtests, bringing reflection and data collection closer to the point where design decisions concretize. Three researchers engaged with and evaluated RDA in three varied game development projects, adhering to the principles of autobiographical design. We illustrate the designer experience with RDA through three themes, namely, designer-routine compromise, designer-researcher persona consolidation, and mirror effect of RDA. We further discuss the tool's challenges and share each designer's personal experience as case studies.

Figures (6)

• Figure 1: Breakdown of the distinct components of the RDA tool UI. 1. Reflection input field, 2: Tag selection check boxes, 3: New tag creation input field and button, 4: Video recording options, 5: Skip journaling entry button, 6. Load previous entry button, 7. Start test button.
• Figure 2: The flow of a single playtest with RDA journaling.
• Figure 3: The compilation process flattens the collected raw data (playtest videos and notes) into a more manageable form. In the chronological compilation, every day's logged reflection and video gets cleaned and compiled into a single pdf file and mp4 video respectively. Similarly, in the tag based compilation, every entry containing the tag gets compiled into one pdf file and video.
• Figure 4: Screenshots from the design projects undertaken by three researchers. Top-left: R1, Top-right: R3, Bottom-center: R2.
• Figure 5: An illustrative example of the pre-test and post-test reflection journaling. In the pre-test comment, the designer reflects on their expectations about the mechanic they just designed. In the post-test reflection, they compare the play-experience with their expectation and speculate on the next design step.