The Intersection of Place and Game Design: The Case of Two Classic African Board Games

Authors

Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Utah State UniversityFollow
Joseph M. Bayeck, Utah State University

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Design Issues

Volume

40

Issue

4

Publisher

MIT Press

Publication Date

10-1-2024

Journal Article Version

Version of Record

First Page

5

Last Page

16

Abstract

The concept of game design is often associated with a computational creative task or a creation with technology. Automatically linking game design to computational activity or technology may have contributed to the scarce research on the interaction between place and game design. The focus on technology may have excluded indigenous games from game design conversation in the game design literature. This article explores design in the context of two classic African board games. We examine the influence of place on the design of these games. Building on game design and place literature, the article shows the situatedness of game design and it integrates the design of classic African board games into the larger conversation about game design. The article discusses the implications for game-based learning.

Recommended Citation

Rebecca Y. Bayeck, Joseph M. Bayeck; The Intersection of Place and Game Design: The Case of Two Classic African Board Games. Design Issues 2024; 40 (4): 5–16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1162/desi_a_00776