Project
Decide & Survive is a strategic game designed for reviewing the political theory of Kenneth Waltz. The board game is further developed into two digital versions with identical game mechanics. The two digital game versions differ in their auditive, narrative and visual form. While version A suggests a hostile gameplay to the player, version B reveals a peaceful, harmonious scenario. The goal is to document the behavior of the subjects in both game versions and to examine the influence of game design on their actions.
Research
The research project investigates the influence of the game design on the player behavior. Do optical, narrative and auditory modifications in the game affect the action of the players? For this, the moves of the players are documented while playing both digital versions by means of an integrated database. Afterwards, both game versions are compared analytically by means of the collected data.
Results
Decide & Survive generates new insights for game design research and game development in the context of player behavior and game design. The project also provides evidence of the usability of games as scientific research experiments. Both computer versions are currently being programmed.
Project Members
Steven Kawalle
Partners
Swiss Austrian German Simulation and Gaming Association (SAGSAGA)
Technische Universität Braunschweig
