Title:

Designing and Researching with Serious Games

Speaker:

Mr. Prasad Sandbhor

Abstract:

How can serious games model complex realities and contribute to research knowledge? In this talk, I will share how I design serious games with the example of 'Birds in the City: Bengaluru Edition'. I will explain how real-world data on urban development, avian ecology, and citizen activism were translated into gameplay using the Triadic and Transformational Game Design frameworks. Additionally, I will discuss my doctoral research, which involved exploring the potential of role-playing games for climate action, including studies with a tabletop and a live-action role-playing game that informed the 'Thinking Through' design framework. The talk will provide practical insights into the design of serious games and the qualitative, design-led methods used in research with them. There will also be some games available for playing if the time permits!

About the speaker:

Mr. Prasad Sandbhor is a serious game designer, researcher and educator. While he is the co-founder of 'Play in Nature', he is also completing a PhD in Intelligent Games and Games Intelligence (iGGi), where he has developed the 'Thinking Through' framework for climate-action role-playing games.

https://linktr.ee/prasadsandbhor