Engaging Youth as Game Designers Through Storytelling

• In Event: Exploring How Identity and Epistemic Engagement Shape Learning

Abstract

This paper investigates storytelling as an approach to co-design research with diverse middle school-aged youth. Using microanalytic methods of interaction analysis (Jordan & Henderson, 1995) and positioning theory (Goffman, 1981) to analyze data from online play-testing and co-design sessions with youth, the paper explores how storytelling enabled youth to navigate and shift between the dual roles of game player and designer, (re)configuring elements of the existing game and incorporating their own stories. This paper advocates for the inclusion of storytelling as a fruitful co-design method in the creation of identity-aligned gaming experiences and more immersive and inclusive virtual worlds.

Authors

• Sarah C. Radke, Concord Consortium

• Jennifer Beth Kahn, University of Miami

• Lisa Aileen Hardy, The Concord Consortium