Game Design as a Shared Language

When I began researching game design at the University of Gloucestershire in 2009, I became interested in the different ways the subject was understood.

Art-focused programmes concentrated primarily on visual development, while technical programmes often expected students to move between concept development, storyboarding, drawing, environment and character design, and programming.

Game design brought these disciplines together, but the people working within them did not always share a common language.

Making Ideas Visible

This divide was particularly challenging for students entering technical programmes without previous experience in art or design. They were expected to develop imaginative ideas and communicate them visually, yet many lacked confidence in drawing.

The problem was not whether students could produce accomplished artwork. Drawing and storyboarding served another purpose: they helped students explore an idea, make it visible and communicate it to collaborators before beginning the more demanding process of implementation.

“Drawing was not the destination; it was a language for making ideas visible.”

When students felt unable to communicate in this way, some retreated into the technical areas in which they felt more secure. Others became discouraged. A difficulty that appeared to concern drawing was therefore also connected to confidence, identity, teamwork and participation.

Designing Support, Not Judgement

My research explored how students could be supported without asking them to become artists or judging them against inappropriate standards.

The aim was to identify the practical visual skills required for storyboard communication and create a structured way for students to develop them. This led to a framework for an interactive, gamified e-learning resource that combined visual practice with meaningful goals, feedback and active participation.

The educator still had an essential role. Technology could provide opportunities to practise and progress, but confidence and collaboration also depended on encouragement, context and human guidance.

Beyond Game Design

The questions raised by this work extend beyond games. Multidisciplinary projects often bring together people who use different tools, terminology and ways of thinking. Collaboration becomes difficult when one discipline’s form of communication is treated as natural while another person’s difficulty is interpreted as a lack of ability.

Good learning design can help create the bridge. It can make hidden expectations visible, provide low-risk opportunities to practise and enable people to contribute before they have mastered every skill.

This inquiry became the basis of my PhD and an EVA London conference paper. The publications, methodology and full thesis are available on my Research page.

Questions I Continue to Explore

• How can artistic and technical disciplines develop a shared language?
• What forms of visual communication help teams explore ideas before implementation?
• How does confidence influence whether learners participate, specialise or withdraw?
• How can digital resources support practical skills without replacing human guidance?
• How can game-based structures encourage purposeful learning without becoming a distraction?