"show your cards!": What do creators need for the game design process?

Abstract

In this paper we present the results of our research exploring the possible challenges board game creators might face while developing and playtesting games and we identify user requirements for their ideal digital game development platform. Our goal is to gain insights into the game development process and foster a deeper understanding of the creators' perspectives and needs to inform our design of an effective digital tool to support them. We proceeded in two stages: (a) researching the web for designers' views on the creation process, as well as reviews of commonly used digital tools, and (b) creating a questionnaire based on the information acquired in step (a) and organising a user study. 16 board game developers participated in the study, whose valuable feedback along with the data gathered from the online research will set a strong foundation for the development of an innovative platform.