Neighborhood Making of Story Games: Accessible Joy in Low-Tech Design

Abstract

Neighborhood games to benefit the community are becoming more accessible and low-cost to build. Different approaches to design are necessary at the local level, including for authentic "locally made" games that connect residents to place, community, and local history. This paper is based on three years of co-design with more than 50 separate town and neighborhood partners. For accessibility, the technical approach included multimedia messaging and voice (MMS, SMS, branching voice trees). Each successful co-design partner sought to "engage beyond their walls" with cultural assets like murals and historic sculptures. For minimally-resourced partners, design models and patterns are especially needed. This study shows how game design often needs to be reframed for first-time designers, can be scaled through public libraries with minimal budgets, and can still retain the joy in making real games for local impact. The findings contribute to the study of democratizing game design for more neighborhoods and stronger places.