Research & Creation

This paper serves as a design case overview for the project GUIDE, a digital game which is illustrated as invoking empathetic concern in players through its style of “Dangerous Play” for the purposes of introducing positive stress coping strategies. Dangerous Play, a kind of dialogue formed through ludic interactions between players and serious game content, has been explored both in clinical serious games and in more mainstream entertainment works. This paper first discusses the historical and theoretical contexts that surround GUIDE in order to better trace the design rationale for using Dangerous Play as a formative principle for this project. Preliminary exploratory survey results from a small afterschool playtesting exercise are included, as well as a final discussion about future planned directions for GUIDE and overall lessons learned about designing for Dangerous Play.