Theory as Game: Designing the Gamegame

Is there a way to analyze games by the means of a game? Is there a way to brainstorm game ideas and design solutions through theory? Finnish scholar and game designer Aki Järvinen presents an approach where a card game meets design meets game studies. The approach presented in the paper is similar to Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics: a theory of comics in the form of a comic book. Respectively, the ‘Gamegame’ is a card game where the players design games by collecting elements that make up a design for a game. This paper introduces the theoretical premises of the case study and situates it into the contexts of game studies and design. In addition, the paper summarises some aspects of the design process and the dilemmas it has presented, and analyses their subsequent solutions. Experiences form play-testing and using the game in industry contexts are also discussed briefly.