DESIGN(er) META Game

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
The META game was created by design educators at the University of Tennessee to close a gap where students could analyze design history in essays but failed to transfer that analysis into their own conceptual reasoning and visual work.
02
The game uses directed, open-ended questioning to foster divergent thinking about concept, composition, materials, and technology, and aims to channel students' gaming curiosity into design education.
03
Students read decade-based material drawn from a 1989 Print magazine issue covering design from the 1940s through the 1980s, then produce at least five question cards with visual examples and compete in team bouts where judges and opponents argue from question prompts.
04
Evaluation drew on responses from 42 of the 57 students who began the course, with 40 of those 42 responses broadly positive, citing improved critical analysis, stronger defense of their own work, and greater engagement with design history.
05
The design evolved through several false starts, including clicker technology, before settling on the current format, and process books and game mats were used to document arguments and judgments.
06
Known limitations include students' attachment to their self-generated cards, which complicated the original winner-keeps-both-cards rule, and numerical scoring that did not ensure balanced engagement across design facets.

Summary

The paper presents a serious game developed by design educators at the University of Tennessee to address a persistent gap in their course: students could analyze design history competently through compare-and-contrast essays, yet failed to transfer that analysis into their own conceptual reasoning and visual work. The authors frame the game as a response to students' desire for "right answers" and their reluctance to engage in open-ended play. Their central thesis is that a game structure built around directed, open-ended questioning can foster divergent thinking about concept, composition, and materials and technology, while encouraging students to bring their gaming curiosity into design education.

The game, called the META game, is grounded in decade-based readings drawn from a 1989 Print magazine issue covering design from the 1940s through the 1980s. Students read each decade's material, produce a minimum of five question cards with visual examples, and then compete in team bouts in which judges and opponents argue from question prompts. Documentation through process books and game mats records arguments and judgments, and the authors report that the design evolved through several false starts, including clicker technology, before settling on this format. Evaluation drew on responses from 42 of 57 students who began the course, 40 of which were broadly positive, with students describing improved critical analysis, stronger ability to defend their own work, and greater engagement with design history. The authors also acknowledge limitations, notably that students' attachment to their self-generated cards complicated the original winner-keeps-both-cards rule and that numerical scoring did not ensure balanced engagement across design facets.