Designscape: A Suggested Game Design Prototyping Process Tool

Manker's "Designscape" paper argues that prototyping in computer game design is a central but under-studied activity, functioning less as a technical exercise than as a means of internal communication and negotiation. Drawing on rhetorical theory, the author frames prototyping as a process through which design teams turn points of controversy into shared consensus, gradually restoring trust in contested design elements. Such prototypes increasingly take the place of the traditional game design document as the primary vehicle for aligning a team's understanding of a game.

The study's empirical foundation consists of interviews with 27 practitioners from AAA studios, independent studios, and student groups in Sweden and Poland. The author acknowledges an important limitation: the findings rest on designers' recollections of their practice rather than on direct observation of teams at work. The research is therefore best understood as an interpretive account of how practitioners describe prototyping, rather than a measured study of prototyping outcomes.

From these insights, the paper proposes the Designscape, a conceptual visualization model intended to make the hidden dynamics of design teams legible. The tool maps team members, design aspects, and trust levels over time, allowing teams to surface differences of opinion, problem areas, persistent dissatisfaction, and patterns in group dynamics. The author suggests it could be integrated into agile routines such as daily scrums and sprint meetings, using simple 1-6 trust ratings to track progress.

The Designscape remains untested. Its claimed benefits, including improved prototype communication and greater team confidence and understanding, are presented as potential outcomes rather than demonstrated results. The contribution is thus primarily conceptual, offering a rhetorically grounded framework for future empirical evaluation of how visualizing trust and team dynamics might support game design practice.