Towards Diversity: Interventions in Curriculum and Pedagogy of an Introductory Game Design Course

Key insights

6 takeaways

01
The paper argues that systemic changes to teaching practice, rather than content alone, can meaningfully broaden participation in game design and produce more socially aware designers.
02
The study is an action-research project on an introductory course, "Key Concepts in Game Design," at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, following cycles of observing, reflecting, and intervening.
03
The paper contends that the games industry in South Africa and internationally remains dominated by particular demographics across gender, race, and economic lines, and that games are often wrongly perceived as an elite pursuit.
04
To lower barriers, the course teaches game analysis, design, and development through analogue games, particularly abstract board games with deep roots in South African culture, rather than digital tools.
05
The interventions were informed by curriculum transformation workshops, student questionnaires and interviews, and artefacts produced within the course, and are situated within South Africa's #FeesMustFall protests and national curriculum decolonization imperative.
06
Because the study covers a single course at one South African institution, its findings are presented as context-specific, though the author suggests the approaches may inform game design teaching in other developing nations where the field is young.

Summary

This paper examines interventions made to an introductory game design course, "Key Concepts in Game Design," at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the aim of advancing curricular transformation and diversity in game education. It argues that the games industry, both in South Africa and internationally, remains dominated by particular demographics across gender, race, and economic lines, and that game design education can either reinforce or help dismantle these imbalances. The central thesis is that systemic changes to teaching practice, rather than content alone, can meaningfully broaden participation and produce more socially aware designers.

The study situates its work within South Africa's broader higher education context, including the #FeesMustFall protests and the national imperative for curriculum decolonization. It contends that access to STEM fields and the games industry is skewed along racial, gendered, and economic lines, and that games are often wrongly perceived as an elite pursuit. To lower barriers, the course introduces students to game analysis, design, and development through analogue games rather than digital tools, drawing on abstract board games with deep roots in South African culture.

The methodology is action research, following cycles of observing, reflecting, and intervening. Data was gathered through curriculum transformation workshops, student questionnaires and interviews, and artefacts produced within the course itself. The paper reports the curriculum and pedagogical changes that emerged from these inputs and reflects critically on their impact and reception among students. Because the study is confined to a single course in one South African institution, its findings are presented as context-specific, though the author suggests the approaches may inform game design teaching elsewhere, particularly in developing nations where the field is young.