Find the Game — a game is hidden inside every transition
A game is already hidden inside every change. With the right guidance and method, finding that game matters more than designing new game mechanics. This is how Find the Game works.
Serious games can improve decision-making, problem-solving and knowledge transfer, or provide insight into complex scenarios. The goal is always to achieve impact within the target group and trigger them to change their behaviour. And to make that impact land, you have to stay close to the context and frame of reference of that group.
Most organisations we work with already know the strength of serious gaming. Yet they struggle to properly design, develop and implement it. Find the Game takes a different approach. Rather than designing a new game, we search for the game that is already there. We just need to find it.
“Civilization is, in its earliest phases, played. It does not come from play… it arises in and as play, and never leaves it.” — Johan Huizinga
Play is inseparable from being human
Because we are naturally playing creatures, we constantly apply game mechanisms unconsciously. The idea behind Find the Game is to make those unconscious mechanisms visible — for example by adding missing elements.
Many game designers focus straight away on the world of play. We start in reality instead. We look for rules, goals and mechanisms we can translate into a serious game, creating a clear link between the world of play and the world where impact must occur (meaning).
Two major advantages
Smart re-use of existing mechanisms does two things:
- It speeds up production. A lot of critical information for the game is already found in the preliminary phase, making development easier and cheaper.
- It fits better. A serious game that builds on the existing structure fits the organisation more naturally, so implementation runs more smoothly and the target group recognises the mechanism immediately.
Four phases that bring you closer to the game
Find the Game is used before the technical game-design stage and has four phases:
- Brainstorm — we evoke the first recognition and look for elements that resonate with participants.
- Value proposition — a set of research methods for an extensive analysis. In this phase we find the game together.
- Paper-based prototype — we design and test the game further, optionally developing it into a complete card or board game.
- Digital development — if chosen, we provide guidance from the client’s side.
This way, Find the Game forms a bridge between client and game developer. Doing the preparatory work with the client makes development smoother and faster: schedules are met and testing happens at the right moment.
We don’t want you to get just any serious game — we want you to get the game best suited to the transition you are facing.
Games are everywhere. We just need to find them. A good analysis up front saves worries and problems later. Plan a GameStorm and together we’ll uncover the game already hidden in your case.