Critical Play, Pitfalls and Game Design

Dr. Ahu Yolaç’s biography on LTU’s College of Architecture and Design (CoAD) faculty page references “critical play,” which she mentions as one of her main research interests. The term originally popularized in a 2009 book by Mary Flanagan entitled Critical Play: Radical Game Design is at the center of Yolaç’s educational philosophy.

As she explains it, “My dissertation (in the PhD Art Education program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) was on developing a design method to teach informally through games, so that players don’t really feel like they’re learning, but they actually are learning. It’s teaching without being didactic.” The goal was to be intentional. As a designer, the smallest of shifts have unique implications that connote, resonate, and impact. Developing a non-didactic, education centered design method is about being intentional and teaching through engagement. It’s about using “video games as pedagogical tools.”

An Assistant Professor in CoAD’s Department of Design, Yolaç describes the trajectory of her academic career as “intricate.”

“I was interested in environments and how humans interact with and experience those environments,” she said. “I knew I always wanted to be a designer, but I wasn’t aware that you could be a game designer because there were no such degree programs at the time in Turkey, where I grew up.”

She opted for a bachelor’s degree in Interior Architecture and Environmental Design from Bilkent University and a master’s degree in Industrial Design from Middle East Technical University, before moving on to Illinois.

“I studied to be an interior architect and I really liked it,” said Yolaç. “But I realized that I was really interested in building virtual environments, which led me to industrial design, where I began looking into various game related environments, including how communities come together and how we shape them as designers with our decisions. Following that interest led me to finding educational opportunities in game design and how we can employ critical pedagogies through games. This became my research topic during my PhD studies.”

When the faculty position in CoAD’s recently renamed Game Design program opened up, Yolaç was attracted to the opportunity not only because of LTU’s reputation for its interdisciplinary and collaborative environment and its commitment to theory and practice, but also because the job would include restructuring the program curriculum. She would share responsibility for this revamping with her colleague, Assistant Professor Stephen Mallory, who joined the faculty at the same time.

“One of our goals in transforming the curriculum in alignment with Game Design is to make it more human-centric,” said Yolaç. “Designers have to have an understanding of human psychology, spatial psychology, and how people interact with things.”

Another of Yolaç’s educational missions is to rescue Game Design from the perception—or, perhaps unfortunately, the reality—that the field lacks diversity.

“I apply for DEI grants for contributing to the efforts of creating opportunities for diverse students to attend and graduate from LTU. I attend recruitment events to introduce myself as a woman designer from a different cultural background,” said Yolaç. “It is important to challenge the stereotype.”

Circling back to critical design practices, Yolaç points out the necessity of failure, not as a goal, of course, but as a part of the Game Design process, including the educational phase of that process. Iteration is key for any design development. Failure, and learning from failure is an expected part of progress. She finds this a very positive reality at LTU where classes heavily emphasize iteration, playtesting with diverse audiences, and the active participation of students through projects and studio activities.

“I try to teach my students that the first thing you’re going to make is going to fail, because early iterations should fail,” said Yolaç. “Design never ends. We always need to continue working on it. That’s part of active learning through iteration. It’s like in a game scenario when you first learn to jump from somewhere and you fall into a pit and the next time you know not to fall in it.”

by Paul Hall