Live game design: Prototyping at the speed of play

Automated Game Design empowers game designers with languages, techniques and tools that automate iterative design processes. How- ever, these tools currently lack suitable input and feedback mecha- nisms for creating rules and perceiving how changes affect running game prototypes. As a result, iterating takes too long, forming mental models about cause-and-effect relationships is difficult, and learning how to program can be tedious and frustrating. We investi- gate how Live Programming can accelerate game design iterations, make visual tools more accessible and engaging, and provide im- mediate feedback that brings code to life. We propose Live Game Design, a novel approach for rapid game prototyping that intro- duces mini-cycles to help designers of all skill levels explore, learn, and see a prototype come alive. We introduce Vie (pronounced /vi/), a game-making game for simultaneously prototyping and playtest- ing simple 2D games using Machinations. In an observational study, we evaluate the app during a Game-Based Learning tutorial for children aged 8 to 14. Our results show Vie is accessible to novices and Live Game Design enables prototyping at the speed of play.

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