Transformative Game Design. Perspectives on the Interplay of Space, Learning, and Games

Abstract

This dissertation explores how transformative game design can support children in understanding and actively shaping their everyday environments. Using an educational design research approach, it examines the interplay between learning, space, and games, and analyzes the iterative development of the analog game ParticiPécs in collaboration with children and experts. The process results in design principles that enable games to foster spatial learning and agency, showing how children engage with the dynamic nature of space and initiate change. The findings provide both theoretical grounding and practical guidance for developing games for built environment education for promoting inclusive and participatory urban development.