Graft-games: experiential prototyping for the exploration of crossovers between craft and gaming

Latham, Gemma ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1033-3787 (2023) Graft-games: experiential prototyping for the exploration of crossovers between craft and gaming. In: EKSIG 2023: From Abstractness to Concreteness - experiential knowledge and the role of prototypes in design research, 19 June 2023 - 20 June 2023, Department of Design, Politecnico di Milano, Italy.

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Abstract

This paper presents an experimental prototyping approach, termed ‘grafting’, for investigating theoretical crossovers between craft practice and the play of video games. It presents a case study of prototype ‘graft- game’ Hazuki Knit, developed as a probe for exploring an emerging theoretical field of study that acknowledges embodied skill within the play of videogames aligning it with craft labour. In particular, it proposes a method of prototyping in which an existing game is directly grafted onto a craft activity in order to enable the direct observation of its impacts upon embodied and inarticulable actions of participants during grafted gameplay at a series of themed public events. Through discussion, it presents grafting as a method for interrogating the potentialities brought about through joining these two related yet distinct activities. Utilising key findings from a case study of prototype ‘graft-game’ Hazuki Knit conducted by the author between May 2018 and June 2019 this paper reveals that directly joining craft with a digital game can lead to high-risk gameplay that can negatively impact the quality of the craft output.