This talk introduces multiverse ethnography as a methodological tool for game design analysis, as part of a larger ERC-project Ontological Reconstruction of Gaming Disorder. The project is longitudinal, international and interdisciplinary, creating novel and large-scale psychological data regarding the ways people play games.

To understand the connections between game design and their potential for instigating different experiences, dozens of volunteering ethnographers work to generate concurrent ethnographic field notes of relevant games as both design objects and experiences. This data is synthesized into an online database regarding specific games, their generalizable design structures, and potential resulting experiences.

The talk will present the method with its benefits and challenges, positioning it within the larger research context. The practical implications of the project context will also be discussed, as the methods and disciplines layer, conflict, support and interact with each other.

Speaker:

Valtteri Kauraoja is a PhD student in the Department of Music, Art and Culture Studies at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland. His current research examines the role of design in gaming disorder as part of the longitudinal ERC-project Ontological Reconstruction of Gaming Disorder. Much of his work draws connections between game design and play experience, which he has previously approached through digital ethnography, structural analysis, and audience studies.