Exploring game design approaches through conversations with designers

This paper explores game designers’ attitudes and praxis through a Grounded Theory analysis of data collected from interviews with 11 game design professionals. The aim of the research is to investigate and map possible shared approaches and strategies. The study presents a theoretical framework based on the core category “Balancing permanence and change”. Designers appear to build and maintain elements of stability, and contemporarily ensure the process’ flexibility and adaptability to possible constraints through collaborative approaches and iterative methods. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of game design practices and provide a theoretical framework for interpreting designers’ choices. Future research should assess the adaptability of the framework across game genres and cultural backgrounds of designers.