Entry Date:
September 18, 2013

Subversive Game Design and Meaningful Conflict

Principal Investigator William Uricchio

Co-investigator Konstantin Mitgutsch


Movers & Shakers is used as a research tool to explore how a social component influences experiences in serious games. In addition subversive game design elements are implemented in the game to foster the players’ thinking process and to get them out of unquestioned routines. In the game the players are challenged to give up their prior egoistic goals to reach their common goal – to save the world. In a nutshell, the game shifts from a competitive to a collaborational gameplay -- once the players start communicating.

Movers & Shakers is used as a research tool to explore how a social component influences experiences in serious games. Subversive game design elements are used to foster the players’ thinking process and to get them out of unquestioned routines. Players are challenged to give up their prior egoistic goals to reach their common goal, to save the world. The game shifts from a competitive to a collaborational gameplay – but only once the players start communicating!

(*) The MIT Game Lab is using this tool to explore the following cutting-edge research topics:
(*) How does the conversation about conflicting perspectives influence the game experience and outcome?
(*) How does the setup of the players influence their experience of the conflict with their opponent?
(*) What potentials and limits do subversive game design components provide to multi-player serious games?