Just as educational structures can perpetuate or dismantle societal inequities, game designs can either reinforce existing biases or work towards creating a more equitable playing field. Recognizing and intentionally addressing these biases is crucial for creating balanced and fair game experiences.
Equity-centered design in education focuses on intentionally involving underrepresented communities in the design process to address specific inequities. Similarly, in game design, involving players from diverse backgrounds can help identify and rectify imbalances that may not be apparent to a more homogenous design team.
Acknowledging and actively working against racism, sexism, and other forms of bias in game design can lead to more inclusive and balanced games. This involves scrutinizing game mechanics, narratives, and community policies for potential biases and designing in ways that redistribute power equitably among players.
Emphasizing human-centered design and empathy can help identify where game designs might unintentionally exclude or disadvantage players. Understanding the player experience from multiple perspectives is key to creating games that are accessible, engaging, and fair for everyone.
Designing for the "average" player, much like designing curriculum for the "average" student, can overlook the needs and experiences of players from marginalized groups. Game designers should challenge these assumptions and strive for inclusivity beyond the majority demographic
The concept of "ungrading" in education, where students have more control over how they demonstrate their learning, parallels the idea of giving players more agency in games. Allowing players to define their paths to success can lead to a more personalized and balanced gaming experience
Achieving equity in game design, like in education, is a marathon, not a sprint. It requires ongoing effort, self-reflection, and a willingness to learn and adapt based on feedback from a diverse player base
Just as educators are encouraged to seek out resources on equity-centered design, game designers can benefit from exploring literature and frameworks on inclusive design, player psychology, and community management to inform their approaches to creating balanced games.
This lab page (and this lab page only) created using ChatGPT and AudioPen AI to abstract spoken notes and other pre-written material into a viable list of topics about equity as it could relate to game balance