The mechanics of drawing

Abstract

Participatory planning is a way planners can gather valuable information and improve the planning process. To engage citizens in participatory approaches, planners should explore new interactive methods. Combining drawing as a communication activity, and games as an engaging approach can be one of the participatory methods. We propose to explore games that planners can use as tools for this purpose. We searched for analogue games with core drawing mechanics, where planners could learn how to build their serious games. Board Game Geek (BGG) allowed us to explore the most successful modern board games that use drawing mechanics, focusing on examples of how they engaged players. We discussed these, proposing the Modding Drawing Games for Planning Process (MDGPP) framework, and arguing how these core and auxiliary game mechanics could help planners to make game-based planning approaches. With this contribution, we hope to provide a process to help professional planners deliver engaging experiences to collect data for participatory planning approaches.

Keywords

• Board Games
• Drawing
• Participatory Planning
• Serious Games