Supporting engagement in research through a game design competition

Digital games are an engaging medium that have previously been used for communicating research to a variety of audiences. However, there is an opportunity for engaging people more deeply by involving them in creating games. This article reports on a game design competition, based on participatory design principles and game jam practices, which challenged university students to design games within the context of a research project. Based on their interpretations of research on human error in health care, teams created four games to be disseminated online to a wider public audience. We outline the competition format and reflect on the extent to which it was successful.