Supporting the Construction of Mobile Games Interfaces: The Gamers4Nature Mobile Game Guidelines Cards Set

Research indicates that engaging younger audiences in the creation of their own digital games for learning may increase the interest towards the addressed theme and a better understanding of the value of what is learned. Giving young creators the tools needed to develop good games emerges as a key point for the success of this kind of activity. Toolkits, due to its problem-solving features and support materials, are often seen as powerful learning and teaching tools, assisting in the production of interactive artefacts. Taking this into consideration, the Gamers4Nature project developed a Toolkit to support youngsters in the creation of mobile games. The Gamers4Nature Toolkit to Game Design includes resources developed to support younger audiences in the creation of digital games: a game construction cards set, a rapid game design document, a set of thematic cards addressing environmental awareness theme and a set of cards presenting guidelines to be followed when developing mobile games interfaces. This paper describes the Mobile Game Design Guidelines cards development and validation process. The cards were developed following a User-Centered Design approach and validated through Expert Evaluation, with industry and academic experts in game design and development (N = 9) invited to analyze and validate the Guide-lines Cards. Although additional tests are still needed, namely with the target audience, preliminary results indicate that the guidelines presented in the cards can be a useful guide along the process of constructing a game while promoting the acquisition of knowledge related to the mobile interface design field.