The Media is the Message

aka Dev-signing for Ludonarrative Harmony

I originally put together this lecture as a TA for the University of Washington’s Game Design Certificate Program, Spring 2022 cohort.

My goals were to:

• Improve my students’ understanding of the interaction between ludic and narrative elements of games;

• Encourage my students to think of the impact those interactions have on player experience;

• And give my students the tools to refine and advocate for greater ludonarrative harmony.

I pulled heavily from Lauryn Ash’s thesis Designing for Ludonarrative Harmony.

Supergiant’s approach to developing their award-winning rougelite, Hades, played a key role in helping my students understand what developing towards ludonarrative cohesion can look like.

Take a look at the PDF of The Media is the Message (annotated with speaker’s notes) to learn more!