Uplifting Us - A BIPOC Game Design Case Study.

In this short paper, we share our experiences designing a game for and about students of color at predominantly white institutions as a case study for a BIPOC-centric game design process. Through our design process, we encountered tensions in game design. For example, the frequency and relative inconsequence of physically violent death harmfully emphasizing real-world trauma in a game where all the main characters are people of color. We also encountered exciting opportunities in how we might create game experiences truly centering people of color. For example, the surprisingly novel delight of designing and creating slice-of-life narrative scenes in which people of color interact and thrive. We share how we work through these tensions and opportunities in order to open a conversation around game design processes by and for people of color as ways to uplift ourselves and our communities.