Board Game Production in Hong Kong: Multimethod research on design, communities and outreach.

    Project: Research project

    Project Details

    Description

    In this project, we will research current board game production inside Hong Kong, focusing especially on design, distribution, and outreach. We argue that by combining established game research writing into an interdisciplinary approach focusing on textual analysis, game analysis models, and qualitative methods focusing on amplifying local creators, a better understanding of what makes Hong Kong board game space unique can be achieved, allowing for better positioning within a global scope.

    Board game research has existed for a significant amount of time across different fields including game research, play research, media archaeology and media cultures, and it is further growing as board games become more and more popular. There is significant research about board game design, board game design communities, regional design choices, as well as East Asian board game archaeology. However, there is currently a dearth of research that looks at modern design choices in East Asian communities, including Hong Kong. Board game artefacts with Hong Kong ties are already plentiful, including commercial successful games, such as Zombicide and Cyberpunk 2077: Gangs of Night City, independent hits such as Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, as well as smaller innovative designs which have not achieved their due non-local recognition, such as Eila and Something Shiny. This research aims to platform such games, by compiling them, analysing them and researching in which ways local design communities stand out.

    In this research, we will first conduct a comparative analysis of pre-modern regional board games such as Mahjong and Go, and tie this with relevant academic work (such as Wirman and Leino, 2017; Nanako, 1988 respectively). We will then compile a comprehensive list of local board games, and through them contact their designers and publishers to learn about their design choices, local issues such as distribution, development and global proliferation, and future projections for the board game scene. Through both our initial research, as well as our expert opinions, we will make claims on exceptional factors in Hong Kong board games.

    Through this research, we hope to not only to target common academic metrics such as conferences, journals and symposia. We also want to further promote board games as a playful socially-engaged practice; whether through community events such as board game nights or special interest group meetings. Additionally, we want to promote local voices by addressing production concerns and amplifying their creations locally, regionally and internationally.
    StatusActive
    Effective start/end date1/09/2331/08/26

    UN Sustainable Development Goals

    In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This project contributes towards the following SDG(s):

    • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being

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