• Project
  • Completed

Examining the digital in hybrid board games

Examining the digital in hybrid board games

Melissa Rogerson - Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interactions

Melissa Rogerson Senior Lecturer in Human-Computer Interactions

Melissa Rogerson is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Computing and Information Systems of the University of Melbourne, Australia. She dedicated her PhD studies to examining the experience of modern board game enthusiasts. She is particularly interested in the hybridization and digitization of board games and their effects on players. Melissa has also worked in the gaming industry as a game German-to-English translator. 

For more information: www.melissarogerson.com 

  • Project start date :
    2019/09/02
  • Status :
    Completed
  • Research organization :
    School of Computing and Information Systems, University of Melbourne
  • Team :
    Prof. Martin Gibbs and Dr Lucy Sparow (University of Melbourne)

In 2019, Game in Lab selected Dr Melissa Rogerson’s research project as part of its first call for projects to study hybrid board games, i.e. to examine the use of digital technologies to enhance, support and extend the diversity of physical board games. This project established a theoretical classification model for the digital functions of hybrid games.

Project overview

A growing number of commercial board games are incorporating digital technologies to create “hybrid” games that combine physical play with a digital application. This project aims to understand how the creation of hybrid board games expands and supports the diversity of commercial board games. Therefore, it seeks to identify innovative and creative uses of digital technologies in games, classify the functions that these technologies perform in the game, determine opportunities to improve board games through digital technologies, consider player preferences, industry objectives and possibilities for new interaction techniques. 

Examining the digital in hybrid board games

Methodology

Four studies are conducted in this project: 

  • The first is an online survey exploring the attitudes of players, designers and professionals in the game industry toward hybrid games. 
  • The second is based on interviews with game industry professionals. 
  • The third corresponds to the analysis of hybrid game sessions organized by researchers. 
  • The fourth identifies the functions of digital technologies in the game using the card sorting method. 

Outcomes

The various analyses define the Hybrid Digital Boardgame Model, a theoretical model grouping 41 functions of digital technologies used in board games, and categorizing them according to eight areas: teaching, calculating, Remembering, Storytelling, Timing, Randomizing, Housekeeping, Informing. 

News and papers

Discover more projects supported by Game in Lab

    • Project
    • Underway


    Collective Role Play as Inclusive Territory (CRIT): Role-playing as and with diverse others to promote gender and sexual orientation social inclusion

    In 2024, Game in Lab selected Dr. Benjamin Le Hénaff’s project to explore how playing characters with different genders and sexual orientations can foster empathy and intergroup interaction. Through a series of experimental studies, this research investigates the potential of role-playing games to reduce prejudice and promote social inclusion among players of the Dungeons & Dragons community. This contributes to a deeper understanding of how games can become spaces for experiencing and transforming gender and sexual norms.
    • Project
    • Underway


    The impact of board games’ materiality on the reception of their environmentalist message

    In 2024, Game in Lab selected Pr. Gabrielle Trépanier-Jobin's project to examine how the materiality of board games influences the reception of their environmentalist messages. This research focuses on games that promote sobriety and degrowth, and investigates whether minimalist or sophisticated production choices affect negatively or positively players’ interpretation of ecological values. The project will contribute both to the advancement of game studies and sustainable design practices.
    • Project
    • Underway


    Play and the city: Investigating the cultural heritage of games of the City of Rome (200 BC-500 AD)

    In 2024, Game in Lab selected Dr. Tim Penn's project to explore the cultural significance and social role of board games in the city of Rome between 200 BC and 500 AD. The project aims to shed light on a lesser-known facet of ancient Roman society. Using a digital approach that ensures the preservation of data for future research, it documents and analyzes archaeological evidence of board games found across Roman sites.