However, since game provenance data capture is guided by a set of strict predefined rules established by the game developers, the detection of long-range cause-and-effect relationships may demand huge coding efforts. Thus, game provenance graph tools have been proposed to capture cause-and-effect relationships occurring in a gameplay session to assist the game design process. To succeed in Game Analytics, it is essential to identify what is happening in a game (an effect) and track its causes. Game Analytics comprises a set of techniques to analyze both the game quality and player behavior. The literature and survey-based findings in this paper may be of benefit to game design scholars and designers who are intent on critically analysing the use of participatory design in the game design process. This paper is concluded with a critical overview of the role of participatory design in game design and potential uses for games for learning. Several of the respondents admitted that they have considered player participation during other stages of game development. The survey results show that playtesting is the most common technique that they utilise in order to improve player experience. This paper also contains the findings of a survey among game designers in Brazil (N=29) concerning their use of participatory design techniques during the design process in their studios.
This paper reviews the current body of literature on participatory design (PD) for game design, including participatory design elements, participatory design in education, and the current challenges that game designers and developers encountered.