Design fiction is quite a challenging yet exciting term. From the work that has been published and discussed over the years, we can say that design fiction is based on the adoption and manipulation of the cultural forms of design and fiction. Design fiction opens the door to a new form of cultural artefacts i.e. futures. The term was first mentioned in Bruce Sterling’s book Shaping Things in 2005. He later described the term in an interview in 2012. According to Sterling design fiction is a “deliberate use of diegetic prototypes to suspend disbelief about change.”
Yet another exciting reference in design fiction are games. Games are all about exploring the alternative worlds. Design fiction in games lets the players explore different scenarios that represent various presents and speculative futures. Games spin around design fiction, speculative design and critical design. It is also complemented by critical play, persuasive games and procedural rhetoric.
Game design fiction builds on the idea of merging codes and postures with the combination of game design and design fiction. Game design fiction is the visualization of how games can transform the game highlights to design fiction with amazing experiences of the near future. Game design fiction brings out a totally new form of future that engage audiences to reflect on their current states and think of the alternative scenarios of tomorrow. Therefore, games are the perfect way of creating a hype of something more attractive, while challenging the expectation of different futures and myths of innovations. Henceforth, it is deduced that game design fiction is the process of producing games that relate to situations that haven’t happened yet.
Following are the three modes that establish a link between games and design fiction:
- Game Codes for Fiction and Future Scenario Building
The link between design fiction and future scenario is the most crucial part and has to be accessible for the non-designer. It has to specifically create interest and collaboration with the public. The combination of design fiction and future scenarios provides a playful tools that enable the imagination of shared prospective scenarios and worlds.
- Design Fiction = Game
Here the diegetic artefact is the video game itself. It is the embodiment of the codes of the future video games that initiate the interactive design fiction. It ventures into the various layers of speculative world. With this, the players can experience the consequences of the actions played out in the game.
This way, the game becomes a diegetic prototype that enables different perspectives and combines different interactive assets that properly simulate experiences.
- Connection between Game and Series of Design Fictions
This mode enables the potential of links between design fictions that articulate the same future scenario with the polyphony of visions. The game base interactions navigate the scenarios and future situations of various backgrounds.
Game design fiction encompasses the complete range of perspective of anticipated thinking and actions. The game mechanisms explores the prospective worlds that portray design fiction.
Design Fiction 