"Why Video Games Matter" is a text-based adventure game and was developed by games designer Lauren O’Donoghue, having incorporated presentations from symposium speakers, and discussion notes from facilitators, including Dr Antesar Shabut, Dr Jason Scott and Liz Cable, all Senior Lecturers at Leeds Trinity.

The game entails an open world structure and has 18 ‘mini topics’ integrated into it to allow players to explore why video games matter, with each topic based on the findings. It also includes a ‘treasure hunt’ mechanic to provide motivation for the player.

Having been finetuned after largely positive feedback from playtesters, the game is now available to try out here and is best played on a desktop or tablet.

Kathryn Penny, Deputy Head of School of Digital and Screen Media at Leeds Trinity University, said: “I am ridiculously excited to see the game completed and ready to be played. Last month’s symposium inspired a rich debate through a series of short talks and workshops and many of the thoughts and opinions shared are represented in the game.

“I am really pleased with how the game has turned out and feel this alternative way of presenting the findings of the symposium is both engaging and good fun.

“We hope this is just the start of a partnership between Leeds Trinity and the National Videogame Museum as we continue to explore the impact of games on our lives.”

John O’Shea, Creative Director at the National Videogames Museum, said: “We are delighted to be collaborating with Leeds Trinity University on this work. We want our museum to reach out across disciplinary, cultural and media boundaries to understand and highlight the reasons why videogames matter for the world at large.

“We hosted the Why Video Games Matter Symposium with Leeds Trinity to bring together a group of games-makers, digital practitioners, researchers and cultural professionals for a series of talks and a debate on this subject. The text-based adventure game from digital practitioner Lauren O’Donoghue was produced not only as an archive of the discussion, but also as an active way to continue this conversation – picking up on the threads, hot-topics and video games that were referenced on the day.”

The findings of the symposium will also feed into a module on the new BA Games Design course at Leeds Trinity University, which will welcome its first cohort of students in September 2024. The module, also to be named ‘Why do video games matter?’, will aim to help students understand the impact of games on society and culture.

To find out more about Leeds Trinity University’s BA in Games Design, visit the website.