Textile Game Controllers: Exploring Affordances of E-Textile Techniques as Applied to Alternative Game Controllers

Abstract

Invested in increasing access to computational literacy, this paper explores the development of a series of free public workshops in partnership with an equity-seeking group. These workshops cover e-textile techniques that lend themselves to making alternative game controllers leading up to a concept-led game jam. We use research creation approaches to prioritize creative exploration within a community group for marginalized makers. The goal of the research is to explore and elucidate the overlap between e-textiles and experimental game making. We discuss our playful use of workshops as research method to iterate on the embodied experience of making on behalf of our participants. Our contribution maps the connections between workshop design and development, learning materials generated, through to application within an online game jam setting.