Designing playful situations for strangers in urban areas

Playful interactive game systems are seen as a new and exciting way to enhance social interactions. Although positive results have been reported from previous interventions, many of these games have focused on limited contexts involving players who are already familiar with each other. Research shows that familial experiences are markedly different from those between strangers, as players have different attitudes and motivations towards interaction. In this workshop we focus on the methods, tools, and mediums involved when designing games that encourage prosocial behavior between strangers. We invite the games research community to critically reflect on the complexities of creating such systems for co-located people. Furthermore, we also invite proposals that illuminate how differences in culture, age, gender, and context may affect the design of playful prosocial artifacts.