On your clothes there is a tag that gives you care instructions, such as how to wash your garment. A Care Testimony gives you information on the efforts taken in the making of a project to nurture humans, nonhumans, and the environment.
It is to help me be accountable, to help players make informed decisions, to share knowledge about responsible design, and to learn from feedback on the approaches taken. It is the opposite of a disclaimer.
Accessibility Care
Permanent, Temporary, & Situational Accessibility Notes:
Sight:
- Players are encouraged to read out for those unable to currently see the instructions or cards.
- Cards will be designed so colour is not the sole way to communicate information. Accessibility fonts will be tested.
- For the Remote Play version, blind players & allies are also encouraged to check out Jonathan Mosen’s “Meet Me Accessibly: A Guide to Zoom Cloud Meetings from a Blindness Perspective”]
Movement:
- If movement is limited, players are encouraged to keep to only gathering objects within reach, and/or other players can gather objects on their behalf.
Sound:
- At present, all players will need to hear their fellow players.
Design Care
I employ a “Many-Worlds Design” approach, in which multiplicity of people and choice is critical to the design.
Team & Testers Care
Artists: To the best of my knowledge, the Artists involved with the making of this game share similar impetuses towards care. All Artists are contracted freelancers, given reasonable (but sometimes could-be-longer) time to work on the briefs, and paid an hourly rate. Collaborators are not punished in any way for communicating if they’re keen or able to do a task. Communication about needs is encouraged. Collaborators are welcome to post about the game in their own social media and website during any part of the process.
Testers: Private session testers will be offered a copy of the game as further appreciation for their time and effort.
No Ambient Endorsement: Due to their reported behaviour towards women, I have removed a name from the playtesters list. (“Ambient Endorsement” is my own term. Let me know if there is another I may employ.)
Funding Support: I have self-funded the time, contractor, and production costs of the project over the past five years. I did receive a small commission fee from Pop Up Playground in 2013, and exhibit costs were in part reimbursed for CHIPlay 2018 from the SIGCHI Executive Committee Development Funds.
Production Care
Acknowledgement of Country: The making of this game has taken place on unceded land, where there are no formally recognised Traditional Owners. I grew up learning the history of early settlers, and the longer history of England, not the history of the land now called Australia and how it was forcefully taken over in our recent history. I therefore acknowledge Kulin Country where I live and make art. I pay my respects to their Elders, past and present. I am also currently investigating, with the help of Clare Land’s resources and book, how I can request residency, and pay rent.
Flights: I have flown interstate to showcase and playtest the game, and have tested it during international trips. None of these flights were carbon-offset. I am investigating carbon-offsetting programs, such as Project Wren and GreenPop, that have planting of trees in Australia.
Home Printing: Any home printing has been done with J.Burrows 100% White Copy Paper, bought from OfficeWorks. I print on my HP OfficeJet printer, which uses Original Ink produced from water bottles recycled in Haiti.
Prototype cards: A demo set has been printed by Print & Play, and their interactions so far have been super helpful and cheerful. Print & Play is owned by Ad Magic. Ad Magic seems to have a large women-identifying proportion of staff. They work out of China, and I am unaware of their employee relations there and of any environmental efforts being made by this company.
Final card production: I am still investigating where the final production of my game will be printed, to take into account the environment and the workers involved. MPC are reducing their use of plastic wrap, but that is all I have found so far.
Posters: A previous poster has been printed at OfficeWorks, Brisbane. Promotional posters be printed with Print Together in Australia, who buy recycled paper, use Vegetone inks and toner.
Kickstarter: I am considering running a crowd-funding campaign, but will be keeping an eye on the union discussions around Kickstarter to see how I can support the staff’s rights to organise. At present there is the option to put a Kickstarter United badge on our campaigns.
Please let me know if you have found this helpful, and any recommendations you have that may help with my and others’ goals around responsible design. Thank you!