Terms & Conditions Fae Apply: A Playable PSA About Bad Design

A tabletop game developed using co-design workshops and playtesting to explore how gameplay can protect users against deceptive digital designs known as dark patterns.

📌PROJECT SCOPE

Client: Texas Tech University Graduate School (Dissertation Project)
Timeframe: 3 months (full-time)
My Role: Qualitative Researcher, Game Designer, Research Facilitator, Data Analyst
Team: Ben Alfonsin, Dissertation Committee
Methods: Participatory Design, Playtesting, Focus Group, Thematic Analysis, Grounded Theory
Tools: Qualtrics, NVivo, Tabletop Simulator, Aseprite, Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Premiere Pro

🪟 Project Overview

🚀 CLIENT KICKOFF
In response to growing concerns about dark patterns in digital interfaces, I proposed a game that doesn’t just raise awareness — it trains users to recognize and resist manipulation through hands-on experience. I partnered with a local game shop (Mad Hatter’s House of Games) to host design and playtesting sessions.

🔎 OBJECTIVES

Explore how gameplay can be used to teach users to recognize and resist deceptive design patterns.
Use participatory design methods to co-create meaningful mechanics and metaphors.
Evaluate how user-centered design shapes the creative process.
Investigate how interactive play can create desired behaviors, not just awareness.

✏️ NOTES
The game was developed in four phases: co-design workshop, paper prototyping, structured playtesting, and a final boxed edition sold physically and distributed for free digitally.

👩🏻‍🔬 Methodology

Design: Four-stage iterative development cycle

Participants: 19 designers, 8 playtesters

Analysis: Thematic analysis, grounded theory

Deliverables: Board game, digital game, research documentation, design guidelines

Development Timeline

🤿 Deep Dive

1️⃣ PARTICIPATORY DESIGN WORKSHOP

Recruiting for Experience
I assembled four diverse co-design teams made up of 19 students from UX, game design, media, and tabletop gaming backgrounds.

Collaborative Design
Each team ideated and pitched a game concept based on real dark patterns.
The winning concept became the foundation for the prototype: a workplace satire where players climb a corrupt corporate ladder and deceive their userbase.

🎲CONCEPTS GENERATED

2️⃣ PROTOTYPING

Metaphorical Mechanics
Game elements mirrored dark patterns: players could guilt trip, rope others into unfair trades, or hoard resources.
This framing allowed players embody the manipulator and reflect on real-world parallels.

Theme, Tone, and Balance
Early feedback revealed that clarity and tone were key: players wanted challenge, strategic options, and strong satire.
Mechanics were adjusted to reflect these needs.

3️⃣ PLAYTESTING

Controlled Playtest Sessions
I conducted a 3-hour structured playtest with eight players across two teams.
Players evaluated theme, usability, clarity, challenge, and narrative immersion.

User Feedback Highlights
“We wanted more sabotage!”
“The rules felt dense at first.”
“I didn’t realize I was manipulating people until halfway through — and then I loved it.”

This feedback was thematically analyzed in NVivo to uncover insights for game design, player needs, and UX.

👁️ INSIGHTS

Design Insights

Player Insights

User Experience Insights

4️⃣ PERSUASIVE DESIGN

Communicating Without Words
Actions like “high-demand message” and “confirmshaming” let players enact and experience dark patterns firsthand. The game’s rules communicated persuasive arguments without exposition.

Affordance Design
Design refinements ensured that user actions matched their expectations — reinforcing affordances and allowing strategies to emerge intuitively.

5️⃣ FINAL DELIVERY

From Prototype to Product
I worked with a Hong Kong-based board game manufacturer to produce physical editions of the game, all of which sold out. I also published a digital version on Tabletop Simulator for remote/VR play.

Tools for Resistance
I analyzed playtester reflections and found strong alignment with Inoculation Theory: gameplay created resistance through rehearsal, preparing users to recognize and resist manipulative designs outside of the game.

💭 Reflection

Industry Takeaways

Design can be used to coax desired behaviors. Instead of telling users what a dark pattern is, this game helped them feel it through their choices.
Playtesting reveals more than usability. It exposed how players interpret and internalize themes — and how mechanics subtly guide values.
Gamification is a powerful UX tool. Designers can use rules and outcomes, not just visuals, to communicate.

Personal Takeaways

Designing from concept to end product gave me hands-on experience with design, testing, and production under financial and time constraints.
I deepened my understanding of how theory translates into design practice.
Most importantly, I learned how play can drive change — helping users not through lectures, but through carefully crafted design.