The aim of this study was to give voice to independent game designers and their production process. The research addressed the question: How do independent game designers describe their cultural spheres and how are these spheres and respective values communicated in their designs? A cultural lens was employed to better understand how designers think and how their designs are informed by their personal experiences. Twelve independent game designers were interviewed in two separate one-hour sessions, to discuss design and culture respectively. A visual approach---which included photo elicitation, drawing, and cognitive mapping---was utilized to support designers' expressions for "their ideas and work in a very visual and graphical way" (Lawson, 2005, p. 13). Narrative vignettes were used to present participants' voices (Ely, Vinz, Downing, & Anzul, 1997) and reflect themes found in previous literature including (a) tensions between creativity and sustainability, (b) design work inspired by personal experiences, and (c) designer value sets. This research builds on other reflective design literatures (Lawson, 2006; Cross, 2011; Flanagan & Nissenbaum, 2014; Schon, 1983), cultural theories (Rathje, 2009) and game production studies (O'Donnell, 2014; Nieborg, 2011; Whitson, 2012) to examine the relationship between design and culture. The work presented herein extends beyond game studies, as it is applicable to the design of other interactive technologies, like websites and mobile applications, and informs cultural studies in the design of technology products.
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