Interdisciplinary Game Design Process in Anonymous Communications
Abstract: It is important for experts in computer science to develop skills in identifying the senders and receivers of anonymous communications to be able to defend against cyber attacks and to intercept malicious communications. The current study is an NSF-funded project, the purpose of which is to develop a course in Anonymous Communications for undergraduates with a simulation video game-based experience as a major component for learning. The research team is made up of two computer science professors and two education professors. Interdisciplinary efforts are mostly considered valuable to education, but they also present significant challenges, including that discourse surrounding research involves advanced and discipline-specific terminology. Experts from different disciplines may have difficulty conversing on high levels utilizing the diverse sets of terminology. This is precisely the challenge experienced in the current research study and discussed in this presentation. The purpose of this presentation is to present and discuss the challenges of interdisciplinary research and game design and to seek feedback from conference participants based on others’ experience and knowledge.