Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 1, 2010 17 Copyright © 2010 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. Redefining toys, games and entertainment products by teaching about playful interactions Tilde Bekker*, Caroline Hummels, Sam Nemeth and Philip Mendels Department of Industrial Design, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, Eindhoven 5600 MB, The Netherlands E-mail: m.m.bekker@tue.nl E-mail: c.c.m.hummels@tue.nl E-mail: a.g.g.e.nemeth@tue.nl E-mail: p.mendels@tue.nl *Corresponding author Abstract: This paper describes how students are taught to design (computer) games and toys in a broad sense of the word at the Department of Industrial Design at the Eindhoven University of Technology. The curriculum is highly project driven, which means that students acquire a large amount of hands-on experience during concrete projects. One major theme within the department is the design of playful interactions, which focuses on the design of innovative concepts that support expressing oneself and exploration. In this theme, we design for opportunities and exploration instead of goal-oriented products. Our educational approach is illustrated with examples both from an assignment on game design and design projects on playful interaction. Keywords: play; user-centred design; design for children; locative games; storytelling; open-ended play; competency centred learning; learning. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Bekker, T., Hummels, C., Nemeth, S. and Mendels, P. (2010) ‘Redefining toys, games and entertainment products by teaching about playful interactions’, Int. J. Arts and Technology, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.17–35. Biographical notes: Tilde Bekker is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Industrial Design (ID) at the Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). She has been the Theme Champ (or manager) of the educational area of playful interactions at the department since 2008. She has a background in Industrial Design (Master’s and PhD). Her work focuses on design research for children, playful interactions for diverse user groups and user-centred design methods. Caroline Hummels is an Associate Professor and Director of Education of ID. She also has a background in Industrial Design Engineering (Master and PhD). In her work, she focuses on both the educational profile of ID through competency-centred learning, and her personal topic of aesthetics of interaction and ethics in design. Sam Nemeth is a Staff Member at Multidisciplinary Laboratory Patchingzone and Researcher/Coach at ID. His interests include journalism, gaming, creation of television programmes and video streaming.