Game Room Design

Today, we took another step towards our Learning Games Lab -- decoration. We need to decide what colors to paint the walls, how to arrange furniture, and what kind of furniture to buy. The university's interior decorator reminded us that kids get melancholy from dark colors... it got me thinking... what kind of mood do we want our game lab to evoke?

We're striving to initially create a space that is flexible: TVs on carts that can move... furniture that is easily repositioned... inexpensive desks instead of mounted counter tops. As we confirm what types of activities we want our participants to engage in, we'll get ideas on how to arrange the space, but how do we want to decorate it? How do we balance a casual, hip and fun kid space with a research space to be taken more seriously by funders?

So, fellow gamers, what kind of space would you want? Good chair? No windows? Space to share with peers? What kind of rooms makes you feel like you are doing important work, while still conveying a sense of fun?