Second Life: Role Play

I chose to explore a Role Play based on the reimagined series Battlestar Galactica, from 2004.

I filled out a brief application, expressing my interest and the type of role that I would like to play. I chose Engineering as a role, and picked a colony from the world of BSG (Scorpio) as my origin. I had to create a brief biography for my character (Flint Agathon).

 (Submitting My Application)

I was granted access to the RP and invited to join the BSG Group. I was told that I would be assigned to the Battlestar Thesis (the main ship in the RP). The Commanding Officer told me where to acquire the uniform and equipment that I would need.

(My BSG Duty Blues Uniform in the Shuttle Bay of the Battlestar Thesis)

I reviewed the RP rules and background of the story, which is a fan-created extension of the world of the series. I explored the Battlestar, found the shuttle bay and the Command Center (CIC).

(Sitting in the cockpit of a Raptor Gunship)

The next day, I logged in again, and this time, I encountered the Commanding Office, who informed me that my uniform was not correct for my role. He helped me acquire and configure the uniform that I would need and explained that there were a number of individual RP missions, as well as "Main Events" which would be communicated in group messages. The Commander explained the the majority of players in the RP were from Europe, the United States, and Australia. He spent a considerable amount of time helping me, and even mentioned that there were people in SL who offered introductory courses in RP for those who were new to the "game." 

A shorrt while later, I went back and investigated the Planet Djerba, which is athe site of some of the story in the RP. I did some exploring, and found a computer, which yielded some data that I was directed to "bring bak to the Ship."

 

(Retrieving hard drives from Cylon Lab on Djerba)

I am looking forward to getting involved with some of the larger group missions in this RP, and will update this blog as I get more interaction with the group.

Other Games: Abstract

Abstract Games

Games like Line Rider are in many ways a game design application disguised as a game. By starting with a literal clean slate, the player is allowed to create the world that they want to see. The only limitations are the physics of the world itself. This type of game is well suited to a science class, in which the teacher could set out a list of tasks that the line course must meet (i.e. 2 reversals of direction, 3 loops, and the ride must last at least 30 seconds), and then let the students experiment with different designs that would meet this criteria. During the design, there would be opportunities to discuss the physics and the variables that make the ride more effective, which could then be linked to the design of actual amusement park rides, like roller coasters or water slides, or the physics of events like bobsled.

The danger with this type of game is similar to the danger of handing a student a blank sheet of paper and telling them that they can write anything they want. The pressure of filling the blank page can be daunting. However, if a handful of introductory activities were conducted with the group, and then a series of larger challenges were provided (i.e. who can build the most extreme ride), this would create a structure within which the students could express their creativity.

Other Games: Puzzles

Puzzle games like Tetris tap into quick thinking skills, and visual spatial abilities of the player. Physics puzzles like Angry Birds, Construction Fall, or Amazing Alex offer the opportunity to work a problem over and over again, testing, assessing, and revising the plan of action. The standard system of offering stars for the quality of the level completion, and locking certain levels until certain prerequisites are met also increase motivation and replay opportunities.

In my classroom, my physical science students recently completed a group project in which they had to design, construct, and test a Rube Goldberg contraption, which incorporated a number of simple machines. I could see incorporating a game like Construction Fall as either an introductory activity, to get students thinking about different creative ways to incorporate elements of the machine, or challenging them to recreate a complex level in real life. As an extension, I would possibly have them work with a game design system, like Sploder, to create their own levels, which would have to meet certain criteria, and then challenge their classmates to complete the levels.

Simulation Games: Turn-based games

I played the Banner Saga on Steam, and have played games like Risk online for nearly 20 years. The difference between Turn-Based games like these and RTS games like Total War and Clash of Clans is, to me, like the difference between playing chess and playing volleyball. In TBS games, each move has a counter-move, and there is time to reflect, react, and plan the next move. Your opponent, whether computer or human, has the same opportunity, so that there is an element of trying to predict what your opponent will do next, and deciding whether your moves need to change accordingly.

From an educational games perspective, one of the advantages of TBS games is this ability to pause and reflect. This can be done individually, or even as a class. If 20 students are playing in a room, there can be discussion about what happened in each turn. What worked, what did not work, what should be tried next? It can become a combination of collaboration and parallel processing, as students share experiences and strategies after each and every turn.

Simulation Games: RTS

I played Total War: Kingdoms, on Steam, and have played a number of other RTS games, from Clash of Clans, to Command & Conquer, etc. I think that one of the advantages of RTS games is that the ongoing nature of the game requires a complex planning and project management mindset. Between prioritizing resources, buildings, and units, and the fluid nature of adversaries who may attack or seek treaties at any time, RTS games have the potential to be used in almost any content area where dealing with novel or ill-defined problems is required.

For my own teaching, I would love to find or develop a game that would allow the teacher (or gamemaster) to manipulate some of the parameters of different regions or players. I teach chemistry, and I think that it would be interesting to challenge students with such problems as depriving them of certain key elements, or making different elements more abundant, or changing the physical and chemical properties of various elements and getting the students to work out how this would influence the world and the gameplay. What is the freezing point or boiling point of water was different? What if iron was more rare than gold? There could also be a trsing component to this, if the resources could be deliberately and unevenly distributed, as they are in the real world. What if one country had no silicon, while another had an abundance of silicon, but no copper?

Action Games: Rhythm

Rhythm Games

These games rely on a different type of reflexive action in order to be successful. Games like Fireworks have the added layer of using one hand to change color while the other hand focuses on direction. This really takes a great deal of concentration, and while it is possible to get into a comfortable rhythm, it is also very easy to get thrown off and have a quick streak of errors. The experience can be both exciting and frustrating. The many variations of this game, such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band also allow for collaborative play and take advantage of popular, familiar songs to engage players. These type of games can be used to help build keyboard skills as well.

I found a different type of rhythm game, called Music Catch, which combines a bit of Fruit Ninja with rhythm game play. Catching certain notes, while avoiding others, mixed in with a very serene pace, made this a very engaging game for me. It is the sort of thing that could be used as a decompression activity for me.

Action Games: Driving

Driving Games

One of the things about driving games is the massive variety of variations that exist. Everything from very simple, cartoon-style racers like Mario Kart to the white-knuckle realistic physics of Forza. There are also many different gameplay styles, from pure first person racing to top-down battle modes, to side scrolling physics puzzles like Max Dirt and Trials Frontier. Games offer many levels of complexity, and in RPG style, some games offer the ability to earn points or money to upgrade your vehicle. Like buffing an avatar, adding a bigger engire, better tires, or flashy paint job gives players the opportunnity to differentiate their vehicles based on their own style. Do you go for raw power or more control? Heavier body style or nimble rally car?

Aside from the games noted above (I really enjoy the Trials franchise for its combination of story and physics puzzles), I found this game called Total Wreckage, which is a third-person view smash-up derby.

Modern Narrative Games

So, I decided to play The Black Watchmen on Steam. The game glitched out after about an hour, and now Steam keeps telling me that I don't own the game. I will get the issue resolved and keep playing, because I would like to get more into the game, and I will revise this post, if I have anything further to add.

With that being said, I have some thoughts on ARGs in general, and can relate to the early experience of The Black Watchmen accordingly.

I think that the concept of ARGs is appealing to me, because they often involve finding things that are hidden in websites or locations in the real world. In fact, I think that this part of the appeal of ARGs, and what differentiates them from MMORPGs. The opening missions of the game involve going to a variety of websites to break codes involving hexadecimal, and walk the player through the ideas that clues will be hidden in plain sight, either in coded messages or hidden in images that are provided as part of the mission.

MMORPGs and other virtual worlds are persistent, in that the action of the world continues, even if you are not in the world. On the other hand, ARGs are not only persistent, but they are "insistent." They actually insert themselves into your world when you are not playing. Through emails, text messages, etc., the game moves you along. This increases the immersiveness of the game, since it becomes part of your real life.

Also, another aspect of the games that I find appealing, and that many others find appealing as well, is that there is almost always a code breaking/puzzle aspect to the game. There are rabbit holes to go down, if you know where to look.

Many of these games exist with tie-ins to popular TV shows, movies, or other games. The HBO series Westworld has a massive online presence, which is full of puzzles and Easter eggs, if you know where to look. The series Mr. Robot has a tie-in game that plays on a smart phone, and follows the style of the series. The game takes place primarily via text messaging within the app, and you are asked to choose from a series of dialogue choices in each message.

These games rely on a different set of skills than many typical games. Their is a hacker/conspiracy mentality to most of these games, and they tend to have a thriving online communities, where hints are shared freely, but spoilers are protected ferociously.

I will report back when I get the game up and running again.

Narrative Games III

Zelda, and similar narrative games, tap into different gameplay skills than shooters and more standard puzzle games. There is the aspect of exploration, both of the land and caves. There are a variety of enemies, with different movement patterns and attacks. There is action, to be sure, but it is not as much of the fast-twitch variety. There are NPCs and puzzles to provide interest and challenges along the way. The pace and style of the game promotes long-term engagement and variety of play.

Rolling Into Narrative Games

I think that the appeal of RPGs is that there is a sense of choice and some sense of control over the game play. Players can choose their class to best suit their personalities or play styles, and depending on the game mechanics, can pick and choose how their character evolves over time. The class and skill point decisions have a lasting effect on the game play. This is true in more modern games like the Fallout series and The Division. When the game responds to player choices, it gives a real sense of immersion, and in multiplayer games, the ways in which individuals craft their characters adds a layer of artistry and diversity. If you have been playing for a while, and customized your character's appearance and skill set, it is possible that you will never meet another character exactly like yours. This individuality inspires a connection between the player and the character that draws players further into the game, and can even influence the decisions a player will make.

Play This, Learn That: Minecraft

The felxibility and immersive nature of Minecraft are are two key things that educators such as Jim Pike and Glen Irvin are able to take advantage of to make the game an incredibly successful as a teaching tool.

The simplicity and flexibility of the Minecraft world make it possible for the teachers and the students to apply their own creativity to immerse themselves in the lesson in a way that textbooks and other media simply do not.  Even though Minecraft is a virtual world, it gives students and teachers the ability to have real-world, authentic experiences that are not bound by the limitations of a worksheet or essay. Students can build, interact, and work together to solve problems or create something new. When they are given these opportunities, they can make connections and take ownership of their experiences.

What makes a good game?

After reviewing my notes from playing through each type of game, here is a list of the key components of what makes a good game (for me). These are not in order of importance. I'm not sure that I would be able to rank them. I think that you really need all of these to make a really good game:

1) Quick Entry: If I can't figure out what to do or how to do it fairly quickly, I will become frustrated and probably move on to another game or activity.

2) Feedback: This probably the biggest category, because it comes in many forms. I need to know where I stand, whether this is a health bar, or a progress bar for XP, or health bars for my enemies so that I can determine whether to fight or run. It also means that I need to have some idea of whether I am making progress or not toward my goal. In education, this would be called a formative assessment. There need to be activities that somehow let me gauge my improvement and what I still need to do, and also to provide me with incremental steps to reach those goals. Finally, when I get stuck, I need feedback to offer guidance. In gaming, this often comes in the form of NPCs offering suggestions, or in-game hints. I don't want to be told what to do and how to do it, but if I am facing a difficult challenge, and I am going about it the wrong way, it is extremely helpful to get feedback to get me headed in the right direction.

3) Consistency and clarity: Things need to make sense in the world of the game. That doesn't mean that everything has to work as I would expect it to in the real world. I can accept game mechanics that defy logic or physics, but only if they are consistent and can be clearly identified. Also, I need at least some idea of my objectives. I am fine with having flexibility and multiple forms of victory, but I need to have some indication of what I am trying to accomplish. If I can't figure it out, I am wandering aimlessly.

4) Puzzles and challenges: I love a good puzzle and welcome challenges in games and in life. However, when learning something new, if the challenges are immediately immense, then I am less likely to persist. I am reminded of the experience my son had with two different sports. First, he had an interest in fencing. He tried it, and loved the action and the equipment, and the competition. However, he quickly realized that there was so much to learn that he was rarely getting to actually do the things that he wanted to do, and the skills that he would need to get there would take a long time to develop. He quickly lost interest. Next, he tried archery: and the experience was completely different. After learning the basic mechanics of holding the bow, drawing and shooting an arrow, he had learned essentially everything there was to know to participate, and he could engage in simply getting better. He loved it. This is informative to gaming as well as learning. The more time we have to spend acquiring new skills without any application, the less time we spend enjoying the action. Also, with regard to puzzles, make sure they have a purpose. In one of the games, there was a mechanic involving finding different keys to unlock a particular area. However, there was also a way to access the area without any of the keys. This meant that there was no need to solve the puzzle, and that aspect of the game was pointless. Give everything a purpose.

5) Mix it up: The best games, for me, are the ones that require different styles of play in order to reach the objective. In some cases, this goes to having different classes of players and characters. In other cases, it simply means that there is a shift between all-out action, strategy, puzzle-solving, and exploration. There are certainly single-mode games that can be entertaining, but when you need to flex different muscles at different points in the game, the long-term playability increases.

The blog with my thoughts on each game type can be found here.

Games can make the world a better place

Can play and learning be combined? Absolutely. Courses like this are proof of that in the digital age, but the entire history of games tells us this. When we are young, we learn many important lessons from games. Social behaviors, perseverance, the importance of hard work to improve ourselves. All of these things come from the games that we play as children. Some of this changes as we get older and we either begin to feel pressure to win at all costs, or we feel inadequate and choose to stop playing. Play is a critical part of our development. What role does acknowledging progress play in successful gaming and is their transfer to education? Students often feel overwhelmed by the traditional model of learning and assessment. As a teacher, I can't count the number of times that I have heard a student say, "I just don't understand any of this." My typical response to this, of course, is that it's not true, and I proceed to work through the problem bit by bit with the student. When they look at the pieces of the problem, they can always find at least something that they know and can solve. The problem comes when they have to use this knowledge or combine it with other information to solve more complex problems. In games, we usually see this process gradually, learning new skills, practicing them, and then figuring out how to use them to defeat the enemies in front of us. When we are faced with a difficult challenge, we don't say "I can't do any of this." We try different combinations of the skills we have, or we recognize a weakness in the enemy that can be exploited by a skill or tool we don't yet have. We then go out to seek this new skill or tool, so that we can come back and overcome the obstacle. This is learning at its most fundamental level, and gamers do it without question. That is the sense of urgency and optimism that we need to instill in all of our students. What do you think MacGonigal's thought about parallel tracks of education (school/games)? This is a fascinating statistic, and it emphasizes the potential of learning and games. If even a significant portion of the time spent gaming can be channeled toward learning, the potential of students to acquire new skills and knowledge is staggering. In addition, if education can take its lessons from the gaming world, then the amount of time spent learning can more than double. Reflect on Jane's 4 things that games do to make us "virtuosos": Urgent Optimism, Social Fabric, Blissful Productivity, Epic Meaning. Beyond the qualities that make outstanding gamers, these sound like a checklist of qualities that would make the ultimate entrepreneur. When an individual has a vision for something that they want to bring to life, they exhibit these qualities in the same way gamers do. They work on their projects on their own time, often spending as much or more time on them than their "regular" job. They feel that they have the power to change the world, and that drives them to push past any doubt or setbacks, and they often form close-knit groups of like-minded individuals to help them succeed. If these skills can be harnessed by the gaming world, just imagine what they can do if these entrepreneurial spirits were unleashed on real-world problems - and if they were given the freedom to do so in their own ways.

Gamification: Star Trek Science

Creating a quest-based, Star Trek themed science class makes a great deal of sense. Star Trek was a science-based show in many ways, and provides a rich background for building stories and quests. Using a pre-existing universe like this one has two distinct advantages. First, there is a geography, a history, and a mythology built in. You don't need to build a world from scratch. Second, depending on the world, the students may already be familiar with the world, which both sparks interest and gives them some pre-existing knowledge to connect to in the quests. Using the QR codes to distribute missions is an interesting use of both the technology and the physical world to engage in the quests. Another tactic that I could see would be to use another social media app, such as Twitter, or the messaging component of an LMS to "push" information and quests out to the students. One thing that I certainly learned from watching this video is that I would not want to load this much background information into a class, as this instructor did. I would make learning about the world and the mechanics of the game universe into introductory quests, which students would need to complete at the beginning of the course, before getting into the content. The early missions on the Prometheus and exploring Second Life serve this function. Part of the benefit of quest-based learning is to get the same information across without having to stand in front of a class and lecture about it. Introductory quests would let the students become engaged with the world immediately, while learning how the rest of the course will work. The first mission that is introduced in the video sounds like a great example of how to tie the content to the world of the game. Rather than learning about volcanic activity and its effect on air quality through lecture or reading, the students will have to learn about the problems being experienced on a distant planet, and investigate ways in which volcanic activity could cause these problems. This is a "real-world" application of the information, which students can make connections to through their quests. By prompting them to work backward from the problem to the cause, the students will be driven by their own curiosity. They may take different paths to the information, but they should all get to the same place.

Video Game Seduction Secrets

Several things stood out to me with regard to the link between successful games and learning, and how the two can be combined for maximum effect. First is the idea of failure as a tool for learning, and mastery as a milestone. The "acquire, test, master" mechanic that is a key element of effective game tutorials is also a best practice of education. However, given the structure of a traditional classroom, most students are not given the time and space to engage in this form of learning. This is a huge aspect of gamification for me. It is virtually impossible for me to let students acquire and master new skills at their own individual pace, in spite of the knowledge that this would be the best way for students to maximize their learning. However, if I can effectively design lessons and apply the right technology to the situation, I should be able to provide this opportunity for all of my students. Gamification and questing are excellent examples of how this could be achieved. Time and technology are currently significant barriers to this goal. The other dichotomy that appeals to me is the combination of autonomy and story. When students are in control of their own learning, both in terms of pacing and the choice of pathways, then they are more likely to be engaged and more likely to succeed. The story of a curriculum is also something that I want to investigate more deeply as I consider ways to gamify my classroom. I can see this being a task that will take a considerable amount of effort to establish, but which could be extremely rewarding in the long run. One area in which this would be useful for me specifically, is in letting students make connections between their own interests and the content. I teach chemistry, which is a basic science related to many interests and career choices. However, the current curriculum does not offer much in the way of examples that are meaningful to students. I would love to work out a number of different pathways that build chemistry concepts into either real-world situations, or perhaps even fictional ones (if I had a nickel for every question I get about Breaking Bad..). The students would be able to work through the concepts at heir own pace, and make choices about the context in which they would need to demonstrate their mastery. For example, if a student might be interested in pursuing nursing or another health-related field, then the learning pathway would introduce them to chemistry concepts in the context of health and human physiology. If they were interested in computer science, then the curriculum would be adjusted to focus more on quantum mechanical concepts. in either case, the same basic frameworks would be applied, but the level of depth and specific extension topics would be adjusted to match the interests of the individual student, and the pacing would be based on the "acquire, test, master" model.

7 Ways to Reward the Brain

1. Experience bars measuring progress: Looking at some of the examples of games that we have played in this course, I have consistently felt that this is a key factor in whether or not a game is successful. I think that is is also important in learning, to give students a sense of where they stand in the big picture. The concept of having progress and "grading" by addition, rather than subtraction, is another important shift in the application of games to learning. We typically let students know how they performed by telling them how many points they lost. In fact, that is one of the most common conversations I have with students after a test, "Why did I lose a point for this?" The XP model turns this around to a positive reinforcement concept. Not, "You lost points because of what you did wrong," but "You earned points for what you did well." I think that this can be a powerful motivator for students, since it emphasizes their success, rather than punishing their failure. This has to be a key element in any game or game-based course I design. 2. Multiple long and short term aims: This is perhaps the easiest part of the gaming model to shift to education. In a well-designed lesson, there are clear overall objectives, as well as indicators of what steps will be taken to achieve those objectives. The biggest difference between the game/quest model and the traditional education model is the freedom of choice given to the players. While differentiated instruction seeks to implement a similar set of choices, gaming has an established history of open choice and multiple pathways to the objective. I will have to consider ways to implement this freedom in my educational game. Choice adds complexity to the design, and it will be a challenge to determine what types of options are appropriate to the learning objectives. 3. Rewards for effort: This is something that I have long tried to be aware of in my teaching. I tend to be very generous with "partial credit" and credit for attempting homework, whether the homework is correct or not. I think that it is important to recognize that, even if a student does not arrive at the correct answer on a particular problem, they deserve credit for demonstrating some level of thought and effort. Again, this is where educational practices are still catching up to gaming. Gaming is built on continuous progress, and small incremental rewards for simply being engaged. This is challenging in education, but things like attendance and participation points can go a long way toward giving students a chance to make consistent progress. 4. Rapid, frequent, clear feedback: Giving frequent, individualized feedback is a difficult task when faced with a class of 20 or 30 students. Technology can help, if students work at their own pace and receive feedback from a computer system as they progress. From a design perspective, it is important to recognize this element, and to ensure that it aligns with the first three points. The rewards and progress are their own form of feedback. Beyond just adding XP, however, there needs to be some guidance that allows the student to improve on their previous efforts. 5. An element of uncertainty: Uncertainty is a difficult thing to build into learning, though there are ways in which to do this, and it is important for higher order thinking. Students need to be able to handle the unexpected in order to achieve true mastery. This can be achieved by asking students to apply what they have learned to a novel type of problem, and this same mechanic can work in building an educational game. Multiple examples of a problem can reinforce the underlying concept, and then the "boss" battle could be designed to require a different level of application of the concepts that have been learned along the way. 6. Windows of enhanced attention: Careful timing of the introduction of new or challenging information can take advantage of a well-designed level to enhance student understanding of the concepts. If the designer has a grasp of which activities are likely to stimulate various parts of the brain, then the structure of the mission can be tailored to slide key concepts in during these windows of opportunity. 7. Other people: Education has long incorporated group work and projects, but the structure of these projects can easily result in one student doing the bulk of the work. When game mechanics are tuned properly, then it benefits all players to work together. Or, as discussed in the video, if the game does not include a shared benefit mechanic, players may take it upon themselves to create one. This may be an even more beneficial aspect of gaming, since it forces players to think on a different level and encourages consensus-building and mutual respect.

SL Explorer: Voices

Well, that was definitely a disturbing experience. It is easy to say that one could ignore the voices in their head, but what if you can't turn them off? I don't know how long it would take for the constant chatter and derisive talking to get to me, but I don't think it would be very long. I remember attending a theatre conference when I was either in high school or just beginning college. There was a discussion group led by a teacher and students who had written an original play in which the main character was in a wheelchair. The them of the play was the challenges faced by this individual with a disability. I recall that the director talked about the choice of disability. He explained that they wanted the actor playing the role to be able to relate to the character. "We can experience what someone in a wheelchair experiences on some level because we can get in the wheelchair. We can get that perspective. We couldn't do that with something like a mental disability. We can't get inside someone's mind to experience what that is like." Having had this experience in Second Life, I feel that it does give some small sense of what particular individuals might go through on a daily basis. We will never truly understand, since we have the ability to turn the voices on and off. However, the immersive nature of VR gives us more of an empathy for that individual. I have no doubt that this would be useful for a psychology class, or for special educators, or just as a training tool to make people aware of the experiences of individuals with mental illness. I could see similar tools for other issues as well.

Other Games I

These are the types of games that I can most easily see developing for my topic. I have played card and board games like these in my chemistry classes in the past, and have even developed my own card game for building ionic compounds, and a variation of Battleship to learn electron configurations. The Chinese checkers game play could also be used for either bonding, diffusion, or electrons. I have used different variations of dice games to represent radioactive decay, and could see a modified version of Yahtzee as a way of learning both half life of radioactive isotopes and the radioactive decay series. Depending on the rolls of the dice, students would have to determine which radioactive decay particles were emitted, and then calculate the new isotope that was formed. The objective of the game would be to be the first player to decay their material into a stable isotope. I can see this also being tied to an element of racing the clock, if the game was set inside a nuclear reactor or other similar setting. I think that I may have just discovered the game that I will develop for this course...

Understanding Games

All of the lessons in Part I really confirmed my feelings nad understandings of game, as expressed in other posts. There needs to be some sense of clarity as to the rules and progress in a game. I think that this can be an especially powerful aspect of games as they relate to education. Students often don't see or understand the big picture when it comes to the curriculum. Even when educators provide well-designed lessons, agendas, and pacing guides, it can be difficult for a student to get a feel for where they stand. Certainly, if they are unable to complete a problem, they can recognize that they have made a mistake, but that is as far as it goes. With a well-designed game, the player typically has a better sense of how far they are from the objective. Part I Rules of the game define the possible actions of the players. Rules are unambiguous, intelligible and apply for all players. No game can be played without the interaction of the player. The outcome of a game has to be uncertain, otherwise it loses its appeal. Computer games simulate or change properties and processes of the real world. Rules and representation of a game are independent, but interact with each other. In Part II, I felt that one of the key takeaways concerning gaming is also one of the greatest challenges for education: differentiation. There is a need to find the balance between challenging the player/learner so that they are not bored and overstressing them so that they become frustrated and give up. Getting the player to push just beyond their comfort zone can lead to exhilaration and improved skill, but it is also important to provide times where the player can relax and refresh themselves. Part II Players require clear and immediate feedback to understand the relationship between action and outcome. Players require a clear goal so that they can perform meaningful actions within the game. Conflict and competition are essential for the player's motivation. The challenges of a game should match the skills of the player: Neither too easy (boring) nor too difficult (frustration). While I enjoyed the example in Part III, since it was a type of logic puzzle game, I also feel that this type learning can be very tricky in terms of more complex games. Since many games have tutorial missions these days, this is less of an issue. However, I have found myself extremely frustrated at times, when playing games that had no manual or tutorial. Critical actions or skills may not be obvious or easily accessible, and this can lead to gameplay that is unsatisfying. I think that hints and clues are an important part of many successful games. Part III Many computer games are playable without reading the manual. Instead the player learns to play them through trial and error. The player performs actions within the game world and observes how these actions change the state of the game. The player form a hypothesis about the meaning of an object or action on the basis of his or her studies. The player recognizes and learns fundamental patterns within the game and can apply these to different situations. The last segment was in many ways the most interesting to me, because it covered some topics that I had not really considered, but has inherently recognized. The way we identify with characters is altered by many different aspects of the gameplay, from the way movement is controlled, to the appearance of the character. Our connection to the character, in turn, has an influence on our behavior within the game. If we identify with the character, we may be less likely to take big risks. I also think that being able to choose characters with different abilities can make a huge difference in the way a game is played. Whether this is in a single-player game, where we choose a class to pursue, or a team game, such as Overwatch, or older games like Gauntlet. Sometimes, the personality of the players can be expressed by their choice of character. Again, this makes for a deeper connection to the game. Part IV The game theme has an impact on how the game appeals to different kinds of people. The more abstract a game character, the more players will be able to identify with the character. The controls of a game character can be direct or indirect and have an impact on the relationship between player and character. Often the players can select between different characters, which facilitate different strategies to play the game.

Slpix.io Embedded

Play Splix.io HINT: Don't hold down the arrow keys. It will cause the whole page to shift.

Play Splix.io

Play Splix.io / More Multiplayer games

Video Game Graphics

As a child of the 70s/80s the first video was like a 10-minute review of my formative years.

Games I recognized and/or played:

In the introduction:

Asteroids
Street Fighter
Mario Cart
Crash Bandicoot
HALO
Doom
Minecraft

From the main portion of the video:

Pong
Space Invaders
Boot Hill
Indy 4
Galaxian
Pac Man
Dig Dug
Defender
Xevious
Zaxxon
Turbo
Hang-On
Space Harrier
After Burner
Dragon's Lair
Donkey Kong
Super Mario
Outrun
Altered Beast

Overall thoughts: Watching this video, I couldn't help but think about the scene from Wreck-It Ralph when the story of Turbo is told. When the new driving game arrives, the kids exclaim "These graphics are amazing!"

From my own personal experience, I was struck by the discussion of raster vs. vector graphics, and the strengths and weaknesses of each. The early vector graphics (Asteroids, Tempest, Star Wards, Star Castle) lacked the richness that the pixels of raster graphics possessed. However, The early pixel games were frustrating because the boundaries of the pixels and sprites were sometimes hard to fine tune.

I distinctly remember playing Pong and Space Invaders at friends' houses, and the experience has stuck with me. I still game today, and appreciate the depth of play and story that modern games bring to the table, but there is something to be said for the "Easy to learn, Impossible to master" simplicity of the early games. There was always a point at which the game advanced beyond the point of human reflexes. Pushing that boundary was the challenge.

Moving to some of the arcade games, I think that there were other elements of strategic thinking that these brought in. Defender, Pac Man, and Galaxian all offered distinct risk/reward options, like going for the Ghosts in Pac Man, trying to score the double ship in Galaxian (which I will discuss in a different post), and the hostage rescue component of Defender.

After Burner was one of the first sit-in cabinets that I can remember playing, and I look back on this as a precursor to modern immersive VR games. If I had invested the quarters I dropped into Afterburner in General Electric or Coca Cola stocks, I would be retired by now.

Part II Sprite Supreme

Super Mario
1942
Punch Out
Street Fighter II
Moon Patrol
Sonic the Hedgehog
TMNT
Metal Slug
Narc
Pit Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Myst

Part III: Polygon Realm

Battlezone
Star Wars
I, Robot
F/A 18 Interceptor
Grand Prix Circuit
Flight Simulator 3
Wing Commander
Doom
Tomb Raider
Quake
Delta Force
Unreal

Part IV: Voodoo Bloom

Quake
Unreal
Unreal Tournament
Half-Life

Part 5: Future Crisis

Wii Sports
Guitar Hero II
VVVVVV
Minecraft
Halo 4


Reflecting back on some of the things pointed out in the video series, I think that there is a key takeaway in the idea the pure graphical power is less important than having a style and an enjoyable gameplay. A very recent example is the Mr. FancyPants game used in another quest here. The stick figure style is far from technologically advanced. However, the gameplay and the simple style give the game a charm that makes it extremely enjoyable. This is exemplified by the fact that my 10-year old son has voluntarily been playing the game regularly since I showed it to him a few days ago. My son has also recently developed an interest in older game consoles and handhelds, based on his interest in particular games, such as the older versions of Pokemon. He plays them with the same enjoyment as the more modern PC and console games. Enjoyment takes more than graphics, to be sure.

Gamifying Education

So the big word, of course, is "tangential," the concept that exposing gamers to new information in subtle ways might prompt them to self-educate. This method of generating inquiry takes advantage of two critical components that are often missing in traditional education: curiosity and fun. If someone is exposed to something while they are having fun, they are already engaged, and more likely to connect with the information. People are naturally curious, so if, as the video suggests, the information is presented in a subtle way, an individual's natural curiosity could prompt them to pursue the topic on their own.

The other keyword that stuck with me was "edutainment." This is at the heart of many of the failures in so-called :serious games," and the video describes the problem very well. When we are told that we are going to play a game, we are immediately excited. When that game blatantly becomes a lesson, we are resentful. Too many edutainment games are merely a loose layer of game mechanics stretched over a traditional lesson. Games are entertainment. Traditional education focuses on teaching facts. Facts are not entertaining, unless they can be presented tangentially.

Another perfect example is the old board game Trivial Pursuit. I personally tend to accumulate trivia by osmosis, but Trivial Pursuit was for all practical purposes an encyclopedia that had been chopped up into index cards and connected to a game board. Most games are not so lucky.

I mentioned another example in a different post, but it is relevant here as well. Call of Duty used the area around Chernobyl as a game map, and the map was extremely detailed. When students who had played the game watched a documentary about Chernobyl, they were completely engaged by their familiarity with the environment. Did Call of Duty teach them about the Chernobyl disaster? No, but it made them familiar with the area, and they were more open to receive the information about the disaster when it was presented to them.

The big takeaway for me when it comes to designing educational games is to focus on making learning happen beyond the game. Use the game to spark interest in a topic. Make the knowledge more of a journey of discovery. It will mean that different people will find their way to the learning via different paths, but they will be much more likely to retain the knowledge if they ome to it on their own.

Play This, Learn That

This is a journal-style post that will evolve over time, as reflections are added from different readings in the book.

PART 1: Contextual Transposition

As a chemistry teacher, there are a number of concepts in my curriculum that students have to grasp without being able to actual see what they are learning about. Atoms are too small to be say all but the most powerful microscopes, and electrons, which are the focus of a substantial part of the curriculum, are far smaller than the smallest atoms.

So, when it comes to discussing the way electrons move in orbitals and energy levels, I have used a number of contextual transpositions to make the concepts more concrete.

In the case of electron orbitals, we discuss the fact that an orbital is really an area of space where an electron is likely to be most of the time. We can't say where the electron is exactly, but we can say that it could be found within a certain area 90% of the time. This uncertainty is confusing and causes anxiety for many students. I have tried get students to better understand this concept with a fairly simple exercise. Student take out a piece of paper and write down all of the places that they have gone in the past week (as much as they can recall, at least). We then draw a rough map of the town and surrounding areas, with their school and home as two points on the map. Then, we quickly plot the number of places that they have been during the week. It quickly becomes obvious that most of their time is spent within the small sphere around their house and school, with occasional excursions for sports, work, or other activities. I bring this back around to electrons by pointing out that, at any given moment, I couldn't say with certainty where any of my students might be, but I would be fairly certain that if I searched the area around school and home, I would find them most of the time. NOTE: I could certainly see using mapping apps and smartphones to make this activity more like a quest and also get a more detailed view on an actual map. I would have to address privacy issues, of course.

Gamification Infographic

My life in games begins before this infographic picks up, and, like the example of Oregon Trail in Play This, Learn That! I learned a lot about choices and critical thinking in everything from early MUDs to SimCity and Civilization (still one of my favorite classics). I also recall playing Civil War, which included not only historically accurate battles, but the opportunity to upgrade various skills and weapons, in order to try to change history.

In a more recent experience with the link between gamification, few years ago, a colleague was showing a documentary about the Chernobyl disaster in her Energy and Environment classes. As the camera moved around the Chernobyl site, some of the students began talking excitedly. It turned out that they had detailed knowledge of the layout of Chernobyl - not because they had studied the disaster, or had travelled to the site - because the area was a map in Call of Duty 4. The game version of the map was so detailed that the students were calling out what was around the next corner in the documentary. This has always struck me as a perfect example of the connections that can be made between games and learning. The students were much more engaged du to their experience with the virtual Chernobyl.

There is also something to say about the statistic that 3 billion hours each week are spent gaming. This number is unlikely to decrease any time soon, especially as immersive VR continues to expand its reach. Since time is a finite resource, and given the choice between work and play, most of us would prefer play, means that effective gamification can bring some of that time back to learning.

Finally, I completely agree with the notion that the creativity and fun of gaming has largely been stripped from learning at an early age. In my own experience as a parent, there is no question that children become more stressed and have their personalities suppressed in the traditional model of education today. We ask children to sit still, be quite, and learn primarily in a passive role. It goes against the way we learn everything that we learn up until we start school. It reminds me of the book Einstein didn't use flashcards. The research with rats that started the movement toward bright colors and interesting shapes for babies came out of studies of rats. The rats who had bright, "stimulating" environments learned more quickly than the rats in the less stimulating environments. However, as the author points out, the "fast" learning rats would have learned even more quickly if they had simply been let out of their cages to roam and explore freely.

For the game that I hope to develop, I want to tap into the sense of exploration and challenge that some of my favorite games have always had. Games like Civilization offer multiple paths to victory, and there is not one strategy that will produce certain victory every time.

Game Explorer: Different Types of Games

This will be an evolving post on different types of games for the Game Explorer Quest. Action Games The Shoot Em Up genre was one of the earliest ones that I can remember being obsessed with. Part of the appeal is that there is limited strategy involved. It is primarily a matter of quick thinking and quicker reflexes. There are, however, some game mechanics that allow for variation in gameplay. The fighter capture mechanic in Galaga is a great example of this. Is it worth the risk of having a fighter captured (which may not be recovered if you don't play it correctly) worth the reward of having the double fighter? This is similar to the power-up elements in the different iteration of the Breakout genre. Sometimes, it seems that straight up play is the best way to go, but the temptation of doubling your firepower is tough to resist. There are also interesting ways of making the player think in different ways. The enemies that circle back in Galaga forced the player to keep their eyes moving. It was not enough to look at the enemies coming down. You had to watch your back as well. This was not something to consider in Space Invaders, and it adds another layer of strategy to the gameplay.