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.