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Learning Through Gaming
- 1. Learning Through Gaming How Games Naturally Promote Effective Learning
- 2. Part I: Defining Games
- 3. Gaming did not start with Atari
- 7. The play dynamics Shuffle cards 1. Alternating turns, draw top card. 2. Move to next space with the color shown on card. 3. Repeat until one player reaches the “Candy Castle.”
- 10. In summary: Candy Land is widely accepted as a game, but offers no real opportunity for interactivity - the player doesn’t affect the outcome
- 14. In summary: Candy Land is widely accepted as a game, but offers no real opportunity for interactivity - the player doesn’t affect the outcome Aisle does not resemble the archetypal view of games; the player’s involvement is minimal, but instrumental in playing
- 21. Part II: Learning in Games
- 29. Glumbuster - Core Mechanics player (wasd keys) mouse (left, right buttons)
- 32. Part III: Learning As Games
- 36. 3rd World Farmer
- 38. Are Digital Games Special?
- 39. Are Digital Games Special? 1989 2009
Editor's Notes
- Scope of the presentation: Outline what games are and what they can offer; some will be applicable to games in general, some will be more particular to digital games
- Not necessarily the best definition, but it’s broad enough for an introduction. Not all games that fall under this definition will necessarily be interesting for the purposes of this talk.
- Many of us probably had our first exposure to games and gaming through the “game” of CandyLand. Both of these games are played in very different manners, and illustrate different aspects of the definition.
- Many of us probably had our first exposure to games and gaming through the “game” of CandyLand.
- Free response?
- Looking at common features that games share…
- Stripping a game to its bares definition of a goal and arbitrary limitations means that any normal task can be turned into a game.
- Also known as being a spoilsport. Cheating at games is pervasive, as rules are self-enforced - except for some games, which have referees. Important to keep in mind - will come back to this when considering games in educational environments.
- We play games because we are willing to temporarily invest ourselves in them and give ourselves over to the game logic. The cheater and the spoilsport are cases where an individual chooses to step outside of the circle; the rules go from being fixed and binding to being arbitrary, as they truly are.
- Similarly to David Marr’s conception of cognitive processes, the play of a game can be interpreted at different levels of analysis. At the computational level, chutes and ladders is all about reaching a specified target through a semi-randomized, stepwise process. (spinner, chutes, ladders) At the algorithmic level, it’s a numeric progression from 1 to 100, governed by a random number spin plus discrete addition/subtraction events. This necessitates a random number generator, a scorekeeping mechanism, and a rules for adding and subtracting. At the implementation level…
- On a deep level, many games are fundamentally the same - accumulate more of some resource than a competitor. The particular instantiation of the game is determined by the core mechanic: what you do. (Black square represents verbal game, like 20 Questions)
- One of the harshest criticisms of a game is that it is too easy - that is, that the player wasn’t challenged in the game. Conversely, games can be criticized for being too hard, or “unfair.” This could also be interpreted as that the game did an ineffective job at creating learning in the player.
- Terms are embedded - they are functional, enabling the game-player to achieve a goal, and they are situated in the context of an action.
- Glumbuster is so successful partly because it presents a relatively simple core mechanic, but is constantly redefining the purpose - learning is intrinsic to the gameplay.
- At a certain point while playing, the world will shift. You’ll still be using the same core mechanic - pressing the same buttons and keys - but they’ll now accomplish different things. Your primary task now is to figure out what has changed and adapt to the new environment.
- Expert knowledge develops over time; pattern recognition and automaticity may take over for conscious, deliberate processes. Similarly, there’s a lot about playing a game that isn’t included in a rule book - interactions with the other players and with the game system itself are multiply determined. For instance, the goals of a particular player may not be completely in accordance with the stated goal of the game. Not the focus of this talk, however.
- Primarily what’s been studied has been in reference to action-oriented videogames. However, these are studying training in visual processing, not necessarily games themselves. We need to take a look at what makes games special as a medium of communication.
- Successfully communicating something through a game requires that the core mechanic matches up with and reinforces the other content of the game - games are experienced through their core mechanic, not through the window dressing.
- It has content, but there’s no reason for it to be in a game. The game engine has nothing to do with what the game is supposed to be about.
- There is some relation between content and gameplay, but the game is also incredibly easy - being a 3rd world farmer isn’t that bad. The mechanics are transparent, and so it’s easy to find a maximizing strategy. The core mechanic is appropriate, but used poorly.
- Ayiti is a good example of a game that balances content and gameplay - it’s a resource management game like 3rd World Farmer, but it’s tough. It’s also clear what does and doesn’t make a difference in the game; education and careful planning is essential. Otherwise, it’s very easy to fall into a downward spiral of debt and poor health.
- Hearkens back to levels of analysis - computationally the same, but different implementations.
- While technology has made huge advances since the advent of digital games, the underlying structure of most digital games has remained unchanged.
- Digital games seem to have led to a major shift in the cultural perception of games, as well as a much more rapid diversification and popularization of game genres and fundamental styles. On the level of implementation, there is also a lot more that can be done digitally than in any other format.
- Digital games may be more able to reinforce this idea than non-digital games. In MGS, the goal is to move around without being seen; the type of movements that the player is able to make are designed to facilitate that goal. The player, in turn, learns to see the game world in terms of concealment. As a result of the construct and content of the game emphasizing this style of movement, the player is able to play the game “as” a secret agent.
- Gee argues that (good) video games put the player into a system where the goal is to learn to identify and respond to affordances in the environment. Learning is situated in context.
- 11 High school seniors in a Summer enrichment program at U of Wisconsin. Their goal was to redesign a city block to try to match residents’ wants. Used MadMod, which let them change zoning designations and see the expected results on several factors (crime, waste, car usage, jobs, revenue, housing). Qualitatively, showed substantial increase in understanding of ecology and the interconnected nature of a city. Through the game, they were able to “think like an ecologist.”
- The story of Benny (in Erlwanger, 1973): Individually Prescribed Instruction classroom, where kids learned on their own and took tests when they felt they were ready - Benny was able to pass through the tests without knowing anything about fractions. He gamed the system by approaching it from a different perspective than the designers.