Stimulating gaming in higher education in The Netherlands - the Cyberdam case; Pieter van der Hijden; DigiChina Serious Game Innovative Summit, Beijing, China, 2011.

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DigiChina Serious Game Innovative Summit,
Beijing, China, 30 October 2011
STIMULATING GAMING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
IN THE NETHERLANDS - THE CYBERDAM CASE
Pieter van der Hijden MSc
Sofos Consultancy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Member of the ISAGA Advisory Council
Ex-chairperson of the ISAGA Board
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AGENDA
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1. INTRODUCTION
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1. INTRODUCTION - AUTHOR
Management International Foundation
Consulting on Simulation and LawOnline
Organization, Gaming Association The Netherlands
Information and ICT
Center of Expertise Education & ICT Suriname
ICT for Development,
Learning and
Government
Nederlandstalige
International Fab Lab
Moodle Vereniging
Association
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1. INTRODUCTION - CYBERDAM
Cyberdam is...
 Learning experience
 Collection of 20+ online role playing games
 Virtual cities as playground
 VLE to develop & deliver the games (“engine”)
 Open source & open content
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1. INTRODUCTION - TRYPTICH
Games
Engine
Life Cycle
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2. CYBERDAM GAMES
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2. CYBERDAM GAMES – ONLINE RPG
Format: Content:
 Online Role Playing  20+ learning games
Games (open content)
 Multiplayer  Variety of courses and
 (A)synchronous education levels
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2. CYBERDAM GAMES - ELEMENTS
 Playgrounds (e.g. city
map & directory with
objects and resources)
 Roles linked to objects
 Messaging between
roles
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2. CYBERDAM GAMES - MECHANICS
Role Step-A Step-B Step-C Step-D
Role-1 Activities Activities Activities Activities
Upload
Role-2 Activities Activities Activities Activities
file
Role-3 Activities Activities Activities Activities
Output
Input to
from
system *
variables * system *
Activities
Conditions
**
Move to
Send
other
scripts (server side message
java scripts) **
step
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3. CYBERDAM ENGINE
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3. CYBERDAM ENGINE
Managing Administering Running
Authoring
content games games
• Playground • Repository • Link roles to • Facilitating
• Map • Playgrounds playground • Monitoring
• Objects • Models • Link participants • Intervening
• Game model • Import/export to roles • Participating
• Metadata • Copying/sharing • Evaluating
• Roles
• Steps
• Activities
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3. CYBERDAM ENGINE
 Open source
 Java & MySQL
Edit
Register
playground
users
(objects)
Compose Participate
Create Run game
game in game
game model session
manifest session
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4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE
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15. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE – CREATION
Nice wishes Hard reality
 Open source  Open source
 Non-commercial  Community not
 High quality interested
 Low development  No volunteers
costs  Excessive rates for
 Better integration programmers
 No continuity
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16. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE - CREATION
Nice wishes Hard reality
Too much Too little
Idealism Realism
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17. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE - SURVIVAL
 Free lunches  No momentum
 Instrumental  Product oriented
 Exploiting  Passive
 Cooperative
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18. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE - SURVIVAL
Free lunches No momentum
Too much Too little
Product Market
orientation orientation
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19. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE – GROWING-UP
 Scaling up Cooling down
 Software  Commercial partner
 Content  Handicapped by open
 Organization source
 In for the money
 No passion-for-
learning
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20. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE – GROWING-UP
Scaling up Cooling down
Too much Too little
Dollar signs Passion for
found learning
found
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21. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE - INDEPENDENCE
Server Clients
 Owner  Free software
 Distribution of software &  Paid service contract
content  Production server
 Maintenance  Helpdesk
 Production server  Value added services
 Helpdesk  Funded development
 Value added services projects
 User group
 Roadmap
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22. 4. CYBERDAM LIFE CYCLE - INDEPENDENCE
Server Clients
Too much Too little
Modesty Assertive-
ness
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5. CONCLUSION
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5. CONCLUSION
Games
Engine
Life Cycle
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5. CONCLUSION - GAMES
 Games used in law school, other higher education,
other education & training as well
 Games appreciated by participants
 Good practices for game development:
 Not an individual effort, but a group activity
 Heterogeneous development team with expertise in
gaming, learning, multimedia, learning domain, project
management and Cyberdam engine
 Concentrated development effort, completed within
weeks, not months
 Test, test, test
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5. CONCLUSION - ENGINE
 Game engine is very powerful; most games use
only limited set of its functions
 More sample game models and modules are
needed (building blocks)
 Integration with current VLE’s would be welcome.
 Good practices regarding the game engine:
 Develop games as team efforts
 Only one team member has to master the engine
 Distinguish beginning, intermediate and advanced
game developers (teachers)
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5. CONCLUSION – LIFE CYCLE
Stage Too much Too little
1. Creation Idealism Realism
2. Survival Product Market
orientation orientation
3. Growing Dollar signs Passion for
up found learning
found
4. Indepen- Modesty Assertive-
dence ness
• Find the balance!
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SOFOS CONSULTANCY
Thank you for your attention!
Pieter van der Hijden MSc
pvdh@sofos.nl
www.sofos.nl
2011 – Sofos Consultancy / Pieter van der Hijden (pvdh@sofos.nl) - This work is
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
License.
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