NCSU 2013 CRDM Symposium, Brad Mehlenbacher, Jen Riehle

1. GAME GENRES
FOR THE DESIGN AND EVALUATION OF
FUTURE LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS
Brad Mehlenbacher
with Jennifer Riehle, Madeline Coven, Jameson Hogan,
Christopher Kampe, John Martin, Charlene Mutamba,
Jessie Stellini, and Keith Wickliffe
CRDM Research Symposium: Emerging Genres, Narratives, Forms in New Media
19 April 2013
Friday, April 19, 13

2. GAMES & LEARNING DESIGN (EAC 795)
How people design and learn from games is of enormous
interest to contemporary researchers and educators given
that recent surveys of Americans over 15 show that they
spend about the same amount of time every day “playing
games or using the computer for leisure” as they do “relaxing
or thinking” (U.S. Department of Labor, 2006).
U.S. Department of Labor (2006). American Time Use Survey: Leisure and Sports Activities. Bureau of
Labor Statistics Report. Available online: http://www.bls.gov/tus/charts/leisure.htm.
Friday, April 19, 13

3. GAME TEXT EXAMPLES
Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo ludens; a study of the play-element in culture. Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
Caillois, R. (1958, 2001). Man, play, and games. Urbana and Chicago, IL: University of
Illinois Press (originally translated from the French by Meyer Barash).
Sutton-Smith, B. (1997). The ambiguity of play. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (Eds.). (2006). The game design reader: A rules of play
anthology. Cambridge, MA: MIT P.
Gee, J. P. (2007). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy, 2nd
Ed. NY, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.
Friday, April 19, 13

4. We have to conclude,
therefore, that civilization is, in
its earliest phases, played. It
does not come from play like a
baby detaching itself from the
womb: it arises in and as play,
and never leaves it.
Huizinga, J. (1955). Homo ludens; a study of the play-element in culture. Boston, MA:
Beacon Press.
Photo credit: http://www.gamingsymmetry.com/
Friday, April 19, 13

5. TRADITIONAL DEFINITIONS OF GAME
GENRES
“This proactive production by players of story elements, a
visual-motoric-auditory-decision-making symphony, and a
unique real-virtual story produces a new form of performance
art coproduced by players and game designers” (p. 61).
Gee, J. P. (2006). Why game studies now? Video games: A new art form. Games and Culture, 1, 58-61.
“... for the sake of brevity, this article will utilize case studies of
four of the more popular video game genres: simulation,
strategy, action, and role-playing games” (p. 8).
Apperley, T. H. (2006). Genre and game studies: Toward a critical approach to video game genres.
Simulation & Gaming, 37 (1), 6-23.
Friday, April 19, 13

6. TRADITIONAL DEFINITIONS OF GAME
GENRES
McCann (2009) echoes some of the same “broadly accepted
genres around which librarians can organize their game
collections.” These “genres” include:
“Action, Action-Adventure, Adventure, MMORPG (Massively
Multiple Online Role-Playing Games), Music, Role-Playing,
Simulation, Sports, Strategy” (p. 56).
McCann, S. (2009). Game genres. Library Journal, January, 56.
Friday, April 19, 13

7. TRADITIONAL DEFINITIONS OF GAME
GENRES
“The genres covered in this list are as follows: Abstract, Adaptation,
Adventure, Artificial Life, Board Games, Capturing, Card Games,
Catching, Chase, Collecting, Combat, Demo, Diagnostic, Dodging,
Driving, Educational (“Games which are designed to teach”), Escape,
Fighting, Flying, Gambling, Interactive Movie, Management Simulation,
Maze, Obstacle Course, Pencil-and-Paper Games, Pinball, Platform,
Programming, Games, Puzzle, Quiz, Racing, Role Playing, Rhythm and
Dance, Shoot ‘Em Up, Simulation, Sports, Strategy, Table-Top Games,
Target, Text Adventure, Training Simulation, and Utility” (p. 117).
Wolf, M. J. P. (Ed.). (2001). The medium of the video game. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.
Friday, April 19, 13

8. TRADITIONAL DEFINITIONS OF GAME
GENRES
“One possible genre of applications is augmented reality
simulations, simulations in which virtual data are connected to
real-world locations and contexts.... By simulating a virtual
investigation, educators can potentially initiate students into
environmental science as a coherent social practice, as
opposed to a set of disconnected procedures or body of
facts” (p. 372).
Squire, K., & Klopfer, E. (2007). Augmented reality simulations on handheld computers. Journal of the
Learning Sciences, 16 (3), 371-413.
Friday, April 19, 13

9. REDEFINING GAME GENRES
“Key variables differentiating these genres might include time
to completion, replayability, and degrees of open-ended
problem solving (i.e., is there one right solution or are there
multiple acceptable solution paths?). Notice that this is not a
traditional genre grouping in that it does not distinguish by
content (science fiction vs. elves and orcs, for example) (p.
171).
Squire, K. (2008). Open-ended video games: A model for developing learning in the interactive age.
In K. Salen (Ed.) The Ecology of Games: Connecting Youth, Games, and Learning. Cambridge, MA: The
John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning.
Friday, April 19, 13

10. REDEFINING GAME GENRES
“A classification of discourse will be rhetorically sound if it
contributes to an understanding of how discourse works—that is,
if it reflects the rhetorical experience of the people who create
and interpret the discourse. A useful principle of classification for
discourse, then, should have some basis in the conventions of
rhetorical practice, including the ways actual rhetors and
audiences have of comprehending the discourse they use”
(p. 152).
“... typified rhetorical actions based in recurring situations”
(p. 159).
Miller, C. R. (1984). Genre as social action. Quarterly Journal of Speech, 70, 151-167.
Friday, April 19, 13

11. THE SOCIAL LIFE OF GAME
DEVELOPMENT
COMMUNITY 3rd-PARTY
ANNOUNCEMENT TEASER/TRAILER DEMO/BETA DEVELOPMENT LAUNCH/RELEASE MODIFICATIONS EXPANSIONS SEQUELS
Initial Preview of Game testing/ Cycle begins again
statement of game demonstration
release User community Community may develop Game may have official
develops around game modifications to the game add-ons to the original
play and strategy. elements, narrative, rules, game, often inspired by
etc. community input.
GAME GENRE SET
Friday, April 19, 13

12. HALF-LIFE
COMMUNITY
ANNOUNCEMENT TEASER/TRAILER DEMO/BETA DEVELOPMENT LAUNCH 3rd-PARTY MODS EXPANSIONS SEQUELS
Valve Software Preview at E3 Test versions for Half-Life 2 announced
founded; joins conference advance release
with Sierra On- (1997) Websites (gamespot.com) Counter-Strike Team Fortress
Line (1996) Online forums Narbacular Drop Half-Life: Opposing Force
Tutorials (YouTube) Black Mesa Half-Life: Blue Shift
Half-Life:Uplink movie Half-Life:Decay
Fan fiction
Gatherings for gameplay
(in-person and online)
Friday, April 19, 13

13. ICE HOCKEY
ICE HOCKEY
COMMUNITY
ANNOUNCEMENT TEASER/TRAILER DEMO/BETA DEVELOPMENT LAUNCH 3rd-PARTY MODS EXPANSIONS SEQUELS
Dates/schedule Pre-season Pre-season games Regular season begins New season
of new season tickets sales and
announced promotional Websites (tsn.com) Fantasy hockey Adding teams to the
events Online forums teams league
Gatherings for game Hockey video and project
watching arcade games Changes to divisions
Minor leagues All-Star game
Draft
Friday, April 19, 13

14. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH & PRACTICE
• Game audiences, not only game experiences, encourage gamer
engagement, participation, and collaboration surrounding game
events.
• Support information, communities, and instructional spaces for
novice, intermediate, and expert learners develop.
• Gamers negotiate similar game features and the various discourse
communities that emerge via the gaming community.
• Games can facilitate problem solving, creativity, reflection,
collaboration, and engaged participation.
Friday, April 19, 13

15. EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH & PRACTICE
• Genre sets for games explicate abstract concepts such as
understanding, learning, motivation, knowledge, expertise, and
deep involvement.
• Subject matters can be presented from various perspectives,
invite increased participation, and encourage our capacity to build
and share.
• Game designers and players collaborate, communicate,
contribute, and evaluate different game releases.
Friday, April 19, 13

16. THANK YOU!
QUESTIONS?
Photo credit: http://synergizmo.com
Friday, April 19, 13