532: Embedding Games

Arcade Games

532: Video Game Seduction Secrets

I read the article, The Seduction Secrets of Video Game Designers by Keith Stuart.  He discusses the secrets that designers use to make their games so successful.  

The first secret is that failure is ok. It is even welcomed. People need to feel comfortable trying new things and failing without being judged.  How perfect would the classroom setting be if every student felt comfortable enough to take risks because they weren’t afraid of being judged by their peers or penalized for the wrong answer?

Another secret is the acquire, test, master model. This design allows players the time to experiment. They need time to master a skill before moving on to the next level. They can take as much time as they need and work at their own pace before moving on to the next task.

Another secret is game autonomy. The player feels in control and has authority. Who doesn’t want to be in control of the world? While playing in the game, if the player does something well, they will always be recognized. They never do a job well done without getting recognition like in the real world.

Unexpected rewards are another intrinsic motivator. These rewards are those that occur more than just for beating a level.  Everyone enjoys a nice surprise every now and then.  

Disproportionate feedback is another secret to successful game design. This means that every accomplishment is celebrated.  This does not just mean a little celebration.  Even the little accomplishments are overly emphasized. They go over the top.  “This is an endorphin come-on.”

Stuart ends his article stating, “So games aren’t just about wasting time.  They fulfil intrinsic human needs, whether we are conscious of it or not.”  If we can meet these needs of our students through games, we can unlock a whole new dimension of learning.

532: Drop pods

First, I made it to the drop pods.

Then, I Rezed a pod.

Next, I DeRezed a pod.

I

I sat inside of the pod.

 I sent the pod to the vector <133>,

and then brought it back.

Last, I sent the DropPod to the ground.  I'm hoping that is what it meant when it said to the surface.

Then I brought it back to the ship.

This quest was challenging for me.  I had a hard time figuring out how to get the pods to go where I wanted them.  I need to remember to have the Communication Station on and connected.  I also need to remember to click on "Go to Vector" before you can bring the pod back.

532: Gamifying Education

What things are most important to remember about “Gamifying” education?

According to the video made by James Portnow, there are many things to consider about gaming in education.  The problem with many educational games is that they try to beat the point into the player over and over.  Then the player loses interest and doesn’t want to play anymore.

Educational games need to facilitate learning.  The games should facilitate learning through tangential learning.  Tangential learning is when learning indirectly occurs from playing a game that you are already interested in.  The player needs to be interested in the topic first!

There are a few ways to create tangential learning without overloading the topic and scaring the player away.  One way is to turn a reference into a game story.  This will hopefully lead to the player seeking out more information about the reference.

Another way is to take advantage of the loading screens.  While the player is sitting there waiting for the game to load, give information or quotes on the screen.  This is not overwhelming to the player, and doesn’t take any time away from the game.

In game indexes can also increase tangential learning.  This is a space to access tangential topics in the game.  Players can go there to learn more about the reference.

Wikipedia links can also be inserted into games.  This allows players to access a large amount of information and also gives them more references to follow.  

The most important thing to remember when making an educational game is to enhance player experience without taking all the fun away.  

532: 7 Ways to Reward the Brain Reflection

Tom Chatfield describes seven lessons of games to keep them interesting and engaging.  These can be taken from games and put into real work situations for education, business, or government. These will be especially important to implement when I create my own game.

The first lesson is experience bars measuring progress. This is just like what we are doing for EDTECH 532. Instead of giving letter grades, you let people complete quests or other activities and show them how much they have completed and how far they need to go.

The next lesson is multiple long and short term aims. You breaks things down into different tasks that people can choose from.

The next lesson is to reward effort. Every time you do something you get rewarded. Even if you fail, you still get rewarded for trying.

Another lesson is feedback. It needs to be clear, rapid and frequent so that the user can see the consequences for their actions.

The next lesson is using an element of uncertainty. If students aren't certain that they are going to reach the reward and then are able to get it, this gives them enough engagement to keep moving forward.

Another lesson is windows of enhanced attention. When students are engaged in a game and are at enhanced attention, it creates memories that are going to stick and also builds confidence.

The last lesson is including other people. People get really excited to play against and with peers.

I thought that Tom Chatfield’s talk was very informative and powerful.  We all know that games are interesting and engaging for people.  His talk explains exactly what about the games hit home for people.  It is important to pinpoint these when creating a game that will be successful for your needs.

532: Different Types of Games

Action Games

Arcade Games:

I went to ClassicArcadeGames.com and played the classic Pac Man game.  It has been many years since I have play this or any other arcade game.
This type of game is thrilling to players because there is the uncertainty about whether or not you will complete the level.  You may lose several times, but each time you get farther than the time before.  This increases excitement, interest, and motivation.  You want to keep trying over and over until you are able to do it.
When I started playing the Pac Man game, I got frustrated because my fingers didn't move fast enough and I kept losing.  After a few tries, my fingers were working better and better.  Then the frustration turned into motivation.  Once I beat the level, I felt like I could take on something harder.  This would also mean that I could earn more points.
When I started playing the Pac Mac game, I thought that it did not take a lot of thinking or strategy. The more I played it, the more I realized that I had to make quicker decisions on which way to move my player and also to watch all the other ghosts at the same time.  I had to choose an ideal time to eat a power pill.  I needed to wait until the ghosts were close enough together that I could eat as many as possible before the power pill ran out.  As the time went on, I realized I was doing a lot of critical thinking.
I think arcade games will help students work on quick decision making, reflexes, fine-motor skills, and critical thinking.  I always thought that playing arcade games would rot your brain.  Now my perception has completely changed!

Other Games

Card Games:

I did not spend a lot of time playing the poker game, because I do not know the rules of poker.  Card games are great for teaching students number sense.  I teach second grade, so we would not be playing games like poker, but we could use games like go fish, old maid, memory, and war.  These games can teach students ordering, addition, subtraction, composing and decomposing numbers, and much more.  These are great for math.

Board Games:

Board games are great to teach students strategic thinking.  They need to be able to think critically and to problem solve.  They will be anticipating what move the opponent will take and then have to revise their strategy if the opponent makes a move they were not expecting.  

Dice Games:

Dices games are also great to teach young students number sense.  Yahtzee is a fantastic game that is sure to engage students while teaching them math.  While playing Yahtzee, students have to recognize numbers, order them, and strategically pick what category they want to use the roll for.  In older grades, Yahtzee can be used to teach probability.

Narrative Games

Interactive Fiction:

I had never played an interactive fiction game before.  This was quite the experience for me.  I played the game, Zork I: The Great Underground Empire.

This was very confusing for me at first.  I clicked on the game and it didn't do anything.  I thought that the link was bad, and I almost gave up.  After I clicked on the help link, I realized the game was waiting for me to type in a command.  There were no instructions, so it was very confusing.

The first time couple of times I played, I managed to open a mailbox and read a letter.  Then, I wandered into the forest and got stuck.  I got to a spot where I could not go north, south, east, or west.  I started over with zero points.

After a few tries at the game, I was able to explore a lot farther than the previous times.  I started trying new commands and picking up objects.  I also fought a troll and slaughtered it.  I was very proud of myself.  By the end of my twenty minutes, I had advanced to an amateur adventurer.

When I first started playing the game, I got pretty frustrated.  I thought it was a little boring just wandering around the forest.  As time went on, I was motivated to make it farther than I did the time before.  Then, I started getting more creative about the moves that I tried.  When I did moves that were more than just a direction, like sit on the rug, it led to more discoveries (there was a trap door under the rug!)

This game took some critical thinking and creativeness.  I had to try new ideas and think outside the box.  I had to remember where I had already been and what I had already tried.  Once I encountered a troll that I was able to fight, the game became more interesting.  

This game will keep players engaged by exploring territory, interested by encountering surprises, and motivated to beat their own score.  Even though I wasn't playing against anyone else, I wanted to keep playing to beat my previous score or to find a new surprise.

Graphic Adventure:

I played the Graphic Adventure game, Peasant's Quest.  I like this narrative game better than the interactive fiction, because you could see what was happening on the screen.  In the narrative fiction game, you could only read what was happening.  I did enjoy getting to look around while playing.
This was truly an adventure game.  I had to explore everything to be able to solve a puzzle.  There were people to talk to you items to gather.  There were also villains to watch out for.  
This game is unique because you really have to explore and think of different ways to find puzzle clues.  The game does not lead you in a direction or have levels to complete.  You have to find places and items, and ask people questions.  You also have to add to your inventory without knowing when or why you will need something.  
This game is engaging, because once you die, you want to try again with a new strategy.  You have to ask yourself, "What did I try last time?" Then, you need to try something different.  It really takes a lot of thinking to complete the exploration.

Another Graphic Adventure:

I played the graphic and action adventure game, Zelda.  In this action adventure game, you are required to use skills and also follow a storyline.  There are different ways to move and to defend yourself.
In this game, there is a consequence when you make a mistake and get hit or touched by an enemy.  It does not make you lose the game right away.  It impacts your health, but you get about three or four chances before your health runs out.  You can find new hearts and gain additional health.  When you die, you do not have to start over at the very beginning. You get a chance to go back and start at the starting place and the enemies that you conquered are back, but you still have your weapons and rupies.  This makes it more motivating to keep trying and not give up.  You can also collect rupies to buy additional weapons and health.  
The storyline makes this game interesting.  There is background information at the beginning of the game to give you a direction for the game.  Then, you are left to explore on your own.  You can make your own decisions about where to go and which enemies to encounter, but it's not just random exploration; you know your purpose.
This game is engaging, due to many reasons.  There is a storyline that you want to complete.  It gives you an incentive to finish.  When you die, you want to try a new strategy.  My first strategy after dying the first time, was how to defeat the first set of enemies. (No, I did not make it very far my first time.)  I knew that I needed to try something different.  
This was my favorite narrative game.  It was more exciting and interactive than the interactive fiction and there was more guidance and more of a direction than the Peasant's Quest narrative game. 

Simulation Games

Sim City:

I played the Sim City-RPG Adventure Game.  This game was quite confusing for me.  There were little directions, and I am not familiar with Sim City games, so I did not find it very interesting.  

While I was playing, I started by building roads and residential areas.  Then I added parks next to the residential areas.  Next, I added more of the essentials of a town - a fire station, police department, and shopping centers.  After that, I added a few factories.  I tried to add an airport, but the game wouldn't let me.  

Then, I got a message saying that a nuclear plant was needed.  I did not have enough money left to build a nuclear plant, so I raised the taxes.  I received a message saying, "villagers pleased remained high taxes." Once the taxes were high, my village support started to decline.  I waited until 2028, and I didn't get any more money, so I was not able to build the nuclear plant.  I did not figure out how to collect taxes.  I'm not sure if I just needed to start over and budget better.

There were something unique take-aways from the game.  I needed to budget and plan what my town needed.  I should have used a better strategy.  This simulation really shows the economics of a community and how the environment affects it.

As a second grade teacher, this is not something that I would use to teach my students economics.  They don't have a grasp on money yet.  They believe that $100 will buy them a car or a house.  Instead, we could use it to discuss community helpers.  As we build a community as a class, we can see what happens to the crime rate when there is no police department.  We can also see what happens if there is no fire department.  We can discuss the factory workers, people to work at the shopping centers, people to take care of the parks, people who build and maintain the roads, and other community helpers.

532: Quest: Gaming in the Classroom

This is a great way to get students excited about learning, especially when it comes to difficult and complex topics.  Games are a great way to motivate reluctant learners.  I like to use games in small groups so that I can differentiate my instruction and meet with one small group at a time.  Games are interesting enough to keep the other students engaged while not working with a teacher.
What are your thoughts?