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Understanding “Serious” Games

Understanding “Serious” Games. Jonathan Frye, Ed. S. New York University. Essential Game Elements. Huizinga (1950) Free activity, outside “ordinary” life, not “serious” Absorbs the player No material interest or profit Distinct Boundaries of time and space Caillois (1961)

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Understanding “Serious” Games

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  1. Understanding “Serious” Games Jonathan Frye, Ed. S. New York University

  2. Essential Game Elements • Huizinga (1950) • Free activity, outside “ordinary” life, not “serious” • Absorbs the player • No material interest or profit • Distinct Boundaries of time and space • Caillois (1961) • Free (voluntary), separate (time and space) • uncertain, unproductive, governed by rules, make-believe • Salen and Zimmerman (2003) • A system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome

  3. Definition serious games • Bergeron, (2006): “a serious game is an interactive computer application, with or without a significant hardware component, that: has a challenging goal, is funto play and/or engaging, incorporates some concept of scoring, and imparts to the user a skill, knowledge, or attitude that can be applied in the real world.” (pg. xvii)

  4. Advantages of Games • Motivation/Engagement • Interactivity • Mechanic is the Learning • To beat the game is to learn the message/skill • But only when done right, very difficult • Beyond content to problem solving/systems learning • Adaptive to the Learner • Real-Time Assessment • Analytics/Data/Log Files

  5. Simulations and Games • Squire (2003) examples of uses: • manipulate otherwise unalterable variables • enable students to view phenomena from new perspectives • observe systems behavior over time • pose hypothetical questions to a system • visualize a system in three dimensions • compare simulations with their understanding of the system (p. 5)

  6. Goals of Serious Games • Flow (Csikszentmihalyi) • Balancing challenge • Scaffolding • “Transfer” Knowledge • System Understanding • Attitude/behavior change

  7. Taxonomy of Serious Games (Sawyer & Smith, 2008)

  8. Sectors (Sawyer & Smith, 2008) • Government & NGO: • Defense: • Ex. America’s Army, Skills based training • Healthcare: • Ex. Surgery Simulations, Check-up routines • Marketing and Communication: • Ex. Product placement, use of company characters

  9. Sectors cont. (Sawyer & Smith, 2008) • Education • Ex. Math, Science, current events etc. • Corporate: • Ex. Training, continuing education, company policy • Industry • Ex. Training, Skills acquisition

  10. Uses • Learning & Education • Health Sciences • Advertising • Training • Science and Research • Art/Statement • Journalism

  11. Sawyer & Smith, 2008

  12. Learning & Education • Any subject you can imagine • History/Context, ex. Quest Atlantis, Civilization Series • Math, ex. Dimenxion M, Lure of the Labyrinth • Physics, ex. Waker, Crayon Physics • Biology, ex. Beetle Readers

  13. Health Sciences • Training/Practice for aspiring doctors and nurses • Ex. Conducting an exam; the steps involved in surgery • Uses with Patients • Psychological/Physical Therapy • Education • Ex. Re-Mission

  14. Advertising • “Advergames” • Using product themes and characters in games • Product placement within a game (similar to in movies)

  15. Training • Often about learning tasks, policies, or skill acquisition • Employee • Military • Ex. Situational Awareness training • Ex. America’s Army

  16. Science and Research • Ex. Military research using simulated environments • Ex. Sharkrunners

  17. Art/Statement • Art • Brenda Brathwaite’s “Mechanic is the Message Series” • One Falls for Each of Us • Train • Statement • Games for Change.org • Human Rights, Economics, Public Policy, Public Health, Poverty, Environment, Global Health, News, Politics

  18. Games for Change • Ayiti • Manage a rural family in Haiti • Darfur is Dying • Budget Hero • Climate Challenge • Peacemaker • Conflict in the Middle East

  19. News/Journalism • Newsgames (Bogost et al., 2010) • Ex. September 12th

  20. Class activity • Get into groups of 2-3 and play a game from the GamesforChange.org website • Topics to discuss/think about: • What is the learning objective? • Is it part of the mechanic? • How would you assess learning? • Is the game engaging? • How could the design/mechanic be improved?

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