Tools for Design: Is Your Game Usable?
February 4, 2010 at 16:00 | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: game design, interaction design, usability, design patterns
This is a re-run of my old blog article on a blog I’ve since abandoned. It is still useful and also pertaining to game-based learning design so I re-publish it here.
Interaction Design is different for games than for other types of software. In regular software it is the ease of use, the path with minimum hurdles on the way to the end, that is the goal for interaction designers. In games, the goal is not necessarily to get to the end result in as short time as possible, but keep the player’s interaction with the game (and other players) as enjoyable as possible throughout the whole experience. This requires a different approach and therefore the traditional guidelines for software usability apply only marginally.
As a result there have been many attempts to list, categorize and capture the rules for game usability. One such effort [was] Interaction Design Patterns, a project of Eelke Folmer, assistant Professor at the Univ. of Nevada and a game and software engineering scholar. Here’s Eelke’s article on Gamasutra. Continue reading Tools for Design: Is Your Game Usable?…
Learning Logic with Games
January 27, 2010 at 15:00 | In Games | Leave a CommentTags: deduction, game-based learning, logic, theory of knowledge
There’s a thread about using logic games to support the learning of the Theory of Knowledge on Story Games. The thread has some good suggestions on games to use for this purpose.
Mastermind is suggested to demonstrate deductive logic in action. I think most of people are familiar with this game where one player selects a secret “code” by arranging tokens of different colors into a row. The other player then tries to figure out the combination iteratively. I played this game with my parents as a child. It is a great game and the strategies you develop while playing really illustrate the mode of thinking in deductive logic. There are a number of online implementations of this game available.
Zendo, on the other hand, is proposed to illustrate inductive logic. One player comes up with the rules that make a sequence of pieces of Buddha-nature and the players have to figure out these rules by experimenting. I haven’t played this game but it seems a good match; there are similarities to the number sequence problems in mathematics and logic tests.
David Artman has developed a variant of Zendo called Ikkozendo, for those who have limited components for the game. David also pointed out that you can play Zendo with Lego, playing cards, match sticks etc. So you don’t need to get the (expensive) game-specific sets if you don’t want to.
The previous two were suggested to be used together to illustrate the difference between the deductive and inductive logic. The thread’s starter also tried them out in a class room setting with encouraging results.
Some classic logic puzzles were also suggested for this use. The classic example of this is the puzzle where there is two doors, one leading to treasure and the other leading to danger. There are two guards, one capable of only telling the truth and the other capable of only lying. The solution needed is a single question to the guards revealing which door to open. There are some web sites with similar puzzles.
These kinds of problems could also be incorporated into a digital game or a role-playing game. With digital games the advantages would be to provide the learners a chance to play on their own time and to get feedback on their progress as they play. Role-playing games could be used to provide a teamwork structure and a motivating fictional situation around the exercises. For example the players could be trying to disarm a bomb in their class room in the game and each would have different resources and additional guidance handed out to them as part of their roles.
There are also a wealth of mystery board games that require logic, such as Clue (Cluedo in Finland), Mystery of the Abbey, Scotland Yard and so on. These could be used or modded for game-based learning also.
BoardGameGeek has a couple of GeekLists of these kinds of board games. There’s also a separate GeekList for induction games.
Do you have any other candidates of games for this use? Please let me know.
New Examples of GBL for Software Engineering
January 27, 2010 at 07:37 | In Uncategorized | Leave a CommentTags: game-based learning, serious games, software engineering, jvm, object-oriented design
Professor Pedro A. González Calero sent me a couple of links to add to the list of game-based learning products for software engineering I published a while ago. These are both in development at the GAIA group of Complutense University of Madrid.
JV2M is a knowledge-based learning environment where students can learn the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) structure and Java language compilation. The system presents a metaphorical 3D virtual environment which simulates the JVM. The user is symbolized as an avatar which is used to interact with the virtual objects. There is a technical report of the environment (in Spanish only) as well as screenshots of the game at the website.
VirPlay3D is a virtual environment for active learning of object-oriented design concepts. VirPlay3D combines role-play with a virtual environment where students mimic the interactions produced in a role-play session in order to simulate an execution scenario from a case study. The second version of the product allows more experimentation in the environment. The website has slides that describe the product as well as video.
That’s all for now, the search continues!
Game-Based Learning for Software Engineering
January 11, 2010 at 14:00 | In Games | 3 CommentsTags: game design, game-based learning, process models, programming, serious games, software engineering
For the past couple of weeks I’ve collected data on promising examples of serious games or game-based learning on software engineering. Here’s a small list of examples, with links, of the stuff I’ve found so far.
If you know of any other examples, please let me know.
Programming
there’s a quite of few games or game-like environments to support learning of programming.
Robocode
RoboCode is an open source learning game started by Matthew nelson and provided by IBM. The game is designed to help people learn to program in Java and enjoy the experience. It is very easy to start – a simple robot can be written in just a few minutes – but perfecting a bot can take months or more. The RoboCode project is on SourceForge and can be downloaded there.
Alice
Alice is an educational software that teaches students computer programming in a 3D environment. Alice is developed by a multi-university initiative including Carnegie Mellon, St. Joseph’s University and Washington University in St. Louis. It is used as a teaching tool for introductory computing. Alice can be downloaded from the website alice.org.
Red Frontier
Red Frontier is a game environment designed to support learning of programming for university computing students. The game was developed by Elisabeth Yaneske in the University of Teesside. There is no website for the game, just a case study description at digitalgames.playthinklearn.net. As far as I know the game itself is not available anywhere.
M.U.P.P.E.T.S.
M.U.P.P.E.T.S. is a collaborative virtual environment for introductory programming education. It has been developed at RIT (Rochester Institute for Technology) by Andy Phelps. At the moment the game’s web site seems to be under renovation and the download links are dead.
Process models, project management
A couple of games to learn with about software development process models and project management.
SimSE
SimSE is an educational software engineering simulation environment whose goal is to bridge the gap between the large amount of conceptual software engineering knowledge given to students in lectures and the comparably small amount of this they actually get to put into practice in an associated “toy” software engineering project. The game, several process models to use it with as well as modeling tools can be downloaded from the game’s website. SimSE is open source.
MO-SEProcess
MO-SEProcess is a 3-D Multiplayer Online Software Engineering Process game based on the SimSE game. It is developed for Second Life. The game aims to teach students the principles of the software engineering process by simulating the development of a moderately sized software project. The game’s web page has a SLURL for the game for those who wish to check it out in Second Life (replicated here).
Problems and Programmers
Problems and Programmers is an educational software engineering card game. Featuring over 120 unique cards, it is intended to simulate the software development process from conception to completion. The game’s players compete to finish their projects while avoiding the potential pitfalls of software engineering. These players will quickly learn that the strategies that will let them win the game are the same that will help them in the real-world.
Problems and Programmers was designed by Alex Baker. The game’s website offers all the materials needed to make a copy of the card game.
SimjavaSP
SimjavaSP isa web-baed graphical simulation game to support learning and deep understanding of software engineering practice aimed at university students. A far as I know the game itself is not available in public but an article on the game is available on the web.
MIS Project Manager
MIS Project Manager is a dynamic and interactive computer-based simulation for experiential learning of some of the fundamental principles of Information Systems development project management. The simulation is browser-based and uses web forms. The context is the development of a generic information system with 18 activities, 250 days and a £1.1m budget. The demo version of the game can be tied out on the game’s website.
Others
The stuff that did not fit into the previous two categories.
INNOV8
INNOV8 is a BPM (business process management) simulation game developed by IBM. It is intended to help both business and software experts understand how BPM impacts the entire business ecosystem. The game is a Flash-based browser game and it can be played on the game’s web site. The current version of the game is 2.0.
Gamestar Mechanic
Gamestar Mechanic is a site that supports the learning of game design for primary school students. The site includes factory 7, an arcade game that teaches about game mechanics and a game design workshop. The site is supported by a partnership between the Institute of Play and E-Line Ventures and originally developed by Gamelab in partnership with the Institute of Play and the Academic Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab (AADLC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
That’s all I have at the moment. Thanks to all contributors from the Serious Games mailing list for pointing these out for me (Ben Sawyer, Thomas Hainey, Phaedra Boinodiris, Marc Lavigne and Alex Games).
If you know of any other examples, please let me know.
Assembling a GBLE Dev Team
October 30, 2009 at 18:00 | In team | 1 CommentTags: development, development team, expertise, game-based learning, gble, role, team
At the beginning of a new project it is important to assemble a developer team to undertake that project. Sometimes there is the possibility to recruit developers and sometimes the people have already been assigned. In both of the cases it benefits to examine the team composition, expertise and related choices.
This article is loosely based on the paper I presented in DiGRA 2007 Conference titled Team Structure in the Development of Game-based Learning Environments [Full text link (pdf)].
My experience is that GBLE development is a complex task requiring varied expertise. Therefore it is rare that any one person has the needed knowledge and skills to complete a project alone.
Another fact to consider is the shared vision of the team. Creating and maintaining a shared vision demands a lot of work in communication and grounding of shared understanding. The bigger the team the more work this requires.
There is crucial expertise you need to have in the core of a GBLE team. You need someone with game design expertise (preferably lots of it and a track record to prove it), someone with expertise on learning and producing learning environments / experiences as well as someone with a lot of knowledge on the subject matter.
Of course you need the technical and artistic know-how to design and produce the damn thing in the first place, but my point is that this kind of expertise can enter the project in latter stages.
The core needs to stay intact for the whole project. They are the ones who build, cherish and communicate the concept of the GBLE, champion it to the rest of the project team (and the rest of the world). At bare minimum they must be fully committed to the concept.
These people must also understand and respect each others’ points of view. In this kind of project there is a need for many different perspectives to keep all the facets of the product shining. Suberb gameplay does not necessarily support learning and vice versa.
I think that if you get this right you are right on track for the project. Sure, things can still go wrong but assembling a right core of the team and assembling the core of the team right is a huge step towards success.
Background of the Research
October 30, 2009 at 16:00 | In Introduction | Leave a CommentTags: agora game lab, development, game-based learning, game-based learning environments, human-centered design, research, research group
The case projects that the knowledge presented in this blog originate from was carried out in the research group Agora Game Lab (only in Finnish) in the multi-disciplinary research center Agora Center in the University of Jyväskylä.
The projects undertaken by Agora Game Lab as well as the multi-disciplinary nature of the research group itself influenced the way that the case projects and consequentially my research were undertaken.
The projects that were underway during my research were CoEduGame and Virtual Peatland. All of the case development projects of GBLE were also parts of those projects.
This provided a real-life perspective to the design-based research. Instead of existing just for the research purpose, the products of the projects were going to be introduced to real uses.
The goals, resources and timetables of the research projects also shaped the goals and processes of the case projects. Integrating HCD methods to GBLE development was an important research theme in the CoEduGame project and an important part of the method of the research group itself, so this perspective was included in my research also.
Other important factor was the research group’s close collaboration with the IT department of the University. This materialized in using the student projects for development of GBLEs. This provided some opportunities and difficulties for the development and research. For example it was not granted that the student dev team would have the needed expertise to complete the project. On the other hand using similarly skilled university students provided a good baseline to compare different development processes and activities.
I’ve written this meandering account to provide the readers with some information to correlate the information provided on this blog. This is by no means a complete account of the environment that my knowledge on GBLE development was originated from but it should give a short account on the origin of my study.
What is Game-Based Learning? Pt. 1
October 29, 2009 at 16:00 | In Introduction | 1 CommentTags: business games, definition, examples, feedback, game-, game-based, game-based learning, game-based learning environments, ian bogost, RealGame, unit operations
a.k.a. laying the foundation.
Google gives the following definitions:
- Game-based learning is a field of research and game design based on observations that play, structured or unstructured, conditions the human brain for transformation and learning. (Wikipedia)
- A form of learner-centred learning that uses electronic games for educational purposes. (from Wee Hoe Tan’s research glossary on the Warwick University website)
So it is a field of research and design as well as a form of learner-centred learning. Actually I like Wee’s definition quite much. I would add that it is not necessary to use just electronic (or digital) games or just games to qualify as game-based learning. The defining factor to me is that the use of games is an important factor in the learning process and environment.
There are a number of examples of game-based learning (GBL from now on), games used to support learner-centred learning and reports of use of game-based learning in authentic learning settings. I’ll outline a few as examples of GBL:
Business schools have used business games as part of the education for dozens of years. One of the state-of-the-art business games is the RealGame, developed by Timo Lainema. RealGame is a business simulation game to support learning of decision making in the environment of managing a manufacturing company. Realgame has mainly been used by large and middle-sized Finnish companies as well as several universities as a part of their management training programs.
RealGame casts the players as managers of a manufacturing business. The game provides a real-time simulation of the operating environment of the business in question. The players make decisions as managers and get real-time feedback on how their decisions affect the company. The game can be tailored to simulate different kinds of markets.
RealGame provides the players’ an experience of making management decisions and getting feedback of their consequences. The simulation works in real time so the players can adjust their strategies on the fly.
It is important to see that the game provides learning experiences in at least two levels. The first, self-evident one is the simulation environment allowing the players to practice performing the duties of their future occupations. It is important to notice that in this function the representation that the simulation provides and its verisimilitude to the ral-life environment is important.
The other way of producing learning experiences is experiencing the simulation environment itself and critiquing its verisimilitude. Every simulation is a subjective representation of reality. The aspects (units) of the simulation make statements on the world (Ian Bogost’s book Unit Operations deals with this perception). Through experiencing the game the players can assess the representation provided by it and contrast it with the relevant theory they have studied and case studies from the field.
The first type of learning occurs predominantly within the game but the latter one involves contrasting and discussing the experience of gameplay with other presentations of the same phenomena. It is to be noted that although GBL focuses on the use of games to support learning, playing games is not the be-all and end-all of learning activity in the model.
This concludes the first part of this on-going introduction to game-based learning. There’s too much to say to fit it in just one article, so I’ll continue describing the field of GBL through other examples in later articles.
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