production of highly advanced technologies and game environments that succeed ... This finding supports the use of games for educational purposes (Gee, 2005), .... Games such as Assassin's Creed increase player interest because they ...
A FRAMEWORK FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL GAMES: COMPUTER GAMES FEATURES FOR THE ENHANCEMENT OF LEARNING Mavrommati Maria, Digkas Christos, Bousiou-Makridou Despoina, Tsopoglou Stavros University of Macedonia, Economic and Social Sciences Egnatias 156, 54006, Thessaloniki, Greece
ABSTRACT In the following article we attempt to detect the features that make computer games such an immersive entertainment tool, reviewing theoretical assumptions and empirical data in the relevant literature. Components that fertilize gamers’ interest, such as interactivity, role- taking, setting degrees of difficulty, competition and cooperation, appear as factors that enhance player enjoyment and motivation. These characteristics of game-play are necessary components of learning as well, since various modern learning theories and strategies consider their advancement very important in achieving meaningful and creative learning. We are particularly interested in those aspects of game-play that deal with a player’s continuing interest in the game, elements that would ideally characterize the educational process, but nevertheless are absent from much of the educational software presently produced. The theoretical and experimental findings sum up in a game design model, which will be used in the future as a basis for the development of an educational game designed to teach history. KEYWORDS
educational game design, instructional gaming
1. INTRODUCTION Entertainment industry usually employs the most competent and creative designers and developers in order to produce computer games that will come first in the commercial competition. This competition leads to the production of highly advanced technologies and game environments that succeed high levels of immersion. Such developments are not designed with the purpose of educating players, nor do game designers usually use scientific findings of other disciplines, such as psychology, in order to achieve greater enjoyment. Thinking like players, they emphasize the excitement and fun element of games. We suggest that educational technology should seriously consider know-how developed in the game industry, if it aims at developing educational tools that will make the learning process equally creative and amusing (The Games-to-teach Research Team, 2003). At the same time we think it is very important to propose a framework of features necessary for a new generation of games that assimilate learning theory and practice. Our interest is focused mainly in the area of social sciences teaching and more specifically in the creation of a game to teach Greek history.
2. COMPUTER GAMES CHARACTERISTICS WHICH ENHANCE PLAYERS’ ENJOYMENT 2.1 Identity formation and identification
One of the core characteristics of digital games is that they provide the potential to players to develop their own digital characters or virtual identities with which they participate in the game. Players identify with the character they play and research findings suggest that a game gets more amusing depending on the level of engagement of the player. Game environments that promote interaction via elaborate audiovisual representations should be developed in order to achieve greater identification (Hefner et al, 2007). More participation also suggests higher interest in the game, bringing players to what is known as a ‘flow state’ (Kiili, 2005, Simon, 2006, Hefner et al 2007). Constructing and undertaking a virtual identity also seems to enhance empathetic understanding (Lee & Hoadley, 2006). This finding supports the use of games for educational purposes (Gee, 2005), especially in the domain of social sciences, and also differentiates virtual reality in general from other forms of narration (Aylett & Louchart, 2003). As a consequence, each player creates an identity in relation to his/her own personal tastes and personality characteristics, in other words a unique ‘virtual alter ego’. This allows them to get through the virtual reality environment and fulfill their expectations in the game by creating a character according to their special tastes and personality features (Sanford & Madill, 2006). This process also allows the gamers to apply their own learning style within the game environment, a feature consistent with the bibliography that supports computer games as environments that allow individually paced learning (Gee, 2005). In addition, cultural elements and characteristics may increase the engagement, as players seem to construct identities and understand game narrative in ways relevant to their own cultural features (El-Nasr et al, 2008). Game play is also related with the player’s personal interests and hobbies (Sanford & Madill, 2006), thus fulfilling the players’ identity by providing them with the opportunity to engage in activities that trigger their interest. Digital games designed for instructional purposes should first of all be immersive and interesting to the player.
2.2 Game narrative and scenario development Computer games are a new form of narrative which differs form classical forms of narration because it invites the gamers to participate in its creation. Players play a different game each time, with different outcomes depending on the selection of their characters’ features and the actions they perform in order to reach winning conditions. As such, computer games, especially the open-ended ones, allow the joy of creation to the players, who create not only the character they play, but the action frame within which the story takes place as well (Ryan, 2001), taking charge of the whole course of the story. Computer games narrative demands direct participation of the player in the story development, as the unfolding of the story and the realization of any of the possible endings depends on the player’s actions. Interactivity is a crucial difference with other narrative forms such as cinema and literature (Juul 2001), and is considered a unique element of virtual reality (Aylett, Louchart, 2003). Interactivity is also consistent with knowledge construction prerequisites. As Papert (1998) argues, undertaking the role of the creator of a playing environment is a crucial factor of the learning process, and is one of the powers of digital gaming, namely increasing the enjoyment of the player through the advancement of the level of participation and decision making (see also Gee, 2005).
2.3 Degrees of difficulty-challenge As the game develops, so do the expectations and the limitations of the character. Difficulty increase and levelups are two of the main characteristics that enhance the player’s interest for the game. As Brunerian theory suggests, learning material must increase in difficulty, creating thus a motivating environment for the players, who enjoy advancing their knowledge and skills. One of the reasons computer games attract the players’ attention for long periods of time is their ranging levels of activity, which create situations of challenge to the players, and give them a sense of success when they achieve the game’s goals (Kiili, 2005). Game-play is considered to promote through feelings of success and achievement of the player (Sanford & Madill, 2006, Vorderer, et al, 2003), a condition which is essential for the learning process in general as it creates motivation for further advancement.
2.4 Feedback As in all learning settings, feedback regarding the progress of game-play is a crucial factor, since it provides information regarding the players’ progress. Games “rank” the players’ performance through score grading and by advancing or reducing their abilities depending on their performance. Willingness to advance the character’s abilities and win the highest score is one of the game elements that motivate the gamers to perform better, and is a characteristic that should be developed in any educational technology attempt. Moderators or administrators that safeguard that the rules of the game are followed, especially since the games are generally defined as structures with rules (Burn & Carr, 2006:17, Gee, 2005: 14) and give feedback whenever it is necessary for the game to proceed are a substantial part of the gaming process. In the case of games for learning, the role of the moderator could be undertaken by the class teacher, who would provide information and feedback, as well as help when necessary.
2.5 Game goals as learning goals Another aspect of game development that should be especially looked upon is the identification of the game’s goals with the learning goals. Ke (2008: 550-1) has shown that, when games are used for instruction, the danger to diverge from the learning goals in order to achieve the game’s goals might cancel the game’s pedagogical purpose. This is a very crucial pedagogical principle that lies beneath the above hypothesis: games should be developed in complete alignment with the curriculum and the pedagogical strategies implemented, otherwise they cannot fulfill their instructional purpose (Papert, 1998). The learning material should be embodied in the game, and the fun part of game-play should not be added as an extra to a boring educational software. Knowledge acquisition must be the quintessence of the game, in such a way as to promote learning, together with the achievement of the game’s goals (Kirkmeier-Rust et al, 2007), integrating the game content to the knowledge content. This kind of activity is consistent with problem solving strategies, which use situations that need to be solved as starting points.
2.6 Social interaction Game-play is considered a social phenomenon, since gamers “live” in the game’s social contexts, with interactivity with other players being a crucial factor of enjoyment (Simon, 2006). Issues of social interaction inside the game environment (Lee & Hoadley, 2006), cooperation (The Games-to-teach Research Team, 2003: 22), knowledge transfer between players and team-play (Ke, 2008), as well as competition (Vorderer et al, 2003), are also important in the design of a game, and are completely aligned with educational theories that promote cooperative learning. Social interaction within the game environment, i.e. with non-player characters that may be important to the plot development, and on the side of it, i.e. with the use of chat rooms where players can discuss or take instructions by the moderator/teacher, may prove an entertaining as well as useful instrument for educational game development.
2.7 Research skills and decision making Skills such as logic, problem solving and memory are often estimated by the players as primary reasons for their engagement with a game (Amory et al, 1999). What could be added as extra skills, and are much needed in today’s era of information battery, are research skills, which could advance during game-play. Providing limited information to the player-learner is consistent with self-paced learning which is an essential characteristic of educational games, because it allows the player-learner to advance on his/her own rhythm, “encouraging players to invest in their goals and plans” (The Games-to-teach Research Team, 2003: 21) . Providing gamers with external links that could be of interest and could help them perform better and reach the game’s goals, could also serve as an educational strategy, allowing them to find information they need and sort out what is useful for their
specific learning goal.
2.8 Technological advancements and interdisciplinary cooperation Last but not least, a component of digital game-play pleasure is of course the use of the latest technology advances, especially relating to sound and image. High quality graphics, visualization and sound are always considered one of the first reasons for player engagement with computer games, because they help immersion in the game. Games such as Assassin’s Creed increase player interest because they display accurate, tasteful and innovative representations of the environment they animate (El-Nasr et al, 2008). Creativity and imagination in game development are rewarded by the fans of digital games that seem to favour games elaborately designed (Amory et al, 1999). In addition, incorporating more than one viewpoint in the design of an educational game is essential for provoking the gamers’ interest, since different viewpoints and tastes may consequently attract gamers with different hobbies, interests and characteristics. Cooperation of scientists of different areas for the development of educational games is essential although not always possible.
3. THE PROPOSED GAME MODEL The proposed game is a combination of adventure and role-playing game. An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of the protagonist in an interactive story that is driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenges such as combat (Adams & Rollings, 2006). Nearly all adventure games are designed for a single player, since the heavy emphasis on story and character makes multi-player design difficult. In order to promote collaboration among students we need elements from another games genre. Role-playing games are a form of interactive and collaborative storytelling where players make choices that affect the story (Waskul & Lust, 2004). Participants in a role-playing game create specific characters and shape the ongoing plot according to their actions and decisions. Role-playing games are fundamentally different from most other types of games in that they stress social interaction and collaboration. The main idea of the proposed game model is that students assume the role of a fictional or non-fictional character and play that character according to a predefined scenario. The scenario content depends on the era and subject of history we want teach. While the students play the game they will be solving puzzles embedded in the narrative framework and the solution to each puzzle will allow the user to proceed to higher levels of difficulty. The puzzles' content must be designed in such a way as to advance the progress of the story, by providing information much needed for its development, which is considered a sample of good game design (Todd, 2007). Interaction with the other students is the key that will give the solution to the puzzles. Puzzle solving is one of the main characteristic of adventure games (Gibson, Aldrich & Prensky, 2006, Pedersen, 2003) along with exploration (Rollings & Adams, 2003) and collection or manipulation of objects (Rollings & Adams, 2003, Kent & Williams, 1989). With the final summary and the conclusions the game comes to an end leaving the students with the experience and the feeling of a pedagogical drama.
4. CONCLUSIONS Interactive games are a useful method to make history learning more interesting. They also provide valuable lessons, which students can remember many years after secondary school because they offer something different to the school routine: group work, active thinking, motivation, participation, identification and above all, fun. However, a well designed environment is needed in order to fulfill some prerequisites. The proposed game model has many characteristics which enhance player enjoyment. The next step to this direction is the more detailed design and realization of such an education environment.
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