Unite 2010GDC ChinaAsia Game Show 2010GDC 2011
The 2 Categories of Gameplay1) The player both enjoys the process and values the reward Example Game: Planescape:Torment While the knowledge in this game had little if no traditional educational value, the way in which it was presented is worth looking at. At any point, the player had the option of delving deeper into the plot, usually just by talking to someone and becoming involved in a well written, absorbing conversation, the reward for which was often character advancement. At it's most basic, this is probably the easier of the two methods to design. However, as has already been mentioned, those who enjoy the process of learning have no need of educational software. Therefore any sort of learning should if possible be hidden. All that is necessary is to create a suitably detailed and absorbing game world, and a way for the player to choose to research the backstory. Although not necessarily educational, good examples of this can be found in RPGs such as Baldur's Gate, Deus Ex* and Morrowind, where books and tomes provide well written information on the game world, and reward the player with increased understanding and knowledge, as well as giving information about in game secrets. At a more advanced level, emergent gameplay can play a part. Rather than a tangible reward, the player could use the information presented to devise a new strategy. For example, in the game Generic Fantasy Adventure, the player may choose to defeat a group of intelligent lizards in order to gain a prize. While a straightforward attack is an available, albeit difficult option, a conversation with an NPC could reveal information on reptilian activity cycles and biology. The player who chose to learn now knows he should attack during nighttime or on an overcast day to be assured of victory. 2)The player does not enjoy the process, but values the reward Example Game: Carnage Heart Carnage Heart was a game that attempted to teach basic programming skills-conditional statements, program flow, loops and optimization. The player would program robots who would fight the AI robots in an attempt to capture the enemy HQ and win the map. The enjoyment in the game came not from the actual programming, but from watching your robots win and the sense of achievement gained from completing levels. This is the approach most often used in games that attempt to teach programming. The player may not actually enjoy the coding, but does so for the sense of achievement that he gains for successfully solving the puzzle, and also for advancement within the game. Another aspect of this type of gameplay that could be used within a limited educational role is the optional, yet tedious gameplay often found in Japanese RPGs, where repeated playing of subgame leads to a reward. Rather than subgames, the player could be faced with a series of intellectual or knowledge based challenges that lead to a reward within the game, whether tangible or a new strategy as described above. ConclusionWhile using a game as an educational tool can be a good idea, as with any kind of learning the most important challenge is to make people wish to learn. Additionally, care must be taken to ensure that the end result is an enjoyable, fun game, rather than an interactive textbook In general, this seems not to be the case, possibly because educational games are often not made by games companies trying to make games, but by educational companies attempting to use games as a platform. The end results are similar to the poor quality of software put out by religious games companies., for much the same reasons. *Deus Ex is a very good illustration of this idea. The propaganda of the NSF and Silhouette provided, respectively, basic primers on libertarianism and situationism. Excerpts from various works of literature were scattered round the levels, and as well as highlighting themes within the game, introduced the relevant works to an audience (FPS gamers) not traditionally known for a love of literature |
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