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) 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

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 fun to 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)

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

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)

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

Taxonomy of Serious Games (Sawyer & Smith, 2008)

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

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

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

Sawyer & Smith, 2008

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

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

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

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

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

Art/Statement Art Statement 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

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

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

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?