Games in 2006

Games (and play) and science communication What we can learn from games and how we might even use games to communicate science

D Goforth, Jan 26, Outline Why games?

D Goforth, Jan 26, Why games? 1 Successful games are free choice activities that can attract and hold participants’ attention.

D Goforth, Jan 26, Why games? 2 Rules, play, culture ; Games can create the contexts that influence learning.

D Goforth, Jan 26, Eight Key Factors that influence Learning 1 Personal context 1.Motivation and expectations 2.Prior knowledge, interests, and beliefs 3.Choice and control Sociocultural context 4.Within-group sociocultural mediation 5.Facilitated mediation by others Physical context 6.Advance organizers 7.Design 8.Reinforcing events and experiences outside the museum 1: Learning from Museums, Falk and Dierking, 2000, p.148

D Goforth, Jan 26, Why games? 3 Games are about learning. “Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles that makes games fun. In other words, with games, learning is the drug.” (Koster, 2005, p.40)

D Goforth, Jan 26, Why games? 4 Games have deep structure. “…these eight factors (Why games? #2) help us know more about () how visitors learn; they tell us relatively little about what visitors learn.” Falk and Dierking, 2000, p.149

D Goforth, Jan 26, Deep structure ‘real’ system in a state action new state shallow representation representation of state deep representation representation of state representation of action representation of new state

D Goforth, Jan 26, Deep Structure range

D Goforth, Jan 26, Meaningful play descriptive analysis: –factual definition of what happens in game –player action relates to system response evaluative analysis: –judging effectiveness of action-response to create emotional experience –discernable – responses are apparent to player (Suchman) –integrated – response has influence on further play and outcome

D Goforth, Jan 26, Salen and Zimmerman, p.34 “Meaningful play occurs when the relationships between actions and outcomes in a game are both discernable and integrated into the larger context of the game. Creating meaningful play is the goal of successful game design.”

D Goforth, Jan 26, Defining Games no standard definition features proposed by various writers: –rules that limit players –conflict –goal orientation –activity –involves decision-making –absorbing but not serious –not associated with material gain –artificial / safe –outside ordinary life –creates social groups –voluntary –uncertainty –make-believe / representational –inefficient –system of parts, resources, tokens –art form

D Goforth, Jan 26, The Magic Circle games exist within a magic circle with an explicit boundary –players agree to be in the magic circle – the lusory attitude – so play can occur –within the circle, rules create special meanings (for symbols, tokens, actions) that guide play –as a rule system, a game is closed –as a play system, a game is open / closed –as a culture system, a game is open

D Goforth, Jan 26, Sample sites to analyze each/play_online/bw_games.htmhttp:// each/play_online/bw_games.htm multiple choice game of organs x.htm kid’s puzzleshttp:// x.htm e.html forest file etchttp:// e.html ting1.html shooting puckhttp:// ting1.html