1. Designing Educational Games using the RPG genre:
Student-Gamer Involvement and RPG Affordances
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

2. Student-Gamer Involvement and RPG Affordances
Role Playing Games (RPG)
Student – Gamer Involvement
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

3. How can we use the motivational elements of video games to educate?
Educational games so far
Fun with a bit of educational content thrown in
Educational tool with fun bolted on
Lacks the essence of what motivates one to play games in the first place
Fails to harness the potential
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

4. Characteristics of an RPG
Open World / Non linear / Quest Based
Explore / Discover (Locations)
Interactions (NPC & Environment)
Storyline :Narrative / Dialogues / Books
Music /Aesthetics / Graphics
Verisimilitude
Challenge / Flow
Fairness / Rules / Goals
Achievements / Rewards
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

5. The Student Research Group (Sep 2011 – Ongoing)
The Participants
15 students from a 1st year BTEC Game Design course (Media)
Key Skills working together class
The Tasks (Groups of 2-4)
3 quests
Expansion of main storyline
Starting Point (Weogorna Civitas)
Basic world developed and in place
Ideal group as they are Media students and seemed more suited to this type of genre
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

6. What is Weogorna Civitas?
A role playing educational game (RPG)
Total Conversion of an existing game Oblivion Elder Scrolls
Open World
Quest Based
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

7. Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price
Quests
Main Quest and Sub – Quests
Retrieve
Rescue
Solve
Aims, Objectives and Feedback
Fairness (and Consistency)
Achievement
Reward
Challenge
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

8. Cat on Fire Quest: Strange Happenings
Initial Design
Storyboard and script
Design and Development Phase
AbbiChris Village
Quest
Prototype
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

9. Cat on Fire Quest : Strange Happenings
Strange happenings in AbbiChris Village
Get the elemental ring to get to Earth
Talk to Skye in the Cat on Fire Inn
Rescue the heir and receive your reward
Talk to the Arch Mage to find out more
Get information from the Cathedral
Solve puzzles and negotiate the dungeons
Find the scientist
Storyboard By Abigail Evans for Cat on Fire

10. Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price
Cat on Fire
Prototype Phase
Jan -Apr 2012
Show video here
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price

11. Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price
Ethics
Ethical issues
Internal Validity and Causal Effects
Bias and subjectivity
Vested interest in the results
Other Ethical considerations
What students may come up with
Sherry O'Sullivan & Dr. Colin Price