Edinburgh Edinburgh 20-24 June 2011 20-24 June 2011 European Commission Information Society and Media GaLA Game and Learning Alliance The European Network of Excellence on Serious Games Serious Games Mechanics WP2 T2.1 Game Mechanics – A Conundrum Soup Heriot-Watt University T. Lim, S. Louchart, A. Thin, R. Aylett, J.M. Ritchie 1
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Edinburgh 20-24 June 2011 European Commission Information Society and Media GaLA Game and Learning Alliance The European Network of Excellence on Serious.
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EdinburghEdinburgh20-24 June 201120-24 June 2011
European Commission Information Society and Media
GaLAGame and Learning Alliance
The European Network of Excellence on Serious Games
Serious Games MechanicsWP2 T2.1
Game Mechanics – A Conundrum SoupHeriot-Watt University
T. Lim, S. Louchart, A. Thin, R. Aylett, J.M. Ritchie
1
EdinburghEdinburgh20-24 June 201120-24 June 2011
European Commission Information Society and Media
T2.1 Objectives
• Serious Game Mechanics– Survey results– Dimensioning the game mechanics conundrum– Towards an ontological framework– A side order of game-pedagogy?– Unifying the dimensions– Conclusion
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EdinburghEdinburgh20-24 June 201120-24 June 2011
European Commission Information Society and Media
Survey Results: Towards a common understanding of Serious games
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What is Game mechanic? And our survey says….
How the player makes decisions and choices, and the game progresses
Describes evolution and responsiveness of the game environment
It is the ensemble of mechanisms that makes a gameplay
Details of a game depending on the game genre
How does a game work: settings, objectives and rating evaluations
What makes a game work be it the rules, interaction, simulations, visuals, feedback, etc.
Rules that define how objects interact within a game. Most commonly they refer to laws of physics but they can also describe game conditions and triggers in an abstract manner.
The rules of the interaction of player with game (e.g., specific physics or control response times)
Construct of rules to produce an enjoyable and meaningful game. Interaction of game mechanics determines the complexity of user interaction within a game.
Elementary component of game: software (functionality) or interaction or game design
Related to game design, with an additional focus on how different types of gameplay and engagement have an effect on the learning experience
Game mechanic is an input-output interaction. It’s the interactivity the player has with a game.
EdinburghEdinburgh20-24 June 201120-24 June 2011
European Commission Information Society and Media
Survey results: Game mechanic attributes
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EdinburghEdinburgh20-24 June 201120-24 June 2011
European Commission Information Society and Media
Dimensioning the game mechanics conundrum
1. The pedagogical approach with a particular focus on learning mechanisms.
By identifying practices specific to pedagogical approaches will aid in
gathering elements towards determining SG patterns.
2. Deconstructing current SGs to better understand the boundaries of game
rules and their relationships with learning mechanisms in terms of
integration and adaptability.
3. Understanding the motivations of the player in SG games and his/her
relationship towards pedagogical outcomes and the gaming experience. We
hypothesise that SG design patterns must encompass these three
components. However, each approach represents in itself a challenging
task.
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EdinburghEdinburgh20-24 June 201120-24 June 2011
European Commission Information Society and Media
Differences between entertainment games and serious games
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Serious games Entertainment games
Task vs. rich experience Problem solving in focus Rich experiences preferred
Communication Should reflect natural(i.e., non-perfect)communication
Communication is oftenperfect
Agreement… ?
The essay “Serious Games: A Broader Definition” (lostgarden.com), which discusses serious games from a business perspective, criticises descriptions of