The Library Arcade

Dan HoodInformation Literacy Fellow

LOEX of the West 2008

Las Vegas, NV

Carnegie Mellon University Libraries

"..don't use force in training the children in the subjects, but rather games.”

Plato, The Republic (421 BCE)

Project Overview

Why Games

Play!

Why Games?

Public Libraries

•Marketing

Academic Libraries

•Teaching

2 Distinct Uses

Other Library Gaming Projects

University of Calgary•Hardplay (Future)

Arizona State•Quarantined

UNC Greensboro•The Information Literacy Game

Everyone’s a Gamer

Average Game Player Age is: 33

25% -- 50+ yrs.

44% -- 18-49 yrs.

31% -- under 18 yrs

From Entertainment Software Assocation, 2007.

Is This Our Audience?

Why (not) Edu-gaming? • Cons

– Integration– Traditional assessment is boring– Development tools– The "Lame Factor“

• Pros– Learning = Fun?!– No consequence for failure– Master skills in demand by today’s

employers– Games offer attributes important for

learning

Gaming & Culture

•History

•Progress

•New Audiences

As Easy as Pong

World of Information

Virtually Physical

Mental Health

http://media.ds.ign.com/media/899/899492/img_4819084.html

http://media.ds.ign.com/media/740/740437/img_3448533.html

Arcade @ Home

What About the Web?

The Library Arcade Project

The Grant

•$50,000•“to develop and promote engaging, web-based information literacy tutorials for students throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond”•Build on momentum from Eden Hall $168,000 grant

•Stipulations•Must be an Outreach Component

•Open Source/Customizable/Easily Modded

The Team

• Librarians• Biomedical, Chemical, Materials

Engineering• Software Engineering• Information Literacy

• ETC Faculty Advisor• ETC Students

• Computer Science• Electronics/Communication• Fine Art• Psychology• Journalism

ETC

• Entertainment Technologies Center• Masters of Entertainment

Technology, 2 year degree

• Semester-long project• Team is design firm

March 2006 to Present

Project Timeline

[Phase 1] Decide to make games/team forms

(March 2006 ~ August 2006)

[Phase 2] Design and Production of Games

(September 2006 ~ February 2007)

[Phase 3] Testing and Marketing Begins

(March 2007 ~ August 2007)

User Testing & Feedback

•In Library and Student Union

•Assessment

•Survey Monkey

Game One

Game Two

Game Three

Game Four

Problems

•Library Centricity!

•Working with an inexperienced team

•META Problem – ACRL Standards

•Bandwidth…have some on hand

Future Directions

•Get more $$$

•Complete games 3 & 4

•Track players’ progress

•Add storyline (wrapper)

•Create a new team

•Marketing plan

Recommendations

•Overestimate budget

•Overestimate time investment

•Have a champion (project manager, leader)

•If outsourcing, be strict with designers

•Learn Flash?!

Our Sites

Library Arcade www.library.cmu.edu/Libraries/

etc •Play the games

•Learn about the developers

•Take the survey

Planning Blogcmlibrarygaming.wordpress.com/

•Find references on gaming

•See the survey results

•Share your research on gaming

U Haz Questions?

References• Game Player Data- Fact Sheet, Entertainment Software Association,

http://www.theesa.com/facts/gamer_data.php (Accessed November 5, 2007).

• UNC Greensboro, The Information Literacy Game (2004).• Arizona State, Quarantined (2005).• University of Calgary, Hardplay (2007).• Pong Screenshot, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/f/f8/Pong.png ,

(2007).• Pokemon Trading Card image taken from Ebay sale reference,

http://mollybol.50megs.com/Mollyweb/Book/Diary%20Pics/pokthur.JPG , (2007).

• Big Brain Academy Screenshot, IGN.com, http://wiimedia.ign.com/wii/image/article/795/795126/big-brain-academy-wii-degree-20070608011557637.jpg , (Accessed 11/05/2007).

• Flash Focus Screenshot, IGN.com, http://media.ds.ign.com/media/899/899492/img_4819084.html , (Accessed November 5, 2007).

• Brain Age Screenshot, IGN.com, http://media.ds.ign.com/media/740/740437/img_3448533.html , (Accessed November 5, 2007).

• All other images taken from their respective Wikipedia.com entries