CSCI 5530: Serious Games Development (Simulations and Serious Games)
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CSCI 5530, Winter 2012 Bill Kapralos
Winter 2012
Simulation, Games, and EducationFriday, January 20 2012
Bill Kapralos
Overview (1):Administrative Details
Comments re. the final course project
Simulation
A brief overview from last week
Play and Games (Continued from last Week)
Brief history of games
Video games
Serious games
Overview (2):Overview
Something to consider
Games and Simulations in Education
Educational simulation
History of educational simulation
Education, simulation, and games
Video games (again)
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Administrative Details
Course Preliminaries (1):
Course Outline
Let’s go over the course outline in detail
Simulation:A Brief Review from Last Week
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Review from last Week (1):
Lets Define Simulation Now
Various definitions available but essentially they all
mean something along the lines of
Simulation is the process of designing a model of a real or
imagined system and conducting experiments with that
model. The purpose of simulation experiments is to
understand the behavior of the system or evaluate strategies
for the operation of the system. Assumptions are made about
this system and relationships are derived to describe these
assumptions - this constitutes a "model" that can reveal how
the system works. (Becker and Parker, 2011)
The Basics – System and Model (1):
But What is a Model ?
Let’s start with a definition of a system → a collection of
elements that act together to achieve some goal
Model
A description of the system that you wish to study
Start by describing the elements of interest, which
often end up becoming the variables and their
behaviours → behaviours are those things that the
elements can and cannot do as well as the
relationships they may have with each other
The Basics – System and Model (2):
But What is a Model ? (cont.)
A model doesn’t have to be a description of a real life
system but it does have to be consistent
Doesn’t have to necessarily refer to a physical model
→ can develop a purely mathematical model where it
is possible to describe all properties/behaviours only
using mathematical formulae
The model is a way of describing a system whether
the system is real or fantasy
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The Basics – System and Model (3):
But What is a Model ? (cont.)
A model will likely not be able to describe everything
there is to know about any given system → very few, if
any, perfect models available
Your description of the model and the types of values
and relationships you include will determine what you
can do with the model → your model is only as good
as your description of it
Important to know what you plan to do with the model
right from the beginning
The Basics – System and Model (4):
Model and Simulation (cont.)
Another view of simulation → implementation of a model
regardless of whether you are creating a computer-
based simulation or a live-action training simulation
Computer-based simulation
Simulation will ultimately be expressed as a program
or a set of programs on some type of computing
device → desktop, laptop, ipad, cell phones/PDAs,
etc.
The Basics – Learning (1):
Simulation and Learning
Simulation is a powerful learning tool when learning
outcomes are clearly defined
Narrow popularist view of simulation
That of advanced technologies recreating a particular
experience, such as those found in virtual reality and
advanced computer controlled simulations
But simulation does not focus exclusively on technical or
psychomotor performance
Encompasses a broad perspective even incorporating
cognitive aspects
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The Basics – Learning (2):
Simulation and Learning (cont.)
Simulation may involve a wide range of techniques and
approaches applicable to learners at all levels → from
novice to expert
Simulation is not dependent on “high” (or “low”)
technologies and it is not confined to interactions with
people of models, physical or virtual → a simulation
could be a simple paper-based activity!
Overview (1):
First Simulations Were Probably Military-
Based
Stories of Roman soldiers using a tree trunk to
practice with their sword
Later developed into logs hanging on a rope →
introduced movement
Next evolved to work from horse-back and boats
using wooden figures to represent enemy soldiers
Military Simulations (3):
Huge Number of Applications (cont.)
Current focus is on virtual reality-based technologies and
serious gaming in particular (more later in course…)
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Military Simulations (5):
Flight Simulator Examples
Medical Simulations (1):
Historical Overview
Next to military use, simulation has been used
extensively for health professions education
First medical simulations/simulators were simple
models of human patients
From antiquity, representations in clay and stone
were used to demonstrate clinical features of
disease states and their effects on humans →
used in some cultures (e.g., Chinese) as a
"diagnostic" instrument
Medical Simulations (2):
Foetal Model and Pelvis
One of the first patient simulators was the foetal
model and pelvis to train midwives developed by
Madame Du Coudray, 1759 → released first edition of
her midwifery manual Abrege de L’art des
Accouchements
Madame Du Coudray’s"machine", a mannequin for teaching obstetrics
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Medical Simulations (10):
Huge Applications
Simulation in
healthcare → large
emphasis on the use
of simulation
particularly over the
last 40 years
Medical Simulations (11):
Huge Applications (cont.)
Play (1)Definition of Play
Engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather
than for a serious or practical purpose
Partly Responsible for Survival of Humans
Through play our ancestors
Honed their hunting skills
Established a dominance hierarchy
Learned the importance of following rules
Discovered values of their societies
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Play (2)Games
Formalized play → uniquely human behavior
associated with enhanced individual and group survival
Penalty for failure in game much less than in real world
Every “good game” → message about how to think and
act when confronted with real problems
Play (5)Animal World
Adult lion → efficient predator that kills & feeds on
mammals like antelope, wildebeest, zebras, and even
larger animals like giraffe and buffalo
When hunting larger animals → attacks at oblique
angle before leaping and throwing one paw over the
shoulder or rump and then using its weight and
strength to pull down the quarry
Play (6)
Animal World (cont.)
Lion cubs during play → often mimic this attack
behavior, stalking, ambushing, and grappling with each
other as they instinctively learn and practice how to
bring down prey
Essential skills they'll need to survive as adults.
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Play (7)
Can Games Have Educational Value ?
What do you think?
Brief History of Games (1):
Formalized Games
Games that include some form dice, board, cards, or
other artifacts designed specifically for those games
Have existed for more than 4.5 thousand years
Two of the earliest known games
Senet
Royal Game of Ur
Which of the two came first is still under debate
Play and Games (cont.)
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Brief History of Games (1):
Games as Simulations
Use of board games to simulate real-world activities
instead of their use for “fun” probably began with chess
Developed around the 6th century in northwest India
“Indian military strategy is faithfully reflected in the
game of chess” (Kulke, 2004)
Brief History of Games (2):
Games as Simulations (cont.)
Games that are explicit simulations began sometime
around 1824 with a game called Kriegesspiel,
developed by a Prussian military officer
Brief History of Games (3):
Games as Simulations (cont.)
In the US, there was a game called Mansion of
Happiness, developed in 1843 but the best known
simulation games is Monopoly, developed in the 1930s
In the 1970s fantasy type simulation games became
popular → Dungeons and Dragons in 1974
Military-themed board games involving strategy and
tactics became commercially available in the 1960s and
1970s → PanzerBlitz and Stalingard
Such games had a specific time scale that they were
designed to implement
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Brief History of Games (4):
Games as Simulations (cont.)
Panzerblitz
Each turn in PanzerBlitz was intended to represent
the passing of a fixed and relatively short period of
time within the game although the player may take
as much time as needed to set up their move
Representative of computer simulations where
passage of time is simulated in discrete chunks
Video Games (1):
Three Overlapping Categories
Video games
Use a video display and an electronic device that
allows a game to be played
Computer game
Makes use of a computer to create a game
environment of sound/images and enforce rthe rules
of the game allowing player to focus on play
Computer mediated game
Computer sets up/keeps score, allowing player to
avoid boring parts & provides opponent if needed
Video Games (2):
Three Overlapping Categories (cont.)
Chess and solitaire → computer mediated games
No computer required to play solitaire but shuffling
and dealing cards takes much time for a game →
computer is much more efficient
Pong → one of the original video games and didn’t use
a computer to control play
The influence of traditional games to the evolution of
video games is indisputable but computer games
began as, and remain as sub-categories of simulations
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Video Games (3):Three Overlapping Categories (cont.)
First computer games were traditional games like chess
and tic-tac-toe → tic-tac-toe was the first, implemented
in 1952 at the University of Cambridge and key to this
game was the simulated opponent (which couldn’t lose)
Tennis for Two in 1958 (oscilloscope-based)
Spacewar in 1961 which simulated battle in space
→ became the first commercially available video
game Computer Space in 1971
Video Games (4)
Three Overlapping Categories (cont.)
Video game → a game played by electronically
manipulating images produced by a computer program
on a television screen or display
Video Games (5):Video Games and Simulation
Whether or not you accept the premise that video
games are all, in some sense, simulations → most
video games marketed after Spacewar have a
significant simulation component
Video games are all about learning → learning the
paths, rules, actions that permit the player to win
This inherent learning coupled with the simulation
component make video games a natural choice to
teach → serious games!
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Serious Games (1):Serious Games and the Military
The most consistent supporters and developers of
games for learning and professional development
First likely serious game was Battlezone, arcade
game (Atari 1980) → version of this game (Army
Battlezone) was designed to train army gunners
Army Battlezone was not particularly successful but
it was the beginning of the army’s use of gaming and
virtual reality for training
Serious Games (2):
The Topic of Simulation is Huge
Can spend several courses covering simulation but
the purpose here was to provide a very brief overview
of simulation
This is intended to motivate the topic of serious
games and virtual simulations → which are
simulations albeit in the virtual domain
Game in Education
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Something to Consider (1):Are Computer Simulations and Games Really
Different From Non-Digital Simulations and
Games ?
Many educators often claim that non-digital games
and digital games are part of a continuum and thus
the same
Many educators also claim that games and
simulations are not the same
Confusion ???
Something to Consider (2):Are Computer Simulations and Games Really
Different From Non-Digital Simulations and
Games ? (cont.)
What do you think ?
Something to Consider (3):Computer Simulations in Education (cont.)
Despite being available for a long time, it is only
recently that computer simulations have been used in
formal education
Computer games have also been around for some
time (1970s) but apart from a brief “honeymoon”
during the “Edutainment era”, only recently have
they been seriously considered in formal education
Digital games are still forbidden in some schools
altogether including many college/university
departments
But some groups (military) have embraced them…
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Simulations in Education (1):Traditional vs. Digital Simulation in
Education
Recall → all digital simulations are based on models
that have some degree of consistency
Some sort of rules we can describe, and some
purpose for the model
Models are abstractions → no precondition that the
model be based on reality
Education community → it is believed that
simulations necessarily model reality and are
distinct from games which do not model reality
Simulations in Education (2):Traditional vs. Digital Simulation in
Education (cont.)
Possible to create a fabricated set of rules for a
hypothetical system modeled using a simulation
It is still a simulation and assessments can be
made to determine how accurately the simulation
reflects the model → simulation’s validity
Also possible to create a scenario set in a
fantastical setting that focuses on some realistic
element → a “fable” where a “real” lesson is
wrapped up inside a fantasy story
Simulations in Education (3):Traditional vs. Digital Simulation in
Education (cont.)
The use of fantasy and metaphor as effective
teaching tools has been accepted for 1000s of years
Why shouldn’t that also apply to simulations and
games ?
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Simulation in Education
Educational Simulation (1):What is an Educational Simulation ?
Role-playing is probably one of mankind’s oldest
social activities → “the changing of one's behaviour to
fulfill a social role” (Oxford dictionary)
First performed around the campfire and later in
the form of theater → used as entertainment and
for communication since before we became literate
Also been used in the military for centuries
More recently used as a form of therapy
Educational Simulation (2):What is an Educational Simulation ? (cont.)
Despite the fact that role-playing was facilitating
learning for a long time, it was not seen as a
deliberate teaching technique until about the 1950s
In formal education, role playing is known as
educational simulation
Until recently, has been associated exclusively
with in-class, live action, or paper-based activities
→ learners given pre-defined set of roles and then
asked to play out some scenario
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Educational Simulation (3):What is an Educational Simulation ? (cont.)
Role-playing strengths
Educational Simulation (4):What is an Educational Simulation ? (cont.)
There are those in the educational domain however
that see no distinction between instructional games
and simulations (Thiagarajan, training specialist, who
specializes in in-class & paper-based learning)
Considers all training he designs as simulation
games and within that context, he identifies five
critical characteristics of training simulation games
Educational Simulation (5):Five Critical Characteristics of Training
Simulation Games (Thiagarajan)
Conflict → can also be described as challenge
Constraints on player’s behaviours → rules
Closure → game must come to an end
Contrivance → all games are contrived situations
Corespondence → designed to respond to some
selected aspects of reality
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History of Educational Simulations (1):In the Early 1970s
Future of simulations and gaming in education
seemed very bright!
Study concluded that simulation and gaming were
the fastest growing new methods of instruction
“Games”, “gaming”, and “simulation” used
interchangeably in education and huge optimism
about their learning value → lasted into the 1980s
“There seems every reason to believe that
elements of simulation play can be transferred or
adapted from their existing contexts and used
consciously as an approach to learning”
History of Educational Simulations (2):The Edutainment Era
With the advent of the PC in the early 1980s, formal
education first embraced the idea of using the PC as
a personal learning technology
Computer Aided Instruction became the
technology of the day → it appeared as if there
was nothing that computers could not do to
enhance learning and this included computer
games and this is what brought about the term
Edutainment
Believed that Trip Hawkings (founder of EA) first
used the term
History of Educational Simulations (3):The Edutainment Era (cont.)
Analog simulations and games at this time were
widely accepted
Many education experts simply saw computer-
based simulations and games as extensions of the
games they already knew and used
Many influential educators at the time such as
Saymour Papert from MIT, talked about how
computers in classroom would revolutionize
education
This is also the era where video games started to
become very popular → pac-Man, Donley Kong…
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History of Educational Simulations (4):The Edutainment Era (cont.)
Many educators, non-profit, and for-profit
organizations began building educational computer
games
The view was that one could wrap any instruction
inside a game and thereby enhance the learning
experience → we now know this doesn’t work!
At the time, many games were produced without
bothering to learn anything about the computer,
the learners, or the game itself → most of these
“educational entertainments” were awful
History of Educational Simulations (5):The Edutainment Era (cont.)
Majority of educational games of this time did not live
up to expectations and in fact, this really turned
people away from educational-based games
Resulting backlash still exists today → many game
developers looking at education-based games are
highly suspicious of educators
Many game designers believe that instructional
designers take all the fun out of games → in the
1980s, this was definitely the case as educational
games didn’t take the “fun” aspect seriously
History of Educational Simulations (8):The Edutainment Era (cont.)
Although many of the Edutainment era games were in
poor, there were some very popular and influential
games of that era
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
Oregon Trail
SimCity
Reader Rabbit
Math Blaster
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History of Educational Simulations (9):The Post-Edutainment Era
Early 2000s, optimism for learning via games was
replaced by claims that games were almost always
less efficient than other methodologies and that
players in games are primarily motivated by winning
→ and this interferes with educational goals
Becoming clear that games designed by educators
for learning could not live up to earlier expectations
Simulations and games were separated →
simulations were legitimate educational tools while
games were discounted/ignored
History of Educational Simulations (10):The Post-Edutainment Era (cont.)
The last 10 years have given us unprecedented
development in the field of computer games
With respect to simulations and games, anything
greater than five years old is outdated
Putting non-digital games and simulations in same
class as digital ones assumes that the medium
doesn’t change → but medium does change!
Consider the current opportunities → ipad, PDAs…
Education, Simulation, Games (1):Education Simulation-Game Continuum
Many educators now place simulations and games at
opposite ends of a continuum
Simulations are seen as good and games as
frivolous with no educational merit and sometimes
even viewed as bad
Simulations Simulation Games
Games
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Education, Simulation, Games (2):Education Simulation-Game Continuum (cont.)
Problem with placing simulations and games at
opposite ends of the continuum
Severely limits one’s ability to take advantage of
what technology has to offer in terms of design
Games are still viewed negatively in many places so
this distinction is deemed necessary by many
despite the many innovations in commercial games
when it comes to interface design, and ways to track
and assess players’ progress
Education, Simulation, Games (3):Education Simulation-Game Continuum (cont.)
Although many definitions exist, for our purposes here,
a game must have
Rules → constraints
An end → an identifiable objective)
Score → a means of measuring progress
Unfortunately for many scholars and practitioners in
education use a different definition
Games → element of fantasy and not realistic
Simulation → realistic and fun is not a part
But what is reality ? More in later lectures…
Education, Simulation, Games (4):Simulations – Games Relationship
Simulations
Games
Simulation-Games
Currently, game engines can be and are being used to make educational objects that have all the qualities claimed by educators to be essential to simulations and simulation engines are being used to make games
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Video Games (1):The Video Game Phenomenon
$56 billion per year industry (Economist, 2010)
Despite economic downturn → growing 9% yearly
Surpassed film revenue 2003
Surpassed music revenue 2007
Call of Duty: Black Ops takes in $360 Million in one
day breaks all records ($1 Billion in one month)
Some Interesting Facts to Follow
Originated from within IBM and their work at Sony
Computer Entertainment.
Video Games (2):Some Interesting Facts
8 to 18 Year-Olds
83% have a video game console at
home
86% have two or more consoles at
home
55% own a hand-held video game
player
Spend min. one hour each day playing games
Video Games (3):Some Interesting Facts (cont.)
No longer specific to adolescent boys but rather, girls,
and children of all ages are playing
42% of all game players are women
Women over the age of 18 represent a significantly
greater portion of the game-playing population (31%)
than boys age 17 or younger (20%)
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Video Games (4):Some Interesting Facts (cont.)
72% of American heads of households play computer
and video games
Average (US) game player is 37 years old → has been
playing games for 12 years
36% of American parents say they play computer and
video games
80% of gamer parents play video games with their
kids
66% of gamer parents feel playing video games has
brought their families closer together
Video Games (5):Emerging Trend → Mobile Games
Over 5 billion phone subscriptions world-wide (2010)
31% increase over the year before
Games are proving to be a popular application for
mobile phones → Angry Birds has been
downloaded over 500 million times!
$7 billion (2010) market for mobile applications but
expected to reach $35 billion by 2015 → most of this
is expected to be from games
Video Games (6):The 10,000 Hour Rule
Anders Ericsson, a psychologist researched success of
violinists at the Berlin Academy of Musiche
Violinists that performed the best spent more time
practicing
10,000 hours was the average number of hours the
violinists spent to achieve their success
Applies not only to violinists, but composers, writers,
artists, surgeons, etc.
Same amount of time child with perfect attendance
spends in school from 5th grade to graduation
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Video Games (7):The 10,000 Hour Rule (cont.)
By age 21, the average American will have spent more
than 10,000 hours playing video games
Equivalent to 5 years of work at a full time job!
The total amount of time that World of Warcraft has
been played 5.93 million years
Estimated 3 billion hours are currently spent on
gaming every week
Video Games – The Positive* (1):
Positive Effects of Video Games
Aside from the effects on learning, previous studies that
examined video game players have shown
Superior hand-eye coordination
Fast reaction times
Superior spatial visualization skills
Increased capacity for visual attention and
spatial distribution
*From James C Rosser Jr., Beth Israel Medical Centerhttp://www.psychology.iastate.edu/~dgentile/MMVRC_Jan_20_MediaVersion.pdf
Video Games – The Dark Side* (1):
But… There are Many Negative Effects
Video games have been linked to
Decreased academic performance
Decreased prosocial behavior
Aggressive thoughts, feelings, and aggression
Have been correlated to
Smoking
Obesity
Physiological arousal
*From James C Rosser Jr., Beth Israel Medical Centerhttp://www.psychology.iastate.edu/~dgentile/MMVRC_Jan_20_MediaVersion.pdf
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Video Games – The Dark Side (2):
Video Game Addiction ?
“Although not yet officially recognized as a diagnosable
disorder by the AMA, there is increasing evidence that
people of all ages, especially teens and pre-teens, are
facing very real, sometimes severe consequences,
associated with compulsive use of video and computer
games”
More than 5 million kids in the US may be addicted,
according to an AMA report
Video Games – The Dark Side (3):
Video Games and Play
Playing video games is really no different from playing
any other “traditional game”
Basically just a different medium
But why all the “bad press” with video games?
Video Games – The Dark Side (4):
Video Games and Play“I just bought Modern Warfare 2, the game," writes, Andrew Berwick, "It is
probably the best military simulator out there and it's one of the hottest games
this year. ... I see MW2 more as a part of my training-simulation than anything
else. I've still learned to love it though and especially the multiplayer part is
amazing. You can more or less completely simulate actual operations."