The Sprylibrarian pointed out these games from the University of Sydney. Other than me having trouble following directions, I think these are very well and neatly done. I hope they don't mind if I steal some of their general ideas for interactive activities...
Friday, June 26, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Still alive
I haven't posted for a while because I moved on to some other things, though I keep coming back to my games. I have 8 or 9 pictograms for my Banned Book Week game. I'm dying to share them here, but can't let them leak out. I'm trying to find the Chronicles of Narnia on a major banned books list so I can use the map. Or Lord of the Rings, since there are also plenty of Middle Earth maps. I need to look them up in the print book Banned in the USA...
I ended up missing the Come Out & Play festival in NYC this past weekend. Between not finding anyone to go with me, and trying to get some family finances in order, I decided begrudgingly to stay home. I will work on something for next year.
I am continuing to listen to Scott Nicholson's Gaming in Libraries course. While a lot of it isn't relevant, much continues to inspire me and I really want to try all of these board games he mentions. He is currently talking about the five archetypes of games, which he calls SNAKS for Strategy, Narrative, Action, Knowledge, and Social games. I've been wanting to move away from trivia games, which is what my games are, though I don't know how to make my games educational without a trivia format. I want to look into Cranium games, he specifically mentions Hoopla, to see if they could be turned into something in the classroom.
He talks briefly about puzzle hunts, and how each piece points towards the next piece. I'm wondering if this would be a better format for my Banned Books pictograms than the two-sided map idea.
Today's topic was strategy games. I think this is what I would like to move towards since the research process involves a number of strategies. But that's as far as I've gotten with this idea.
One more tidbit of game news in my world is that our intern, Jessica, started yesterday. I am very impressed so far, and impressed that she seems to be getting into the game ideas. We're going to add the questions to the Plagiarism Game, then she's eager to help build one from scratch. She pointed me to a part of Cyberbee.com that has this cute Flash animation of kids raising their hands. It's not a game, but we're thinking of perhaps turning something like this into a game...
I ended up missing the Come Out & Play festival in NYC this past weekend. Between not finding anyone to go with me, and trying to get some family finances in order, I decided begrudgingly to stay home. I will work on something for next year.
I am continuing to listen to Scott Nicholson's Gaming in Libraries course. While a lot of it isn't relevant, much continues to inspire me and I really want to try all of these board games he mentions. He is currently talking about the five archetypes of games, which he calls SNAKS for Strategy, Narrative, Action, Knowledge, and Social games. I've been wanting to move away from trivia games, which is what my games are, though I don't know how to make my games educational without a trivia format. I want to look into Cranium games, he specifically mentions Hoopla, to see if they could be turned into something in the classroom.
He talks briefly about puzzle hunts, and how each piece points towards the next piece. I'm wondering if this would be a better format for my Banned Books pictograms than the two-sided map idea.
Today's topic was strategy games. I think this is what I would like to move towards since the research process involves a number of strategies. But that's as far as I've gotten with this idea.
One more tidbit of game news in my world is that our intern, Jessica, started yesterday. I am very impressed so far, and impressed that she seems to be getting into the game ideas. We're going to add the questions to the Plagiarism Game, then she's eager to help build one from scratch. She pointed me to a part of Cyberbee.com that has this cute Flash animation of kids raising their hands. It's not a game, but we're thinking of perhaps turning something like this into a game...
Friday, June 5, 2009
Gaming in Libraries Course
I have been following Scott Nicholson's Gaming in Libraries course this week and have been delighted with the material. I've only watched the videos, I need to go back this weekend and explore some of the online resources he mentions... and maybe get my hands on some of these board games! To summarize the course so far;
Day 1: talked about the class in general.
Day 2: talked about games and play. He boils the definition of a game down to a "form of play with goals and structure." He says the difference between games and simulations is the play part. A definition of "games" and the definition of what makes them different from simulations was troubling me as I wrote my first solo article recently, but this affirms and brings together my own nebulous conclusions.
Day 3: talked about analog games, a.k.a. board games. He points out that libraries have been supporting gaming for a very long time in this respect. He talks about several types of games, including Designer Games (a.k.a. Euro Games or Gateway Games), Bait Games, Role-Playing Games, Collectible Card Games, and Battle Games.
Day 4: talks about digital games, a.k.a. video games. Most of this section wasn't new to me. He points out that while video games are more exciting, they don't promote as much social interaction. Wii has a number of "party games" that are just silly group games. He also points out that digital games enforce the rules and often require responses within a certain time frame, where as analog games rely on the players and supervisor to enforce the rules, and rarely require a timely response.
Day 5: talks about hybrid games, or Big Games. This was so far the most interesting class. I had heard of most of the games he mentioned, but didn't understand how they were done. I understand a little better now. He defines Big games as the players being the pieces and moving within a physical space. Examples include:
Day 1: talked about the class in general.
Day 2: talked about games and play. He boils the definition of a game down to a "form of play with goals and structure." He says the difference between games and simulations is the play part. A definition of "games" and the definition of what makes them different from simulations was troubling me as I wrote my first solo article recently, but this affirms and brings together my own nebulous conclusions.
Day 3: talked about analog games, a.k.a. board games. He points out that libraries have been supporting gaming for a very long time in this respect. He talks about several types of games, including Designer Games (a.k.a. Euro Games or Gateway Games), Bait Games, Role-Playing Games, Collectible Card Games, and Battle Games.
Day 4: talks about digital games, a.k.a. video games. Most of this section wasn't new to me. He points out that while video games are more exciting, they don't promote as much social interaction. Wii has a number of "party games" that are just silly group games. He also points out that digital games enforce the rules and often require responses within a certain time frame, where as analog games rely on the players and supervisor to enforce the rules, and rarely require a timely response.
Day 5: talks about hybrid games, or Big Games. This was so far the most interesting class. I had heard of most of the games he mentioned, but didn't understand how they were done. I understand a little better now. He defines Big games as the players being the pieces and moving within a physical space. Examples include:
- Cruel to be Kind (I'm not sure how this is written) which boils down to a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.
- California Dreaming at ALA last year. Posters contained puzzles, as you solved them, you called into headquarters and the team captain would choose pieces of California to take over.
More information on Big Games can be found at www.tinyurl.com/biggame2. Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) include ilovebees developed by Microsoft. They found the players were so clever, the game developers were working hard to keep up with the players. The TV show LOST did one of these, too, using a fake travel Web site. Blood on the Stacks used the actual library staff as possible suspects, and would count as a Big Game. Other libraries have done Harry Potter puzzle hunts. And finally, there is Live Action Role-Playing Games such as Vampire: The Masquerade. This fits into something called "interactive fiction" and you can find out more about it on LARPA's Web site.
So, my head is spinning with all of this new information, and new Web sites to explore. I've started talking with a co-worker about a games program, and she's into the idea. I guess I also need to get busy on posters for my Banned Books game. I want to mix the map game idea with pictograms of famous banned books... I'll probably have to wait to post the pictures until after the game, lest some student find it and have an unfair advantage!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Coding Victories
After being stuck on my plagiarism game for months, I have had one of those rare epiphany moments where the fates decide I have suffered long enough. I have found the answer to the two-part interaction where you click on a drawer to open it and expose the goblin, then click on the goblin to get asked a question... and when you get the question right, the goblin disappears!
I celebrated with two Hershey Kisses and will splurge on an ice cream sundae tonight with a friend.
I celebrated with two Hershey Kisses and will splurge on an ice cream sundae tonight with a friend.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Kognito
I don't know how I got on their mailing list, but I got an e-mail today from a company called Kognito pointing to a new information literacy game created for the City University of New York. It focuses on business research. The page still says "coming soon," but it does include a Captivate explanation of the game, which seems like it could be kind of cool. So far, my only criticism is a good game needs a good title! Hopefully I will be able to find it live and play it for myself soon.
Carmen Sandiego
I played Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego yesterday. I remembered how intriguing this game was when I was a kid, and I still find it so even with the awful graphics. I took a few notes on the things that I like about it:
- Database-driven game, so you'll probably never play the same game twice.
- Offers players a choice on what they want to do, look for clues, enter data to try to get a warrant, or depart for a new city.
- Each choice has consequences as far as the time goes. While the player can take as long as he/she wants to make a decision, each decision costs a certain amount of time. Interviews cost time, but if you don't do enough of them, you'll find the thief without getting a warrant. You also may depart to the next city, only to realize you didn't go to the right place. All of these choices costs time.
- Animations that indicate you being on the right track. Of course the graphics are awful and the animations take a long time to load, but they add a fun element to the game.
The database-driven part is too hard for me to do, but I'm going to think about how I can add some of these other things to my own games to make them more fun.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Article Review: Games, Motivation, and Learning: A Research Practice Model
Authors: Garris, R., Ahlers, R., Driskell, J. E.
Article Title: Games, Motivation, and Learning: A Research Practice Model
Journal: Simulation Gaming (2002). Vol. 33, p. 441-467.
I'm tying up the lose ends of my article and passing it around for review and criticism before submission. I hope that will be next week. I have found some great resources in the past few days, including this article that really helped me bring a few things together. First of all, it's a great literature review, with publication dates of material cited range from the early '60's to mid-'90's.
Caillois (1961) defined a game as "an activity that is voluntary and enjoyable, separate from the real world, uncertain, unproductive in that the activity does not produce any goods of external value, and governed by rules" (quotation from Garris et al., pg. 442). They later point out that the parts involving voluntary and unproductive make non-voluntary educational games problematic in theory.
They point to several articles that define the difference between games and simulations. Margaret Gredler also addresses this in a handbook chapter entitled "Games and simulations and their relationships to learning." Each explanation is different and confusing. I have made up my own simplistic explanation for my article.
They point out that, "The generally accepted position is that games themselves are not sufficient for learning but that there are elements of games that can be activated within an institutional context that may enhance the learning process." I think the institutional context is important. I strongly believe that students at a larger school would have higher expectations for graphics and technical splendor than my game has, plus if you sent students off into the stacks at a place like Indiana University or Penn State, those students would never, ever come back to the classroom.
It is also important to separate the effectiveness of increasing motivation and the effectiveness of increasing student retention of the material. These are two very different things.
Some, such as Young (1996) have equated the interest shown in video games to that of compulsive or addictive behavior. This is the flip side of the motivation games draw on. I don't think educational games will ever have to worry about this, but this is an interesting point.
Dekkers and Donatti (1981) found that shorter simulations were more effective than longer ones.
The best part of this article was the section on the debriefing. There is little evidence that pure discovery learning works, which means the debriefing activity is crucial for success. This gives players a chance to review, analyze, and reflect on the events, and to draw parallels between the game and the real world. This allows students and educators to "transform game events into learning experiences."
Article Title: Games, Motivation, and Learning: A Research Practice Model
Journal: Simulation Gaming (2002). Vol. 33, p. 441-467.
I'm tying up the lose ends of my article and passing it around for review and criticism before submission. I hope that will be next week. I have found some great resources in the past few days, including this article that really helped me bring a few things together. First of all, it's a great literature review, with publication dates of material cited range from the early '60's to mid-'90's.
Caillois (1961) defined a game as "an activity that is voluntary and enjoyable, separate from the real world, uncertain, unproductive in that the activity does not produce any goods of external value, and governed by rules" (quotation from Garris et al., pg. 442). They later point out that the parts involving voluntary and unproductive make non-voluntary educational games problematic in theory.
They point to several articles that define the difference between games and simulations. Margaret Gredler also addresses this in a handbook chapter entitled "Games and simulations and their relationships to learning." Each explanation is different and confusing. I have made up my own simplistic explanation for my article.
They point out that, "The generally accepted position is that games themselves are not sufficient for learning but that there are elements of games that can be activated within an institutional context that may enhance the learning process." I think the institutional context is important. I strongly believe that students at a larger school would have higher expectations for graphics and technical splendor than my game has, plus if you sent students off into the stacks at a place like Indiana University or Penn State, those students would never, ever come back to the classroom.
It is also important to separate the effectiveness of increasing motivation and the effectiveness of increasing student retention of the material. These are two very different things.
Some, such as Young (1996) have equated the interest shown in video games to that of compulsive or addictive behavior. This is the flip side of the motivation games draw on. I don't think educational games will ever have to worry about this, but this is an interesting point.
Dekkers and Donatti (1981) found that shorter simulations were more effective than longer ones.
The best part of this article was the section on the debriefing. There is little evidence that pure discovery learning works, which means the debriefing activity is crucial for success. This gives players a chance to review, analyze, and reflect on the events, and to draw parallels between the game and the real world. This allows students and educators to "transform game events into learning experiences."
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