Framing serious gaming

Framing Serious Gaming

© PROF. DR . IGOR MAYER

I .S .MAYER@HOTMAIL .COM

SIGNATURE GAMES

WWW.SIGNATUREGAMES.EU

ACADEMY FOR DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT,

NHTV, APPLIED UNIVERSITY

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.signaturegames.eu/

www.signaturegames.eu

Find me / us:

1. Linkedin

2. Slideshare

3. Youtube

Towards a science of SG

Frames and discourse analysis

Principles of play

Methodologyfor SG

research

Study designs and data-gathering

Research instruments

and tools

Professional ethics

Read the presentation

Go to…

Research Gate

www.researchgate.net/profile/Igor_Mayer?ev=hdr_xprf

Academia.edu

Mendeley

Mayer, I. S., Warmelink, H. J. G., & Zhou, Q. (2014). The Utility of Games for Society, Business and Politics: A Frame Reflective Analysis. In Nick Rushby & D. Surry (Eds.), Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology (in press). Wiley.

Mayer, I. S., Warmelink, H. J. G., & Zhou, Q. (2015). A Frame-Reflective Discourse Analysis of Serious Games. British Journal of Educational Technology. (in press)

Zhou, Q. (2014). The Princess in the Castle: Challenging Serious Game Play for Integrated Policy Analysis and Planning. PhD thesis. TU Delft.

Mayer, I. S., Bekebrede, G., Harteveld, C., Warmelink, H. J. G., Zhou, Q., van Ruijven, T., … Wenzler, I. (2014). The Research and Evaluation of Serious Games: Toward a Comprehensive Methodology. British Journal of Educational Technology, 45(3), 502–527. doi:10.1111/bjet.12067

Mayer, I. S., Bekebrede, G., Warmelink, H. J. G., & Zhou, Q. (2014). A Brief Methodology for Researching and Evaluating Serious Games and Game-Based Learning. In T. M. Connolly, L. Boyle, T. Hainey, G. Baxter, & P. Moreno-Ger (Eds.), Psychology, Pedagogy and Assessment in Serious Games (pp. 357–393). IGI Global. doi:10.4018/978-1-4666-4773-2.ch017

Innovation model: Where are SGs?

Ref: Gartner Hype Cycle / Through of disillusionment

Essentialist definitions

“How should we explain to someone what a game is? I imagine that we should

describe games to him, and we might add: ‘This and similar things are called

‘games’. And do we know any more about it ourselves? Is it only other people

whom we cannot tell exactly what a game is? But this is not ignorance. We do not

know the boundaries because none have been drawn. To repeat, we can draw a

boundary for a special purpose. Does it take that to make the concept usable? Not

at all! (Except for that special purpose)” (Wittgenstein, 1953).

“Voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles” J.B. Suits The

Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia 1978

Functionalist definitions

Games for non-entertainment purposes…(Sawyer, 2002)

Serious game is a mental contest, played with a computer in

accordance with specific rules, that uses entertainment to

further government or corporate training, education,

health, public policy and strategic communication objectives.

(Zyda 2005)

Games for health, training, military, learning…

The politics behind functional definitions

Despite the possibility of rescuing serious games under the

definition I have just offered, I do not want to preserve that name.

Instead, I would like to advance persuasive games as an

alternative whose promise lies in the possibility of using

procedural rhetoric to support or challenge our understanding of

the way things in the world do or should work. (Bogost, 2007: 59)

‘Gamification is bullshit’ (Bogost, 2011)

Taxonomies? They…

…never seem to work

…are political

…reify

…block innovation

© Ben Sawyer

Frame analysis (Erving Goffman 1974 Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience )

Serious games

can only be

viewed through

multiple frames

at the same time

Realist, Utilitarian

Evolutionist,Transformationist

Interventionist,Decisionist

Idealist, Phenomenological

Gaming = Intervention, TherapyADHD – Healseeker - © Flanders Care

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnkhfgowEPI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CexMBkKwWUY

Gaming = Cost-effective learningTraining dike inspection, Levee Patroller / Deltares, The Netherlands

Gaming = Safe trainingvirtual training first responders (XVR © Esemble, the Netherlands)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sl8cN4qvnKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zmeR-u-DioE

Gaming = Product and process innovation (€)Augmented Reality in industry (© Ford Valencia, Spain)

Gaming = Innovation in surgery (€) !?Headmounted video display for surgery (© Sony)

Gaming = Innovation in spatial planningNext Generation Urban Planning © Tygron, the Netherlands

http://vimeo.com/54296051

Gaming = Societal criticismpolitics of nutrition, Fatworld (© persuasive games)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u64QCQe2sx0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u64QCQe2sx0

Gaming = Ridiculizing serious mattersWikileaks / Snowden leaks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMD-qStUGgc

Gaming = Public awarenessFloodSim (© Playgen, UK)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTEgI6N-cWI

Gaming = Public involvementAqua Republica (© DHI et al.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqC9f7F3als

Gaming = Customer loyalty, brandingAviation Empire (© Little Chicken, KLM, the Netherlands)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdLfMqoMOqw

Changing (political) ideas: sub frames

Economia (EU) ‘Let’s educate them’ frame

Occupy Wall street ‘Radical, anti-politics’

frame

Wikileaks – ‘Critical’ frame

SOS slaves – ‘Grass Roots‘ frame

Anti SOPA / PIPA ‘Advocacy Perspective’

Gaming = citizen science, wisdom of the crowdBiomedical research, Foldit, (© Foldit, US)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdBcpdH_ptA

Gaming = citizen science, wisdom of the crowdBiomedical research, Eyewire

http://blog.eyewire.org/about/

Gaming = managing complex systemsOcean management, MSP Challenge 2050 (I&M, Signature Games, the Netherlands)

http://www.mspchallenge.org/maritime-spatial-planning-challenge-2050/

Discourse analysis

Truth claim Criteria

Rebuttal Type of research

Policy





Discourse analysis

Effectiveness

Gaming is a cost-effective, means for learning, training

and intervention.

Innovation (€)

Global Economic Rat race. Gaming = Innovation and

ec. sector.

PersuasionGames are rhetorical; They can convince, change ideas,

beliefs of players, consumers, citizens

Playfulness

Ludification, gamification of society, organization, politics,

leadership, management.

Lack of Proof

Show me the evidence? Do we teach the right things?. Poss. Neg. effects, such as

agression, addiction?

Disturbance

Over-optimism and side effects.Risks of industrial

policy (subsidies, protection).

Inequality

Social-ec. exclusion; what are the consequences for

society, power (gap between generations, rich/poor,

nations).

ManipulationRisk of manipulation, abuse

of power, hidden agendas and ideologies. Ideology

battle.





Discourse analysis: consequences for research

Efficacy:

The ability to reach a limited set of pre-determined goals or effects effectively and cost

efficiently

Innovation value delivery

The ability to deliver certain values important to

innovation, such as efficiency, creativity, new socio-technical

combinations.

Belief change:The ability to change the way

people perceive, discuss behave around certain

issues;

Self-organization:

the ability to constitute new forms of human-system

interaction.

Psychological, medical, consultancy, experimental

Economic, organizational, engineering

System sciences (organizational learning) and

complexity sciences

Media, cultural, sociological, political.





Consequences for policy…(e.g., Horizon 2020,)

Discussion

Reflection on frame and discourse analysis

Many serious games can be viewed through multiple frames.

One frame may be more convincing than others.

We can examine the fidelity or persuasiveness of frames

Frames can break, change. New frames can emerge.

What are your examples?

What are your frames?

Framing serious gaming

Entertainment & Humor

Transcript of Framing serious gaming