Games in 2006. Games (and play) and science communication What we can learn from games and how we...
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Transcript of Games in 2006. Games (and play) and science communication What we can learn from games and how we...
Games in 2006
Games (and play) andscience communication
What we can learn from games and
how we might even use games
to communicate science
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 3
Outline
• Why games?
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 4
Why games?
1Successful games are
free choice activitiesthat can
attract and hold
participants’ attention.
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 5
Why games?
2Rules, play, culture;
Games can create the contexts
that influence learning.
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 6
Eight Key Factorsthat influence Learning1
Personal context1. Motivation and expectations2. Prior knowledge, interests, and beliefs3. Choice and control
Sociocultural context4. Within-group sociocultural mediation5. Facilitated mediation by others
Physical context6. Advance organizers7. Design8. Reinforcing events and experiences outside the
museum1: Learning from Museums,Falk and Dierking, 2000, p.148
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 7
Why games?
3Games are about learning.
“Fun from games arises out of mastery. It arises out of comprehension. It is the act of solving puzzles
that makes games fun.
In other words, with games, learning is the drug.”
(Koster, 2005, p.40)
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 8
Why games?
4Games have deep structure.
“…these eight factors (Why games? #2) help us know more about () how visitors learn;
they tell us relatively little about what visitors learn.”
Falk and Dierking, 2000, p.149
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 9
Deep structure
‘real’ system
• in a state
action
• new state
shallow representation
• representation of state
deep representation
• representation of state
representation of action
• representation of new state
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 10
Deep Structure range
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 11
1. Meaningful play
• descriptive analysis:– factual definition of what happens in game– player action relates to system response
• evaluative analysis:– judging effectiveness of action-response to
create emotional experience– discernable – responses are apparent to player
(Suchman)– integrated – response has influence on further
play and outcome
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 12
Salen and Zimmerman, p.34
• “Meaningful play occurs when the relationships between actions and outcomes in a game are both discernable and integrated into the larger context of the game. Creating meaningful play is the goal of successful game design.”
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 13
2. Defining Games
• no standard definition• features proposed by
various writers:– rules that limit players– conflict– goal orientation– activity– involves decision-making– absorbing but not serious– not associated with material
gain– artificial / safe
– outside ordinary life– creates social groups– voluntary– uncertainty– make-believe /
representational– inefficient– system of parts,
resources, tokens– art form
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 14
The Magic Circle
• games exist within a magic circle with an explicit boundary– players agree to be in the magic circle – the
lusory attitude – so play can occur– within the circle, rules create special meanings
(for symbols, tokens, actions) that guide play– as a rule system, a game is closed– as a play system, a game is open / closed– as a culture system, a game is open
D Goforth, Jan 26, 2006 15
Sample sites to analyze
• http://www.scienceworld.ca/teachers_outreach/play_online/bw_games.htm
multiple choice game of organs• http://www.poissonrouge.com/puzzler/inde
x.htm kid’s puzzles
• http://www.tryscience.org/grid/offline/offline.html forest file etc
• http://www.exploratorium.edu/hockey/shooting1.html shooting puck