Beyond Gamification: Thinking Like a Game Designer
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Karl Kapp discusses game design principles in the context of creating engaging learning experiences, emphasizing the need for action-oriented gameplay, building curiosity, and embracing challenges. He offers tips for instructional designers, such as allowing for player risk and mistakes, fostering learner autonomy, and integrating meaningful game elements. The presentation includes a competitive team game scenario aimed at illustrating these concepts.
![Jones, B., Valdez, G., Norakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing learning and technology
for educational reform. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. [Online]. Available:
http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm and Schlechty, P. C. (1997). Inventing
better schools: An action plan for educational reform. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chapter 2
“The Gamification of Learning and Instruction.”
It needs to be challenging.](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/atdcorehandouts-180315114306/85/Beyond-Gamification-Thinking-Like-a-Game-Designer-42-320.jpg)
Beyond Gamification: Thinking Like a Game Designer
- 2. Beyond Gamification: Thinking Like A game designer. By Karl M. Kapp Professor, Bloomsburg University, Author Gamification of Learning and Instruction March 22, 2018 Author: Gamification of Learning and Instruction Twitter:@kkapp karlkapp@gmail.com
- 7. You are a game designer at SuperGame Corporation which has hit some hard times lately.
- 8. It’s Friday 4:59 PM you and your colleague have only one thing on your mind.
- 9. Suddenly, your boss calls you and your colleague into her office. Ito and Jasmine come into my office.
- 10. Yes? Yes?
- 11. Look, someone wants us to create a game about capturing dragons.It appears to be a craze or something.
- 12. Working name is… “Dragónmon Go”
- 13. You are competing internally for the project. Winning team earns the right to work on the project.
- 14. Two Development Teams Moxie Zest Open another window: PollEv.com/karlkapp
- 15. Each team will be confronted with a series of questions. The team that correctly answers the most questions wins the work.
- 16. What about the other team?
- 17. Losers are assigned to the game “watching paint dry.”
- 18. Wow, I heard about that project, its almost as fun as… never mind. Dragon Capturing is much better.
- 19. Get it together. Now let’s hear about the dragon capturing game.
- 20. First decision about this dragon capturing game is…should it be digital or a tabletop game?
- 21. You have two choices: Digital? or Card Game?
- 23. Actually, there are a number of benefits to card games. They build learner engagement, are a social accelerant and provide a tangible take-away from the event.
- 24. Here’s some examples from a conference. Card or tabletop games engage people at a meaningful level.
- 26. ..and attendees tend to play the game throughout the entire event during downtime and play back at office.
- 27. Zombie Sales Apocalypse Scenario Cards Challenge Cards Voting Cards Example
- 28. Dragónmon Go Let’s do a card game!
- 29. Next decision about this dragon capturing game is how to start the game. What should the player’s first in-game experience be?
- 30. You have two choices: Tell the player three things they need to know about capturing dragons. or Begin with by having the player start capturing dragons right away.
- 31. Why does this answer make sense? Not Sure?
- 32. Good game designers know that games are engaging because they require action right away. Action draws in the player and encourages further engagement. Start by capturing a dragon.
- 33. Too often instructional design is about the content and not about the actions that need to occur. Game Design is about action.
- 34. Create an “open loop”.
- 35. Remember, research indicates that learners who used interactive games for learning had greater cognitive gains over learners provided with traditional classroom training. Vogel, J. J., Vogel D.S., Cannon-Bowers, J., Bowers, C.A., Muse, K., & Wright, M. (2006). Computer gaming and Interactive simulations for learning: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 34(3), 229-243.
- 36. Ok, next decision. Provide information about every single dragon in the game. or Create a sense of mystery and curiosity concerning each dragon.
- 37. It is always a good idea to build curiosity and mystery into a game. Check out my notebook on this subject.
- 40. A sense of suspense, mystery and intrigue draws people into games and can draw them into learning as well.
- 41. OK, what do we decide next, should we: Make the game easy so we don’t discourage the players. or Make the game challenging, knowing some players will fail the first few times.
- 42. Jones, B., Valdez, G., Norakowski, J., & Rasmussen, C. (1994). Designing learning and technology for educational reform. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. [Online]. Available: http://www.ncrtec.org/capacity/profile/profwww.htm and Schlechty, P. C. (1997). Inventing better schools: An action plan for educational reform. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Chapter 2 “The Gamification of Learning and Instruction.” It needs to be challenging.
- 43. Look! Good games give players a set of challenging problems and let them solve those problems until they can do it automatically. Then those same games throw a new class of problem at the players requiring them to re- think, their now—taken for granted—mastery. They must learn something new and integrate into their old mastery.
- 44. Well said!
- 45. Actually, my good friend James Paul Gee said those words, I’m quoting him.
- 46. Always good to cite sources!
- 47. Also, keep in mind things that are too easy or too difficult will not pique a learner’s interest because they lead to boredom or frustration. Research has shown that challenge is correlated with both intrinsic motivation and motivation related to the desire to seek competence and self confidence. White, R.W. (1959) Motivation reconsidered: The concept of competence. Psychological Review, 66, 297-333.
- 48. In fact, give them the Kobayashi Maru of challenges.
- 49. Harsh!
- 50. Well, the next decision, should we: Put the player at risk, they could die at any moment. or Let the player safely explore the environment.
- 52. Seriously, you are asking me this question. The player needs to be at risk.
- 53. No risk, or danger equal no skin in the game. Get the player emotionally involved by putting him or her at “mock” risk.
- 54. In games, failing is allowed, it’s acceptable, and it’s part of the process. Games accommodate failure with multiple lives, second chances and alternative methods of success.
- 55. Research indicates that our brains grow when we make a mistake because it is a time of struggle. Moser, J. Schroder, H.S., Heeter, C., C., Moran, T.P., & Lee, Y.H. (2011) Mind your errors: Evidence for a neural mechanism linking growth mindset to adaptive post error adjustments. Psychological Science, 22, 1284-1489. Our brains react with greater electrical activity when we make a mistake than when we are correct.
- 56. Do you punish failure in your learning design or do you allow and encourage the freedom to fail?
- 57. Cordova, D.I., & Lepper M. R. (1996) Intrinsic motivation and the process of learning: Beneficial effects of contextualization, personalization and choice. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88, 715-730 Also, give learners control over their learning, research has shown that learners invested more and attempted more complex strategies than when they had no control. So give learners control.
- 58. Lot of information, thanks. So let me ask one more question.
- 59. Which team gets to design “Dragónmon Go”? Which team won?
- 60. Well, they are all winners to me.
- 61. Ugh….
- 63. Here are five tips for thinking like a game designer: 1) Begin with activity 2) Create curiosity, mystery, intrigue 3) Create a challenge for the learner 4) Put learners at “mock” risk— encourage mistakes 5) Give learners control and meaningful choices
- 64. What game elements are in this presentation?
- 65. 1) Story 2) Character 3) Competition/teams 4) Real-time feedback 5) Meaningful Decision making 6) Uncertain ending 7) Allowing failure 8) Uncertainty
- 66. You can use more realistic settings for storytelling.
- 67. Can I have a moment of your time?
- 68. Well, I am busy…
- 69. Lynda.com/LinkedIn Learning Courses: Gamification & Interactive Learning YouTube Channel: Karl Kapp Twitter @kkapp Web Site:www.karlkapp.com Resources
- 70. Questions?