In my recent surge to absorb all things “games and education”, I’ve encountered some of presentations I wanted to share. These are atypical of the usual stuff I look for, as they focus on games in other contexts than the most common (analyzing mainstream games). I got a lot out of them, and I hope you do too!
Dan Pinchbeck, The Chinese Room (www.thechineseroom.co.uk)
Presentation: “Doing Development-led Research in Games” (http://vimeo.com/channels/gls#12578274)
Pinchbeck, a specialist on the First-Person Shooter (FPS) genre of video games, discusses his game-experiments that challenge traditional conventions of the FPS genre. One focus of his presentation is his opinion that the academic/research field is a good place to push the envelope of what video games can do. A strong believer in narrative, he emphasizes that experimentation (too high-risk for game companies that are for-profit) is the only way to learn more about video games’ unique potential with narrative. When you’re not restricted by making a profit, you can break out of the industry’s tendency to “play it safe” by aping traditional (Hollywood) narratives.
I enjoyed his presentation, as it is good to see an academic who is also a game developer. I find that many academics tend to analyze games that are available, but not progress their theories through creating their own works. He also emphasizes how, in order to further pursue this line of research, his development studio has to go commercial. As a commercial studio, he will be able to attract larger grants/loans to develop their own games from the ground-up. I look forward to seeing what he is able to produce in this respect.
Gabe Zichermann, Gamification Blog (http://gamification.co/)
Presentation: “Fun is the Future: Mastering Gamification” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O1gNVeaE4g)
Zichermann’s presentation is particularly refreshing because he is not an academic, nor a game designer. He comes from a business marketing background, and discusses how games are becoming an important tool in marketing, promoting, and selling products and services. I learned a considerable amount about how games are employed outside of the traditional gaming field, and how this practice of adding gaming elements to everything is set to accelerate in the future. He is not quite as dooming as Jesse Schell’s “Gamepocalypse” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUvGvh2k_Dc&feature=related), but does highlight how powerful a force games can be.
Sebastian Deterding, Coding Conduct (http://codingconduct.cc/)
Presentation: “Meaningful Play: Getting Gamification Right” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZGCPap7GkY)
Sebastian is a blend of Pinchbeck and Zichermann, with a background in Gamification, academics, and design. This Google Tech Talk is an incredibly comprehensive and practical analysis of Gamification, discussing what it is, how it works, and how it is used properly (and misused). Deterding highlights elements he believes are essential to effective Gamification (and games): meaning, mastery, and autonomy. He is very good at stripping out essential elements of popular games to demonstrate that without these, the game wouldn’t be engaging.
A quotation that stuck with me is one Deterding cites (and modifies) from author Raph Koster is, “Fun is just another word for learning under optimal conditions.” This helps clarify why we are motivated with some types of learning, whereas other learning approaches (traditional classroom learning often referenced) are not motivating.
These should keep you busy for a couple of hours at least… Enjoy!
- Al
hardplay
liblaureate
avallely
jvclyde
