Collaborative virtual gaming worlds in higher education

There is growing interest in the use of virtual gaming worlds in education, supported by the increased use of multi‐user virtual environments (MUVEs) and massively multi‐player online role‐playing games (MMORPGs) for collaborative learning. However, this paper argues that collaborative gaming worlds have been in use much longer and are much wider in scope; it considers the range of collaborative gaming worlds that exist and discusses their potential for learning, with particular reference to higher education. The paper discusses virtual gaming worlds from a theoretical pedagogic perspective, exploring the educational benefits of gaming environments. Then practical considerations associated with the use of virtual gaming worlds in formal settings in higher education are considered. Finally, the paper considers development options that are open to educators, and discusses the potential of Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) for learning in higher education. In all, this paper hopes to provide a balanced overview of the range of virtual gaming worlds that exist, to examine some of the practical considerations associated with their use, and to consider their benefits and challenges in learning and teaching in the higher education context

Learning Through Rich Environments

Research into games in education most frequently expresses itself in the form of noting that games interest and motivate, and that we might therefore find the learning process improved if we were to use games as a vehicle for the delivery of learning content. We do not wish to take this approach, but to analyse what it is that makes games interesting and motivating and apply this in the context of designing learning scenarios. Many papers propose taxonomies of game style and criteria for good game design, tending to list good ideas and observed issues, but meeting difficulties when trying to generalise. We review some of the more important contributions in the area, and distil these into models to help us understand what's involved by defining the concept of a “Rich Environment.” We conclude with an example of how these models may be applied to the design of a learning environment

Serious Game Evaluation as a Meta-game

Purpose – This paper aims to briefly outline the seamless evaluation approach and its application during an evaluation of ORIENT, a serious game aimed at young adults. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper, the authors detail a unobtrusive, embedded evaluation approach that occurs within the game context, adding value and entertainment to the player experience whilst accumulating useful data for the development team. Findings – The key result from this study was that during the “seamless evaluation” approach, users were unaware that they had been participating in an evaluation, with instruments enhancing rather than detracting from the in-role game experience. Practical implications – This approach, seamless evaluation, was devised in response to player expectations, perspectives and requirements, recognising that in the evaluation of games the whole process of interaction including its evaluation must be enjoyable and fun for the user. Originality/value – Through using seamless evaluation, the authors created an evaluation completely embedded within the “magic circle” of an in-game experience that added value to the user experience whilst also yielding relevant results for the development team

Evaluation Report of Prospero’s Island: an Immersive Approach to Literacy at Key Stage 3.

Prospero's Island is an immersive theatre project created by Punchdrunk Enrichment and sponsored by Learning Partner, London Borough of Hackney (Hackney Learning Trust). The project sought to inspire and motivate students’ engagement with the English curriculum, and to develop an immersive approach to teaching literacy that would improve students’ learning. Prospero’s Island took place in a secondary academy in Hackney, London over two school terms (autumn 2014-spring 2015). The project was embedded in existing schemes of work, and included the following elements: • An immersive theatre installation for Year 7-8 students (aged 11-13 years); this took the form of an interactive game based on The Tempest; over a two-week period groups of students participated in this experience for a morning or afternoon (autumn term); • A Teaching and Learning Day (TALD) and eight twilight CPD sessions on immersive learning techniques for school staff and teachers across London (autumn term); • A return to the installation for one lesson, led by English teachers (autumn term); • Follow-on work by teachers to develop immersive learning in English lessons (spring term); • An independent evaluation of the project (autumn and spring terms)

I cried to dream again:discovery and meaning-making in walking simulators

This paper proposes a reclaiming of walking simulators as rich, self-contained, layered, and complex game worlds that pull their audiences in and engage them through experiential aesthetics and the mechanics of exploration. In order to do so, we will be focusing on the relationship between environment and narrative in two notable examples of the genre - Dear Esther (The Chinese Room, 2012) and Proteus (Ed Key and David Kanaga, 2013). We will argue that, similar to immersive, site-specific performance, the (island) setting enables story, constricts and conditions movement, generates atmosphere, and immerses the player in an experiential, self-contained world. Furthermore walking simulators engage their players in an immersive environment by allowing the fulfillment of the environment’s action potential (Di Benedetto, 2012). We will draw from literary, games and performance studies, namely Kincaid’s typologies of Islomania (“island as dream state, the object of desire, the ideal”) and Insularity (“the island as prison or fortress that holds us apart from the rest of the world”) (2007, 463), Di Benedetto’s argument for action potential in set design (2012), and Jenkin’s properties of environmental storytelling (2004). Dear Esther and Proteus are islands in that they are self-contained spaces with their own rules and regulations. They are also places on the fringe of mainstream gaming culture that elude the rules and norms of the ‘mainland’ and push the boundaries of what games can do. The peaceful, single player, first person, nonconflictual, non-competitive gameplay enabled by the island setting enhances affective, narrative, spatial, and kinaesthetic involvement (Calleja, 2011:38). The tension that arises from this duality – the island being highly desirable but at the same time inaccessible – is what has fueled the creative interest of generations of artists (Kincaid 2007). Placing the story on an island provides the designers with an easy solution to limiting the gameworld. It is also a good way of tapping into the player’s cultural references that will influence their experience and reception while also creating genre-specific expectations from the player. The world of the game is easier to accept because islands have particular units of space and time, the presence of any object on an island could be easily justified, and elements of magic or the supernatural could potentially exist there unbeknownst to the mainlanders. Islands have a different logic in that they are paradoxically both a safe space and a space that can be very hard to escape. The limited mechanics in terms of possible actions reinforces the game-as-dream-state interpretation in both games, but it is the combination of limited mechanics and individual aesthetic design choices for each particular game that positions Proteus as Islomania and Dear Esther as Insularity. This paper is a starting point for a bridging between walking simulators and immersive performance, in using the environment dramaturgically to generate meaning. Both art forms design a complex experience; they draw the participant into a self-contained, sensory and experiential world and cast her in a double role as both observer and performer. Walking and exploration are the essential mechanics for placing the body (be it physical or virtual) within the designed fictional world. The Island as limitation and, simultaneously, imaginative stimulus is a functional metaphor that illustrates both Machon’s notion of in-its-own-worldness (2013) and Calleja’s fluid, bi-directional concept of incorporation (2011)

Games against health: a player-centered design philosophy

This paper announces the “Games Against Health” (GAH) research agenda, a criticism of, and response to, the cultural imperialism of the “Games for Health” paradigm. Committed to player-centric design ethics, GAH seeks to dismantle the “games for health” myth as neo-liberal elitist diktat. We acknowledge the values, tastes and pleasures of billions of game players worldwide. We argue that game designers should engage more efficiently in the disimprovement of player health and wellbeing in order to cater to those players’ existing preferences. We hope the paper can serve as a convenient reference for those designing psychotic, sociopathic or antisocial games

Beyond cute: exploring user types and design opportunities of virtual reality pet games

Virtual pet games, such as handheld games like Tamagotchi or video games like Petz, provide players with artificial pet companions or entertaining pet-raising simulations. Prior research has found that virtual pets have the potential to promote learning, collaboration, and empathy among users. While virtual reality (VR) has become an increasingly popular game medium, litle is known about users' expectations regarding game avatars, gameplay, and environments for VR-enabled pet games. We surveyed 780 respondents in an online survey and interviewed 30 participants to understand users' motivation, preferences, and game behavior in pet games played on various medium, and their expectations for VR pet games. Based on our findings, we generated three user types that reflect users' preferences and gameplay styles in VR pet games. We use these types to highlight key design opportunities and recommendations for VR pet games