instructional ethology

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Instructional Ethology

Serious Design of Educational Games

Katrin Becker, PhD

2Instructional EthologyKatrin Becker, CNIE 2008

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IF...

we want to make good instructional games

THENWe need to look at:

1. good instruction2. good games


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Good Instruction


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Good Games?


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One way to do this is....


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Studying the

Masters


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Why are these such Why are these such good teachers?good teachers?Amos’n’Andy

The West Wing


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Who are the “good

teachers” in games?


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Are there game masterpieces?


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How can we learn

from COTS games?


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My Solution........


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Analysis of Commercial Games for Learning

Three fundamental assumptions...

1. That players must learn and indeed do learn new things while playing the game;

2. That successful games are successful at least partially because they facilitate that learning; and

3. That it is possible to examine learning in a digital game without associating what is learned with value-laden educational aims.


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Players must learn and indeed do learn new things while playing the game;


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Learning in Games

• Already Happening

• Learning is what we DO

• Learning is how we win the game.


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Successful games are successful at least partially because they facilitate that learning


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Successful GamesFacilitat

e

Learning


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It is possible to examine learning in a digital game without

associating what is learned with value-laden educational

aims.


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Learning vs. Education

Learning

Value-Neutral

Can be Coincidental

Natural

Internally Motivated*

Education

Value-Laden

Deliberate

Coerced/Persuaded

Externally Motivated*


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If games teach, how do they do

it?

And......


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How do we study “instructional design” in

COTS games?


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Black Box Reverse Engineering

Byrne, E. J. (1992). A Conceptual Foundation for Software Re-engineering. Proceedings of the International Conference on Software Maintenance, Orlando, FL, USA, 9-12 Nov 1992, p. 326-335.


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Ethology


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Ethology

1. Causation. What are the stimuli that elicit the response, and how has it been modified by recent learning?

2. Function: How does the behaviour impact on the animal's chances of survival and reproduction?

3. Development: How does the behaviour change with age, and what early experiences are necessary for the behaviour to be shown?

4. Evolution: How does the behaviour compare with similar behaviour in related species, and how might it have arisen through the process of phylogeny?


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Instructional Ethology


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Sample Analysis


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Analysis: Morphology

• High conceptual coherence– ‘scores’, game

space, set-up, levels

• ‘Standard’ controls

Note: this process is time consuming – goal is to build more detailed queries about behaviour based on the initial observations.


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Analysis: Ethology, Causation (Interaction)

• Use rod• Catch fish• Timing• ‘Line of sight’• Position of avatar• Residents talk

about fishing• Some are easy to

catch; others hard• Some are

common; others rare

Not especially interesting at first glance, but behaviour BECOMES interesting when Reviewed in light of other aspects.


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Analysis: Ethology, Development (Ontogeny, Game Flow)

• Very little change in the game over the life of the game the change is almost all in the player

• Effect is predictability• Few penalties beyond

immediate one.


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Analysis: Ethology, Evolution

• Previous animal crossing (with adaptations for platform)

• Limited RPG style / sim ancestors

• Format: – Changes in choices (options

include only those that make sense)

– Pockets– Currency


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Analysis: Ethology, Function (purpose) – how does it help players?

• Size of fish; Location, season, time of day, shape, sound (frog)

• Contests • Collections

– game keeps track for you– Provides 2 ways to collect

• Bells for fish• Experience.....• Minimal penalties for misses• Effort is rewarded

– can always sell what you catch, even if it’s not what you wanted


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Next Steps

• Compare good & bad games• Compare Commercial &

Educational Games• More perspectives• More games• Streamline process


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Thanks!

instructional ethology

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