Understanding “Serious” Games

Jonathan Frye, Ed. S. New York University

Essential Game Elements• Huizinga (1950)

• Free activity, outside “ordinary” life, not “serious”• Absorbs the player• No material interest or profit• Distinct Boundaries of time and space

• Caillois (1961)• Free (voluntary), separate (time and space)• uncertain, unproductive, governed by rules, make-believe

• Salen and Zimmerman (2003)• A system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined

by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome

Definition serious games

Advantages of Games• Motivation/Engagement• Interactivity• Mechanic is the Learning

• To beat the game is to learn the message/skill• But only when done right, very difficult• Beyond content to problem solving/systems learning

• Adaptive to the Learner• Real-Time Assessment

• Analytics/Data/Log Files

Simulations and Games• Squire (2003) examples of uses:

• manipulate otherwise unalterable variables• enable students to view phenomena from new

perspectives• observe systems behavior over time• pose hypothetical questions to a system• visualize a system in three dimensions• compare simulations with their understanding of the

system (p. 5)

Goals of Serious Games• Flow (Csikszentmihalyi)

• Balancing challenge• Scaffolding• “Transfer” Knowledge• System Understanding• Attitude/behavior change

Taxonomy of Serious Games (Sawyer & Smith, 2008)

Sectors (Sawyer & Smith, 2008)

• Government & NGO:• Defense:

• Ex. America’s Army, Skills based training• Healthcare:

• Ex. Surgery Simulations, Check-up routines• Marketing and Communication:

• Ex. Product placement, use of company characters

Sectors cont. (Sawyer & Smith, 2008)

• Education• Ex. Math, Science, current events etc.

• Corporate:• Ex. Training, continuing education, company policy

• Industry• Ex. Training, Skills acquisition

Uses• Learning & Education• Health Sciences• Advertising• Training• Science and Research• Art/Statement• Journalism

Sawyer & Smith, 2008

Learning & Education• Any subject you can imagine• History/Context, ex. Quest Atlantis, Civilization

Series• Math, ex. Dimenxion M, Lure of the Labyrinth• Physics, ex. Waker, Crayon Physics• Biology, ex. Beetle Readers

Health Sciences• Training/Practice for aspiring doctors and nurses

• Ex. Conducting an exam; the steps involved in surgery• Uses with Patients

• Psychological/Physical Therapy• Education• Ex. Re-Mission

Advertising• “Advergames”• Using product themes and characters in games• Product placement within a game (similar to in

movies)

Training• Often about learning tasks, policies, or skill

acquisition• Employee• Military

• Ex. Situational Awareness training• Ex. America’s Army

Science and Research• Ex. Military research using simulated environments• Ex. Sharkrunners

Art/Statement• Art

• Brenda Brathwaite’s “Mechanic is the Message Series”

• One Falls for Each of Us• Train

• Statement• Games for Change.org

• Human Rights, Economics, Public Policy, Public Health, Poverty, Environment, Global Health, News, Politics

Games for Change• Ayiti

• Manage a rural family in Haiti • Darfur is Dying• Budget Hero• Climate Challenge• Peacemaker

• Conflict in the Middle East

News/Journalism• Newsgames (Bogost et al., 2010)• Ex. September 12th

Class activity• Get into groups of 2-3 and play a game from the

GamesforChange.org website• Topics to discuss/think about:

• What is the learning objective?• Is it part of the mechanic?• How would you assess learning?

• Is the game engaging?• How could the design/mechanic be improved?