Advances in Game-Based Learning Series Editors Dirk Ifenthaler Scott Joseph Warren Deniz Eseryel More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/13094
Janna Jackson Kellinger A Guide to Designing Curricular Games How to Game the System
Janna Jackson Kellinger University of Massachusetts, Boston Boston, MA, USA Advances in Game-Based Learning ISBN 978-3-319-42392-0 ISBN 978-3-319-42393-7 (ebook) DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-42393-7 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948125 Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by Springer Nature The registered company is Springer International Publishing AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
To Drew and Connor this book is for you and for future generations of children in the hopes that your learning will always be hard fun (McGonigal, 2011, p. 32). With special thanks to Julia Nakhleh for her tireless and thoughtful suggestions, ideas, contributions, and constructive criticisms of this book from its infancy to its fruition. A special thanks also goes out to Beth Wilson who reintroduced me to gaming through MYST back in the 90s. And I would be remiss if I did not thank my father who instilled in me my love of mental challenges and bought a Commodore 64 back in the 80s on which I played my fi rst text adventure games as well as video games like Pong and Jumpman.
Preface I m not sure I would officially be considered a gamer. At this point in my life, I m more of a gamer wannabe or maybe a gamer lurker or perhaps a dormant gamer waiting for time to free up for more gaming. The hardest part of writing this book has been resisting the temptation to play all the compelling games I have been reading about. I even created a list of the video games I want to play once this book is complete. I know others who have written in this area have been criticized for not being enough of a gamer to be considered part of the gaming community. I also know that if I took a break from writing to immerse myself in any one of those games on my list, this book would not get written. I hope that this confession gives people who do not consider themselves gamers permission to try designing curricular games. Teachers do not need to be serious gamers to apply the affordances of There are lots of free tools teachers can use to help create their own curricular games like Tellagami, a free animation tool vii
viii Preface video games to their classroom teaching. However, they do need to have at least some experience with games to understand how rules, players, and goals operate together as a system, but between sports and board games, I am willing to bet that almost all teachers have these kinds of experiences either as players or as spectators or both, even those who have never put their hands on a video game. This book is not for gamers; it is for teachers who seek to inspire students to engage deeply and critically with content in ways that promote problem solving, risk-taking, and fun. Boston, MA Janna Jackson Kellinger
Contents 1 Upping Your Game: Transforming Teaching... 1 Matchmaking... 5 Pedagogical Uses of Video Games... 7 First Things First... 14 Appendix: Proposal Quest Worksheets... 19 Suggested Reading... 20 References... 20 2 Game on! Choosing a Topic... 25 Appendix: Topic Quest Worksheet... 41 Suggested Reading... 42 References... 42 3 Behind the Game: Uncovering the Systems Underlying the Topic... 45 Modeling a System... 57 Leveling Your System... 58 Leveling Up... 62 Labeling Your Levels... 65 Conclusion... 65 Appendix: Systems Quest Worksheet... 66 Suggested Reading: Nonfiction... 66 References... 66 Fiction... 68 4 Game Face: Telling the Story... 69 Part I: Birthing Characters... 72 Who Is the You?... 75 Who Are the Others?... 83 The Helpers... 85 The Hinderers... 85 Helpers as Hinderers and Vice Versa... 86 ix
x Contents The Helped... 86 Considerations... 87 Plot Section of Story Quest... 88 Part II: Creating the Storyline (s)... 89 Branching Section of Story Quest... 108 Part III: Branching Your Story... 109 Conclusion... 114 Appendix: Story Quest Worksheet *... 115 Suggested Reading: Nonfiction... 115 References... 115 Fiction... 118 5 The Game Plan: Converting the Story into a Game... 119 Genre... 124 Goal... 125 Core Game Mechanic... 126 Player Configuration... 127 Game Space... 132 Game Objects... 134 Resources... 136 Scoring Mechanism... 138 Game Events... 139 Rules... 147 Conclusion... 153 Appendix: Design Quest Worksheet... 155 Suggested Reading... 156 References... 156 6 Fair Game: Designing Quests... 159 Part 1: Embedding Challenges... 160 Assessment... 169 Part 2: Building Scaffolding Through Feedback... 183 Directions... 186 Saving a Game... 189 Revise and Resubmit... 190 Rewards... 190 Punishment... 193 Progress Bar... 196 Data Repositories... 198 Feedback... 200 Modality... 206 Who Scaffolds?... 207 Timing of Scaffolding... 212 Amount of Scaffolding... 215 Tailoring Scaffolding... 216 Taking Down Scaffolding... 217
Contents xi Conclusion... 218 Appendix... 219 Suggested Reading: Nonfiction... 221 References... 221 Fiction... 225 7 Game Changer: Rendering and Testing the Game... 227 Promotyping... 232 No Tech... 232 Playtesting... 238 Gray Box Testing... 239 Alpha Testing... 242 Beta Testing... 244 Low Tech... 248 What I Recommend... 249 Scaffolding... 260 Hybridization... 261 Medium Tech... 261 What I Recommend... 262 High Tech... 264 Conclusion... 265 Appendix... 266 Suggested Reading... 269 References... 269 8 Let the Games Begin! Teaching Your Game... 271 Selling Your Game Through Engagement... 278 Grouping Your Players for Learning... 287 Using Assessment to Pace Your Game... 292 Making Thinking Visible... 294 Revise and Resubmit... 298 Students Create Their Own Games... 299 Appendix... 305 Suggested Reading... 307 References... 308 9 End Game: Passing It On... 313 Appendix... 320 Suggested Reading: Non-Fiction... 320 References... 321 Fiction... 322 Appendix: A More In-depth Look at Systems Thinking... 323 References... 327 Index... 339