Game Experimenting
The most important decision that I made this week related to my Games and Learning project was to change the Game Design tool that I will use. After I started re-reading Iracema to start thinking about how exactly I would make that story interactive in TyranoBuilder, I realized that, by using that software, I would be limiting possible player interactions with the story and the environment where it is set. For that reason, I decided to switch to a Game Design tool that I used growing up: RPG Maker.
Since I last used RPG Maker a good number of years ago, new versions were released. I decided to use the second-to-latest version, RPG Maker VX Ace, which has more customized objects available than the newer version, RPG Maker MV, and is also cheaper. I wasn't disappointed - after a few experiments, that seemed the right tool, that allowed me to give the player the exact amount of freedom that I wanted as well as the control that I need.
I've been working on an experiment with the software's tools. Here are some screenshots:
The texts for this week, although certainly more helpful to those who are going to gamify classes, provided some important insights. Dickey (2005), for instance, presents a discussion about player positioning in video games. From side-scrolling adventures such as Super Mario Bros to virtual reality experiences, games allow the learner to experience action in different ways, and each type of positioning allows for a distinct experience. First-person shooting games (e.g. Half Life and Duke Nukem 3D) gives players the character view - what you see is what your character sees. The player virtually embodies the character. Side-scrolling adventures, on the other hand, allow players to see what's ahead, but not look to their sides - the action is focused on a continuous horizontal (or vertical) line. Finally, the default player positioning in the RPG Maker engine allows for a quasi-panoramic, bird's eye view; the player can see what is around the character to a limited extent. In my view and in my experience with the software, that provides the designer with more space to develop the environment where the action is situated.
Sweetser and Wyeth (2005) propose a model for analyzing player's enjoyment with video games. Taking into account elements of games mentioned in the literature, for instance, control, feedback, and immersion, the authors developed the "GameFlow" method, which, according to them, succeeded in assessing enjoyment with real-time strategy games. As I tend to position myself as a constructionist, I can't avoid raising eyebrows at a method that is, in theory, useful for analyzing a endless amount of social and historically situated products. There as endless types of games, and, in my opinion, the "categories of enjoyment" should be modified accordingly. I do think, however, that the elements mentioned by the authors should be taken into consideration when developing a game or gamifying a lesson.
