Reflection on Individual Progress

Takeaways and Growth

Insights

This semester has been an interesting ‘peek-behind-the-curtain’ experience into game design. I had no idea how much work goes into the creation of a game, much less how large a part of the process design is! Further, good game design is sneaky. There is a tremendous amount of effort that goes into the seamless blending of learning objectives and fun. Zoombinis (TERC, Inc., 2015) was a great game to start with, and a tough act to follow. It was also insightful to see how well other classes in the ISLT program dovetailed into this course: Front-End analysis, Instructional Systems Design, Usability and Rapid Development were particularly helpful in setting the stage for this course. (Which is the goal, of course, but it’s gratifying to find it true in actuality, and not just on paper.) I would love to find a documentary of the game build; seeing a time-lapse, as it were, for how a game existing out there in the wild came together would be interesting and a great perspective. That’s part of what I’ve enjoyed about this class: getting to see how other designers work, what their process is, and what they do well (or poorly) was fascinating. It gave me great ideas for what I might want to try, or what didn’t work out as planned. I am a big-picture thinker, and drilling down into the nitty gritty details of the process was less fun. It was helpful, but I didn’t enjoy it as much.

Skills Building

Each of the skill levels claimed in this journey through WSSG had its place and was valuable on some level. The Analyzer badge was a thoughtful foray into game-making. Doing a tear-down of sorts on Zoombinis was super-useful; I hadn’t realized how much forethought was required when designing. The Deviser badge was a sleeper favorite. I enjoy public speaking, and I’m a good storyteller. The realization that crafting a plausible narrative, one which player-learners want to buy into, is at the heart of game design came as a surprise. I’m not sure why that was such a shocker: storytelling has long been an art humans have tapped into, sharing knowledge among people in a group. Putting your money where your mouth is was important for the Creator badge. What you measure, you manage. Therefore, what you choose to assign value to should reliably align with intended learning objective mastery, and it should actually measure your goal-- demonstrating validity. The Designer badge was the culmination of skills garnered on each of the other levels. Mastering Construct3 well enough to make the game I’d designed behave in the way I’d designed it to was both humbling and pleasurably frustrating. I am happy with the result, and would enjoy using that software engine again.

Working through Bloom’s Taxonomy with a deeper focus on higher order thinking skills is something I’ll carry forward outside this class. It’s similar to a 2014 explanation from Doug Ray, regarding social media platforms and donuts: 

• Twitter: “I’m eating a #donut.”
• Facebook: “I like donuts.”
• Foursquare: “This is where I eat donuts.”
• Instagram: “Here’s a vintage photo of my donut.”
• Linked in: “My skills include donut eating.”
• Pinterest: “Here’s a donut recipe.”

Ray is talking about donuts, but there are layers of nuance to his context, and sharing the topic with his followers from different vantage points prompts different responses. In a similar way, considering the optimization of a learning outcome through the lens of progressively higher order thinking skills is something that really interests me. How you define the problem— and how you state the learning outcome— should have everything to do with the results you’ll elicit. Keeping that at the forefront is something I’ll use far beyond this class.

What is a Serious Game?

My definition of a serious game has evolved as we’ve moved through this course. I noticed that as I explained the semester to folks outside the class, I felt increasingly defensive. “Oh! You spent a whole semester playing games? Thought this was for your masters— what a blow-off!” In the digital era, games are something we consume casually. And since ‘everyone’ plays games, ‘everyone’ feels entitled to an opinion. Designing and playing are two different things, and while it would be nearly impossible to design a game while being a non-gamer, it’s not just fun and games. Beginning this class, I’d have defined a serious game as “a video game with a purpose: it’s designed to educate, train, or share information in a way that’s still fun and engaging. Unlike traditional games that focus purely on entertainment, serious games aim to help players build skills and learn something new while enjoying the experience.” Raising social awareness about critical topics and work simulations are two instances I hadn’t considered for serious gaming. And while my previous definition isn’t wrong, I’d update it to include “a serious game is a game with a mission, designed to tackle real-world challenges, sharpen decision-making, or provide hands-on training in areas like healthcare, business, education, or even the military. By combining fun game mechanics with real-life goals, these games help players gain insight, foster critical thinking skills, and even build empathy in unique scenarios. Beyond training, serious games often take on bigger roles, like driving social change, raising awareness, or supporting public health campaigns— all while keeping players engaged and motivated.”

Resources

Ray, D. (2014, November 15). Doug Ray on Instagram: "The Original Social Media Explained with Donuts by Doug Ray / Three Ships Media. [Social Media]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/nm695/

TERC, Inc. (2015). Zoombinis (Version 2.0.6) [Mobile application software]. TERC, Inc. http://itunes.apple.com