Wii U Arrives

It has finally happened…what I said wouldn’t happen…what I was adamantly opposed to entering my house…yes…we bought a gaming system.  My house is now outfitted with a brand new Wii U system, complete with controllers for all four of us, the personal game pad, nunchuks, and 3 new games. The Works.

For those who know me, and those who have followed my blog, you know that I am not a gamer and have really battled with how to approach gaming with my kids so that it is a healthy part of their lives.  I have always been very concerned about IT taking over our home.  I have visualized my husband and children sitting in the basement with the blinds closed, eyes glassy from being fixated on the screen for hours, their social skills completely eroded with the lack of talking or contact, their muscles becoming atrophied from lack of exercise, all the while their brains turning into a pile of mush.

So how then, did this happen?  What changed my mind?  Part of it has been the passion that my 5-year old has for technology and gaming and his daily negotiating for a Wii.  The other factor has been what I have learned from my course of Digital Game Based Learning.  While working on the major assignments, my kids sat with me and played Where’s My Water and Minecraft (on the iPad) and showed me how they worked.  While my 4-year old figured out how to angle the water so that it flowed into the pipes for Swampy, and my 5-year old built a virtual castle, I was awed at the degree of problem-solving and critical thinking that was taking place; all while they were having so much fun.  I played with them and we talked and cuddled and had fun working through the games.  As my husband and kids saw my disdain for gaming beginning to wane, they capitalized on the opportunity and I caved. 

Three days with our Wii and my house has not turned into a dark cave.  My children have continued to play on their walkie-talkies while camping in the basement, super heroes have prowled the house looking for bad guys, we’ve played at the park, and our evening has still ended with a good book.  Sure, they’ve asked to play Wii  (many times) but we’re trying to balance the time with other kinds of play, and so far, they seem ok with that.  When they have been playing, we’ve been doing it as a family.  My youngest jumps up and down and cheers for everyone, while my oldest son encourages me and shows me how to play.  We have laughed, high-fived, cuddled and had fun, quality time together.  

Gamification of Reality Television

In a blog post by Greg Luterbach (February 1, 2013), he suggested that gamification has permeated many aspects of popular society including professional sports, consumer goods, entertainment and social relationships.  Since this infiltration of gamification was not as obvious to me, I decided to challenge myself to look for examples of gamification in aspects of society other than the context of formal education.  Within just a few days, I had recognized the presence of gamification in all of the domains that Michael had suggested; the sports channel TSN promoted an online challenge for viewers to predict the winning outcomes of hockey games (TSN Game Predictor Hockey Edition), Hasbro sponsored a contest where the public could help decide on a new playing piece, and a commercial was broadcast highlighting the tasks performed by the contestants on an upcoming episode of the Bachelor.

It was the latter example that really got me thinking about how gamification had changed the paradigm of prime-time television programming.  When Survivor made its debut in 2000 it immediately appealed to the public viewing audience as it featured regular Americans facing-off against one another in a variety of tasks towards the ultimate quest of being the Sole Survivor and the winner of a million dollars.  Since then a host of reality television shows have come to dominate the airwaves, including The Amazing Race, Fear Factor, American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, America’s Got Talent, Wipe Out, Big Brother, The Bachelor, and The Bachelorette. 

While these programs are all games in their own right, there are many other social dynamics at play; finding love, co-habitating with a diverse group of people, following ones’ dreams to achieve stardom, overcoming personal fears, and participating in world-wide cultural practices.  The shows contain many of the elements of ‘good games’ such as separate tasks, increased difficulty with the progression of each level, collaborative play, feedback, reward and working toward the ultimate quest.  Each week the participants engage in a number of tasks, often working in a team, with the winner(s) receiving a reward.  The players receive feedback on their performance either from other participants or the host, or engage in self-reflection (often given as a monologue to the camera), discussing their strategies and identifying the consequences of their choices.  Players are eliminated until there is an ultimate winner at the end of the quest. Viewers are also involved in the game play of these reality shows.  For many shows there are Twitter feeds and Facebook groups, and the public is often involved in voting for their favourite players or participants.

While the participants in many of these shows may not view their experience as a player within a game, they are in fact, part of an ultimate example of gamification.   As I watch the Bachelor or Bachelorette (yes, I admit that I watch these shows) and hope that my favourite choice truly finds love (hokey, I know) I will not be able to sit back and enjoy them in the same way without analyzing the design of the game and how the participants engage in this ultimate gaming experience.   

My First Gaming Success

For the past three weeks, I have been reading many interesting articles, blogs, websites and discussion forums on topics associated with Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL), and I must admit that I have become quite intrigued by the potential that games have for teaching and learning.  What I thought was just an entertaining (for some) pastime that resulted in ‘mushy-brain’ after too many hours of screen-time, it seems that well-designed games offer the player an experience in which they can develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, the ability to self-assess their strengths and areas for improvement, and gain factual geographical, historical, political and social information.  With this new understanding, I have been motivated to delve deeper into the theory and literature around the topic of DGBL and to thoughtfully consider how this can impact my own teaching and learning practice (in my classroom and at home).

Of course, this means that I have to actually access and engage in playing games myself.   For me, however, this is where the challenge began.  I am a very logical, methodical and analytical person.  When I get a new appliance, product, or toy, I read the instructions.  When I learn a new skill, I refer to the text and diagrams, make notes and work through the process step-by-step.  If there is a tutorial, I am the person that actually watches it just to make sure that I haven’t missed anything that I might need to know.  I am good at researching information, considering various perspectives, making meaning, and applying what I have learned.  So in my initial foray into game-playing I became quickly frustrated as I realized that digital game-playing doesn’t naturally fit with my personal learning style.

The first game I decided to play was MineCraft, with the intention to use it to teach students about the concept of building communities.  Given that my four-year old son seems to easily navigate through this game on my iPad and his dad’s iPhone, I figured that it would be fairly easy for me to figure out.  Only five minutes in, however, I was already frustrated trying to build my community.  I was able to put blocks on the screen but I couldn’t move them around to construct my vision of a functional building.  When my son informed me that zombies come out and “attack you and eat you and kill you” when night falls, I wasn’t confident in the educational application of this game (or perhaps that should be the teacher) to teach Grade 2 students about communities. 

I decided to search for another game that might be more applicable for teaching about communities.  Through a search of iTunes, I found two Apps that looked like they might fit the bill.  The first one was called Pioneers.  Surely this would work for teaching about the historical settlement of communities in Canada.  Again, however, this was a bust.  There appeared to be quests like building a fire, constructing a bridge and harvesting crops, but there was nothing to guide me on how to accomplish any of these tasks.  The little man walked around on the screen and while I touched, resized and searched all over the screen, I just couldn’t figure out how to get him to go where I wanted him to go or to engage in the task that the game was prompting me to do.   I was almost in tears and when my husband came to help me out.  I just became more embarrassed and frustrated that I couldn’t seem to make sense of what was seemingly, a simple game.

I didn’t give up, however, and decided to give Cityville Hometown a try.  The premise of this game was immediately clear to me and I quickly learned how to navigate the game, using the tool bars and menus.  The characters in this game gave me suggestions regarding strategies and ‘next moves’ that provided me with the confidence that motivated me to continue play.  The logic of the game was revealed and I and actually began to start thinking about my choices in the game.  I even started to have fun.  I have since asked for the App to be loaded on the iPads at our school and am looking forward to introducing it to my Grade 2 class.  My first success with gaming!

The Journey Begins

I am not a gamer.  I enjoy playing board games, cards and physical games, but I have never quite understood the allure of the digital game.  As a kid, the dark dungeon-like mall arcade seemed to me to be a place that boys hung out, and bad girls hoping to hook-up with those boys (no offence intended to any of you who were in that arcade crowd). Not a place for me.  I occasionally tried out the Pac Man game at the local Mac’s store, but usually I was more content to just suck on my slurpee and wait for my friends. 

All that being said, I now am entering the world of gaming through my engagement in a Masters Course in Educational Technology.  It is not the technology part of the course that I approach with trepidation; in fact, this is my area of specialty and I am confident in my understanding how educational technology can and should be used to support and enhance the educational experience of students, teachers and parents.  Gaming, however, is somewhat outside of my comfort zone and has not been something that I have used beyond basic practice of concepts (i.e. math fact games, spelling games) with my students. Thoughtful consideration of serious games has not been included in the instructional design of my units and lessons.

So it is now, with excitement and optimism, that I begin my journey of learning about what gaming is and how I can use it within my classroom, amongst my colleagues, and within my own home.  I figured my blog would be the best place for me to reflect on and share my experiences, as I move into, and through, this great new world.

I often wonder what it is about gaming that holds such an attraction for so many people, young and old.  I realize that it is about play, and play is critical for brain development at any age, but when I have attempted to game, I have realized a sense of frustration at how the game works and what I should do rather than a sense of joy or fun in the play.  As Squire (2011) suggests, games often don’t reveal their true depth until a few hours into the gaming experience.  By this time, many non-gamers have already walked away from the game, thus not realizing its appeal. Perhaps this is the case for myself; if I stick around long enough to really get familiarized with the nuances of the game, maybe I will experience the ‘hook’ that keeps me coming back for more.

I did try out a couple of games that were suggested references for this week’s course work.  The first, Food Force, I quite liked because it was a definition word game and I like any kind of game that focuses on fact recall or language.  It was also a very basic entry game; it gives the word and the player clicks on a basic definition.  With my novice gaming skills, I was able to handle that.  The second game I tried, Darfur is Dying, involved choosing a character to forage for water before being captured by the militia.  I attempted this several times, but couldn’t figure out the location of the water well and just pressed buttons in every direction with no strategic plan on how to win the game (frustrating).  Each time I was captured, and then the character fell to a horrific demise.   This was not an entertaining game, but it certainly does provide the player with some knowledge about the conditions in Darfur; the ultimate point of the game.

When I was reading the first chapter of Squire (2011), I have to admit that his description of such games as Sim City, World of Warcraft and Pirates peaked my interest, as the player engages within the gaming environment, making choices to solve problems as he/she works towards a final goal.  I think I’ll look into these and see if perhaps they might be a fit for the inner gamer in me.

References

Darfur is Dying [Browser Game] (2006), USC Interactive Media (Developer),Game Site: http://www.darfurisdying.com

Food Force (2005) Harrison, M. (Designer)[Windows] Deepend & Playerthree (Developer), United Nations World Food Programme (Publisher), Game Site: http://www.food-force.com

Squire,  K.  (2011).  Video  Games  and  Learning.  NY:  Teachers  College  Press