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Creating games for learning is a multi-dimensional continuous struggle, involving both conceptual studies and productive concerns. I am widening my tools for game design and creation as shown below, but at the same time, I'm becoming more and more aware of the limits of teaching with games.
Games are great for sparkling curiosity - the projects we released all have shown to be effective in some form. A different need is when you'd like to use a game as overall support for acquiring a skill or competence.
Koster's seminal insight "fun is just another term for learning" lead to new analysis, as the principle seems to be in the right direction but does not lead to straight solutions. Erin Hoffman's research started from the observation that "fun is learning" is the start of an enquiry, not the end, leads her to this definition:
"Fun is a cognitive mechanical process through which we convert fear into happiness through surprise"
This seems a step forward, but I've come to believe we are not yet there, and I think the actual experts on learning - teachers - deserve more attention. Will get back to you on this in next issue :-)
Moving to academics on games, a non-standard academic as Sebastian Deterding has something interesting to say about moral dimensions of our work as product people - see the video here.
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More kinds of games
After the Platform & Coops card and board game, I've been experimenting with more card games. With Stefano Cecere, we experimented in joining card games with augmented reality applications. It all came together at the recent Global Game Jam, where together with four voxel expert kids we generated an "Augmented Cards Historic Party Adventure Game", Signals From Uruk. All info here.
On the theme of low-fi tech, take a look at what Nintendo did with cardboard. I encourage you to notice how the "simplicity" of the shown applications hides a remarkable design work and potential number of issues: broken parts?, little space for creativity "careful this stuff is expensive", "now what" effect...
Jane Ng interesting tweet:
I do love how Nintendo's response to photogrammetry and photoreal 4k whatever is "Imagination"
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We released games!
We released the free app Feel Better "helps young people on long term therapy interactively acquire useful information to tackle their disease day by day" on stores.
We also released a free sketching app (an extension to our digital graffiti app) for an online contest: "Sketch the Dome is a digital competition dedicated to the Dome of Florence Cathedral, Filippo Brunelleschi’s undisputed masterpiece."
I did a short presentation of Offshore Safety, a game on the safety of offshore platforms - sorry only in Italian.
And more apps are coming: here you see a little animated preview of a museum app for kids which hopefully will push them to explore and enjoy the works.
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Prototyping A Kids' Museum App - preview
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Narrative: learn from... writers
I progressively realized that along with the progressive recognition of the power of narrative in games, in games there seems to be no corresponding increase of attention to writing quality. Here are two sources from which one can find inspiration and learning material: The Writers Panel (podcast), Write Your Way Into Animation and Games.
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Non educational games... teach
Now a few links:
This thread is an interesting comment to "Games are meaningless and a waste of time".
This is how actually developing applied games feels like - as a designer or developer.
And this is useful advice for improving fitness and well-being at work.
Ok, time to wrap - I'm also designing a game on diversity at the workplace - news in next issue :-)
I still may have a development slot open for the second half of 2018 - contact me if you need a game designer/developer for a project of yours. I will be in Berlin at Easter - let's meet there :-)
Cheers,
 Pietro
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This is On Games: Learning and Beyond, Applied Games Newsletter #7, January / February 2018.
Former issues can be found here.
I write on Medium here.
I write on Gamasutra here.
Design A Game website
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