Polo, Carlos. Game Design: A tool for education.

Game Design: A tool for education

by Carlos A. Polo Soler

Game Design: A tool for education

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I’d like to thank all of my classmates, play testers, sources and professors.

Without their assistance and wealth of knowledge, this project would have been impossible. For that I am most grateful.

Most of all I’d like to thank Ramón Álvarez and Mariam Robledo, they were the main force and source of help behind the directions taken card development phase of the project

Thesis presented as requirement for the graduation of the Design Bachelor’s Degree with specialization in Graphic Design Escuela Internacional de Diseño y Arquitectura Universidad del Turabo © 2015. Carlos A. Polo Soler Received and approved

Mara Robledo, Professor Fecha

Aurorisa Mateo, Dean Fecha

ABSTRACT Education is often a subject of debate. One of the most important topics is how can you keep learners engaged, how can you inspire them to learn on their own thus learning beyond the classrooms.As such, I present the idea of using serious games as a means to teach.

Games by their nature are meant to involve the user, engaging and often teaching them something in the process. By “gamifying” education you’ll create an interactive experience that teaches without forcing students to go through dozens of texts, instead being subtle and even inspiring them to research as a means to know more about their interests.

I proposed to create a game that would inspire people to use and improve their critical thinking skills, thus assisting in subjects such as problem solving, communication, collaboration, information and media literacy, sustainability and creative thinking, skills necessary for the 21st century.

During its creation I practiced those skills by collaborating with a classmate / co-researcher in charge of the aesthetic direction of the game. If successful, it proves that two man teams are a viable way to create projects and that games can efficiently teach if given a chance to be applied in classrooms.

Citation: APA Polo, C. (2015) Game Design: A tool for education (Bachelor’s thesis). University of Turabo, EIDA. Gurabo PR.

Keywords 21st century skills, Creative collaboration,Critical Thinking, Design, Design Thinking, “Dupla Creativa”, Education, Edutainment, Engagement, Game Design, Games, Gamification, Graphic Design, Innovation, Learn by playing, Learning, Playful learning, Serious Games, Sustainability, System Thinking, Two-man team.

GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

RELEVANCE TO THE PRACTICE With the creation and use of games we intend to enforce the required skills to practice good design.

By exploring alternate avenues of design, emergent graphic designers stretch their knowledge over different different mediums and means of expression; a goal neccesary for the current state of the field.

Working as a team to become a greater whole is a skill necessary for every designer as it allows one to better understand their weakness and strengths while creating something that would otherwise be impossible to do so without assistance.

I believe that this joint project will allow future students to follow in our path and create projects that would have been unthinkable within the current system of one student per thesis project.

By adding education to these mediums, you are exploring the different ways in which we can apply design to improve our society and way of living. Something I hope was achieved by the end of this project.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

McGonigal’s Quote

…………………………………………………

1

Introduction …………………………………………………

2

Theoretical Framework …………………………………………………

The benefit of games …………………………………………………

Allies in the US …………………………………………………

Origin of techniques used …………………………………………………

Education in Puerto Rico …………………………………………………

The power of two …………………………………………………

Sustainability …………………………………………………

2 2 3 3 4 4 5

Definitions …………………………………………………

6

Thesis Statement …………………………………………………

Approach …………………………………………………

Implications of Research …………………………………………………

7 7 8

Game Design …………………………………………………

Parts of a game …………………………………………………

Emotions and emotional triggers ...…………………………………..……

Bartle’s Player Types …………………………………………………

8 8 10 12

Design Thinking …………………………………………………

Design Process …………………………………………………

Card Game’s elements …………………………………………………

14

Implementing emotional triggers …………………………………………………

Parts of the card …………………………………………………

Rapid prototyping feedback .………………………………………………

20 21 25

Conclusion …………………………………………………

List of references …………………………………………………

27

15 18

32

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“Game developers know better than anyone else how to inspire extreme effort and reward hard work. They know how to facilitate cooperation and collaboration at previously unimaginable scales.

And they are continuously innovating new ways to motivate players to stick with harder challenges, for longer, and in much bigger groups. These crucial twenty-first-century skills can help all of us find new ways to make a deep and lasting impact on the world around us.�

Jane McGonigal Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World (2011)

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION This document intends to show different game design techniques and how they were applied in the creation of an educational game. This is based off the discovery of how education can benefit from turning learning into a game, an experience that engages you to go beyond the expected, beyond the texts shown in books or classrooms in order to change learning habits.

Playful learning and Educational entertainment are at the forefront of this approach.

They use project based learning and entertainment as a means to engage people. They are a perfect fit for showing how knowledge in game and graphic design can benefit society by combining different kinds of knowledge in our daily lives. Gamifying processes and helping people learn in multiple ways will prove that a graphic designer benefits from involving different branches of knowledge, both in self-discovery and growth and by collaborating with people of different skills and perspectives.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK Growing up, games were a substantial source of knowledge; they taught me more about cultures, logical thinking, language and even history than any class ever could.

They inspired me to challenge myself, and to keep learning about the stories and origins behind each game.

The benefit of games I soon found out that I’m not alone in this train of thought; in fact, the Harvard Business Review recommends games like World of Warcraft as a tool to virtually teach leadership and team working skills.

Games like Minecraft are used to teach subjects such as math, geometry, history and languages. Researchers at the University of Rochester in New York have found that people who play action games are capable of making choices 25 % faster than others. Movements such as The Fun Theory, by Volkswagen have shown how turning activities into games can help improve behavior with examples like piano stairs, which made over 66% more people choose the manual stairs over the electric ones.

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Allies in the US My preliminary research led me to an organization with similar goals called The Institute of Play (n.d.) (http://www.instituteofplay.org/).

They believe that... “...the real work of a 21st century education is to spark the passion for lifelong learning that our kids will need to navigate their way to a promising tomorrow.”

When contacted they provided me with their “Design Packs”, which are tools and methods that teach their “Quest Schools” model of game like learning. These are as follows: School / Curriculum / System Thinking / Games and Learning.

Origin of techniques used I used the knowledge acquired during the first phase, along with experiences from previous projects lead by Prof. Robledo:

Habitus, a magazine developed in order to educate people about our eating

and garbage habits, and how these can affect you as a means to inspire self-improvement.

Aquilonis, a candy package/board game based off sea trading developed as a means to provide multiplue uses to a package while assisting Puerto Rico’s tourism with knowledge of history. This project was part of a previous collaboration withRamón Álvarez, my partner during this thesis.

Research into Game Design Books led me to Tynan Sylvester’s “Designing Games: A guide to designing experiences”. This book became one of the main sources for knowledge, as its approach coincides with the desire of creating an experience for learning through play. Something achievable by combining the Institute of Play’s knowledge and Sylvester’s book. A second book that helped me achieve my goals within game design was Tracy Fullerton’s book, “Game Design Workshop – A play centric Approach to Creating Innovative Games.” This book contains knowledge that can be applied to both digital and physical games such as card games, something desirable as the current approach appears to incline towards a card game.

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Education in Puerto Rico Considering the benefits of games, one would think that education in Puerto Rico would have implemented some of these techniques. I found out that this was not the case; in fact, most “games” are left out of the classes once they go past the early grades in Elementary School.

This train of thought goes beyond the classroom, in places such as the Boys and Girls Club, a place for youths to learn and spend their offtime, has activities described as “games” physically separated from the education areas provided in the program. Despite the fact that said games have unconsciously been teaching the kids subjects matter such as geometry and math.

It was my intent to find a harmonious combination of education and games with this thesis. One that’s strong enough to be acknowledge by the pre-established educational systems. By learning about Game Design and the ways in which it could be implemented to teach and reinforce 21st century skills.

The power of two “Duplas Creativas” or Creative Duos have been a staple in PR agencies since the 90s.

They are collaborations between two people, usually one in charge of the design and another on the editing. Occi Ochalea (2013) had this to say... “...It’s simple, one part of the duo conceptualizes the words and the other does images, in design and turn all thoughts into a graphical way”.

Collaborations among designers is not unheard of, in fact, the Helvetica font was the result of one of the most well known examples.

Born as “Neue Haas Grotesk”, the Helvetica was created by the collaboration of Max Miedinger and Eduard Hoffman. They would often exchange drafts and notes, working together in order to form a timeless creation, one that is still regularly used to this day.

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Another example would be Massimo Vignell, famous for his collaborations with his wife, Lella Vigneli, he described their creative relationship as... “...a trust in the other person. People would often think our two hands are a pencil. When most times I was the pencil and Lella the criticism.”

(Vignelli, 2013) The idea being that both people complement each other, being opposites, yet at the same time being able to work together by playing off each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

The creative partnership developed during the project proved to be very succesful, we’ve worked together in the past and have found that our work is compatiblel; thus serving as a means to improve its result. By working together we were able to create a game that helps and teaches the player not only in theory and rules, but also in aesthetics and graphical information as well.

Sustainability The project results of this thesis was expected to provide a game that manages to engage the learner while providing a means of education and inspiration. The game’s intent is to spark conversations resulting in acquisition of knowledge and the improvement of mental skills required in our world in order to make our lives and decisions sustainable.

Sustainability is a subject necessary in our society, it’s the only way we’ll guarantee survival for our race. Thus we need ways to ensure that our choices don’t cause a negative impact in the future.

And so the game envisioned proposes possible scenarios in which to practice sustainable plans. Scenarios designed with the three pillars of sustainability in mind, problems based off the environment, society and the economy. The three aspects necessary for humans to survive and thrive.

In order to keep the project viable and within deadlines, the game was not too vast in its content, instead its goal is to serve as a way to show that the game system works and that it can be applied to different subject matter.

Economy

Society Environment

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The idea being that if the game system is proven, it may be used in any class as long as you make a deck with customized information. As such the project contains two versions of the game, one centered on sustainable design and another on helping your community defeat and thrive over problems and disasters.

DEFINITIONS Karl M. Kapp, Ed.D., CFPIM, CIRM, is a scholar, writer and expert on the convergence of learning, technology and business operations.

• Kap (2012) defines Gamification as “using game-based mechanics, aesthetics and game thinking to engage people, motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems.”

Michael Zyda is the Founding Director of the USC GamePipe Laboratory, and a Professor of Engineering Practice in the USC Department of Computer Science.

• Zyda (2005) defines Serious Games as “a mental contest, played with a computer in accordance with specific rules that uses entertainment to further government or corporate training, education, health, public policy, and strategic communication objectives.”

Kaan Turnali is a Global Senior Director, Business Intelligence (BI), for SAP’s Global Customer Operations (GCO) Reporting & Analytics Platform.

• Turnali (2013 )defines Design Thinking in its simplest form as “a process, applicable to all walks of life, of creating new and innovative ideas and solving problems; it is not limited to a specific industry or area of expertise.”

Daniel Aronson, is the host of the thinking page. (http://www.thinking.net/ ) • Aronson (1996) defines System Thinking as focusing “on how the thing being studied interacts with other constituents of the system- a set of elements that interact to produce behavior- of which it is a part.”

The Fun Theory, an initiative created by Volkswagen.

• The Fun Theory (2009) defines itself as “the thought that something as simple as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better. Be it for yourself, for the environment, or for something entirely different, the only thing that matters is that it’s change for the better.”

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THESIS STATEMENT Applying game design techniques in order to teach people more efficiently: How might we teach learners through gamification and serious games?

It was my goal as a Designer to learn more about Game Design and to prove that knowledge can be acquired with games as a medium, they serve as a method in which to learn without feeling the taxation that comes with experiencing non interactive media.

My first findings led me to what is known as Gamification, and later on to serious games, methods in which the concept of games has been applied to achieve a goal outside entertainment. They should inspire a learner’s research into new subjects with the use of references and the possibility of excelling at the game by learning more.

Approach • Design Method: The use of design techniques in order to explore the possibilities and constraints, redefine the specifications and design solutions while maintaining a visual relationship between the parts and the whole. Starting prototyping in order to design better solutions of the problem. In the process redefining the solutions continually over time in order to keep it sustainable.

• BIG 6: Information and technology skills for researching efficiently.

• LISTEN: A tool to empathize with the target audience.

• Triple Bottom Line: A way to keep the development of the project sustainable, keeping in mind the needs of the environment (Planet), the needs of the user (Social) and the costs of the project (Economic).

• Institute of Play’s Game Design Tool Kit: Templates used during the creation and playtesting of the game.

• Trello: a collaboration tool that allows you to organize projects into boards, thus helping teams plan out and organize their content.

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Information regarding the subject and its interpretation on how it can be applied to education will be recorded for the purpose of this thesis. During the second phase starts, the thesis will be put into practice and game will be developed; said game will be play-tested and improved upon as a means to improve 21st century skills.

Implications of Research Succeeding in this thesis proves that the standards of education can be improved with game methods and in it’s process it brings into light a possible career choice for graphic designers. By combining knowledge of other fields with graphic design they are capable of succeeding in projects were other designers might not.

With game design I’m providing a living example of how it is not only possible, but viable to combine these two fields. The collaboration proved that a thesis of this nature can be created successfully and that combining two thesis subjects is a viable way to improve the design field.

GAME DESIGN Game Design is about the rules that make the game elements come alive. It’s the system that decides the game’s behavior. It’s a continuous process, honed with practice. As a designer, you’ll have to craft a system of rules that create the right rhythm between elements to create the right experience. It’s mostly done as a team composed of people with different skills and backgrounds, such as in this project, where we combined Alvarez’s knowledge and my own with the play testers’ feedback.

Parts of a game Through trial and error, you are meant to incorporate the different aspects of a game and tweak them accordingly. They are as follows: The space, this is where the game takes places and how it affects gameplay. An example would be the space of a board, the room you are playing in, the noises involved and how this combines to set an atmosphere.

Then there’s the goal, it dictates what the player needs to do in order to win. It can be as simple as whoever finishes first, or as complex as defeating the most opponents.

They give the player something to strive for; it’s often what leads to a noticeable reward, providing milestones in long running games. It should be something obvious to the player, they should always be aware of what they are doing and how to achieve it, if not you run the risk of having the player lose motivation or interest.

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Often times the goal is met by the challenge, which serves as the obstacles and elements introduced in the player’s way; making the attempts to reach a goal more entertaining. An example would be the opponent or a time limit. They give a greater sense of fulfillment than the goal alone, as it motivates the player to keep going, even when executing repetitive tasks.

Components are the parts that make up the game materials. They are the items you use in play; they can be physical or digital, depending on the medium of the game.

They provide the tools necessary in order to use the mechanics, characters, weapons; any representation perceived by the player can be seen as a component.

An essential part of a game is the mechanics. They are the rules that dictate how a game works and define its behavior. They dictate how a character or a game piece is allowed to move and how it’s executed. Physical games’ mechanics are written in rulebooks, cards and text books. In videogame’s, they are usually integrated in the computer code. An example of this is the way a piece moves in chess, the way a knight or a pawn moves differently according to the game’s mechanics. In videogames this can be seen in the inputs you execute on a controller, how pressing a specific button causes the player’s character to initiate specific actions such as jumping.

Rules on the other hand, define what players can or can’t do. In Simon says, the physical action, the commands and listening would be mechanics; following his commands and losing when you act on said commands without the words “Simon says” would be rules. In digital games, they are often linked to the mechanics, as they physically disable the possibility of breaking most rules.

When designing games for classrooms, you are encouraged to use materials already present as game components. As such our project relies on having players use technology at their disposal to access additional information, manuals, or proving answers with access to the World Wide Web as a means to assist with media, information and technology literacy.

Additional elements are the events; they are created when a player interacts with mechanics during play. They are the combination of multiple mechanics creating a sequence. Unlike other mediums, games allow for events to be created midgame, by combining different mechanics and timing, you are ensuring that those events never happen the same way again. An example could be the way a platformer allows for your character to jump, run and slide on the way to the finish line.

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Emotions and emotional triggers In order to be effective games must inspire an emotion in the player, this can be as subtle as a small frustration, or as strong as the sense of victory. Often times, the player can’t consciously detect them, as they come and go during a normal game session. These emotions are often created during significant changes in either the player, or the environment around it. These significant changes are created when you shift something important to people through different states. They are considered life changing events because they represent a shift as big as the change from ignorance to knowledge, defeat to victory or love to hatred. An example could be the way you reveal a dice roll’s result, despite the action already happening beforehand, it is the reveal of said result that provides an emotional feedback.

What’s relevant is the change implied by the event; the more important we perceive the human value and the greater the change, the bigger the emotion. These emotions are often exploited in the forms of triggers. Most triggers involve a conditioning based off social cues, or games standards mixed in with human nature. Here’s a list of the basic emotional triggers: Through learning, based off the natural desire to learn, the more important we conceive its value to be, the more we hope to learn it. Another factor is how complex the lesson is, the less obvious the lesson is, the greater pleasure we receive when we discover its teachings. A lesson that builds up over time into a greater one, leads the most rewards. This is an obvious shoe-in for learning, as we can express this “aha!” moments and apply them for knowledge inside classes.

Character Arcs, as the name implies, they are based off moments, actions and events that happen to the player and its characters. The reason we react is because of our empathic nature as human beings; how we relate to the character being portrayed.

Through Challenge, they are led by a test, often of skill, strength or luck. The process of struggle and success, gives off positive emotions, while failing provides the possibility of success when you try again. One of the strongest triggers, this element can be a reason why students lose attention, if the challenge at hand is too hard or too easy, it can cause discomfort and a desire to stop the activity. It is up to you to ensure that the obstacles in the player’s way are fitting for their skill level.

Through social interaction, they provide a reason and a medium in which to interact with other people, whether this is for building trust, friendships, or proving your superiority to an opponent. They serve as tools for human values, providing an excuse for the final outcome of social interactions. Tynan Sylvester (2013) provides an example with the game of catch,

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They’re playing catch to create a pretext that allows them to get together and talk one on one for a long time. They need the game because long one-on-one talks between a father and young son can be awkward. By providing a reason to get together and a mindless activity to perform, the game removes this barrier. The fact that the game of catch is simple and thoughtless is not a bug; it’s a feature. More complexity would just get in the way of the conversation.”

Through acquisition, it is the pleasure we find when we win something, the idea of receiving wealth. Games that thrives off this feeling are RPGs and Dungeon Crawlers, as the player wanders the dungeons and fights monsters; they reward him with gold and items. These rewards arrive so often that the player appears to be in a permanent “high” of reward acquisition, thus a reason for certain players becoming addicted to games like World of Warcraft, where emphasis is on gaining better gear.

Through music, it is the way we use sounds to generate an emotion. The pleasant tones, horror sounds, or action filled soundtracks; they provide a continuous flow of feelings throughout gameplay.

Through spectacle, they are the big set pieces that reinforce the previous player actions. They could be the explosion of a compound after defeating all enemies, the way a movie goes into slow-motion in order to show a character dodging; they are big events that provide an easy way to incite emotion.

Through beauty, they are elements of the game we perceive as beautiful. They provide a pleasing atmosphere to the game as the cost of time, expenses and skills required to perform. A good way to use beauty is to channel it towards a specific purpose in the game, an example being the how card games provide visually pleasing representations of the effects and monsters they are meant to illustrate.

Through environment, closely related to the space, it is the feelings we receive when perceiving certain ambience in a game. It could be based off pre-conceived notions of an era, or as primal as the way most humans identify with open grasslands.

Through Newfangled Technology, it is the emotional rise we get from new technology. The prospect of new and more advanced graphics, animation, pieces and the like provide a temporary excitement to players. In order to use this trigger effectively, one must create interactions and situations that weren’t possible before.

Through primal threats, they are innate responses based off instinct. They can range from the sight of rotten food and diseases, to the dangers of predators. This is one of the easiest triggers to perform, which is why it is often overused to the point that it loses its meaning.

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Through sexual signals, the use of sexuality in order to catch the players attention.

The use of attractive characters, insinuating expressions and showing skin. It is an easy trigger to activate, which is why it’s often abused to the point that it affects the experience and how believable the narrative is.

When perceiving these triggers we must take into consideration emotional misattribution. We instinctively assign a meaning and logic without even realizing it.

It is the reason why often players describe their experiences instead of their feelings during feedback. As designers, we must theorize the true meaning behind their feedback and the triggers the players are exposed to.

Bartle’s Player Types In Richard Bartle’s “Hearts, clubs, diamond and spades: Players who suit MUD’s” (1999), he establishes a theory for four personality types suitable for Multi-User Dungeons, the precursors to the Massively Multiplayer Online games. These types are adapted into different facets of game development and gamification. They are as follows: The Achievers, they enjoy challenges and the rewards, they often go after goals that provide recognition.

“Achievers regard points-gathering and rising in levels as their main goal, and all is ultimately subserviant to this. Exploration is necessary only to find new sources of treasure, or improved ways of wringing points from it. Socialising is a relaxing method of discovering what other players know about the business of accumulating points, that their knowledge can be applied to the task of gaining riches.”

They typically enjoyed giving “themselves game-related goals, and vigorously set out to achieve them. This usually means accumulating and disposing of large quantities of high-value treasure, or cutting a swathe through hordes of mobiles (ie. monsters built in to the virtual world)”. (Bartle, 1999) In the project they are represented by the element of earth for its correlation with goods and the Melancholic personality type from the four temperaments.

The Explorers, they enjoy finding the game’s secrets, discovering new information and ways in which to find more.

“Explorers delight in having the game expose its internal machinations to them.

They try progressively esoteric actions in wild, out-of-the-way places, looking for interesting features (ie. bugs) and figuring out how things work.

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Scoring points may be necessary to enter some next phase of exploration, but it’s tedious, and anyone with half a brain can do it.The real fun comes only from discovery, and making the most complete set of maps in existence. Players try to find out as much as they can about the virtual world” . (Bartle, 1999) Inside the game they are represented by the element of water as a way to link it with the four temperaments, in this case Phlegmatic.

The Socializers, they enjoy interacting with people, the dynamic of talking and communicating with different people.

“Socializers are interested in people, and what they have to say. The game is merely a backdrop, a common ground where things happen to players. Inter-player relationships are important: empathizing with people, sympathizing, joking, entertaining, listening; even merely observing people play can be rewarding - seeing them grow as individuals, maturing over time. The only ultimately fulfilling thing is not how to rise levels or kill hapless drips; it’s getting to know people, to understand them, and to form beautiful, lasting relationships.”

They typically enjoy using “the game’s communicative facilities, and apply the role-playing that these engender, as a context in which to converse (and otherwise interact) with their fellow players” (Bartle, 1999).

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In the game they are represented by the element of air, for its correlation with social people and the sharing of ideas; they are linked with the sanguine temperament.

The killers, they enjoy forcing their choices on others, they are usually the ones we commonly associate with negative connotations, though this isn’t always the case.

“Killers get their kicks from imposing themselves on others. This may be “nice”, ie. Busybody do-gooding, but few people practice such an approach because the rewards (a warm, cozy inner glow, apparently) aren’t very substantial. Much more commonly, people attack other players with a view to killing off their personae (hence the name for this style of play). The more massive the distress caused, the greater the killer’s joy at having caused it. The knowledge that a real person, somewhere, is very upset by what you’ve just done, yet can themselves do nothing about it, is there any true adrenalin-shooting, juicy fun.”

They typically enjoy using “the tools provided by the game to cause distress to (or, in rare circumstances, to help) other players. Where permitted, this usually involves acquiring some weapon and applying it enthusiastically to the persona of another player in the game world” (Bartle, 1999).

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In the game they are represented by the element of fire, for the qualities of aggression, energy and passion, they are linked with the choleric temperament.

Design Thinking Design Thinking is among the different tools at a game designer’s disposal. Like the graphic designer, they use it to create a product that will assist the user in a more effective manner. An example on how to use said process for learners is as follows: • Empathize with the learner: Who are they? What are they doing? Why?

What do they want? What are they expecting?

• Define the challenge: From what you understand of the learner, what is the

design challenge you are facing? What is the problem? What are the areas

that need solutions?

• Ideate solutions: What are the ideas I have in order to solve the design

challenge? How can I help?

• Prototype: What can I develop in order to put my ideas into motion?

• Playtest: Test the prototype to find out if your solution works.

There are four different ways in which to start the design process, they are the first element of the game you create and follow during the creation of development. You can start by choosing a theme, a component, a mechanism or an experience. Creating an experience is often the best approach for learning, as such it’s the approach chosen for this project. The idea is to build the rest of the game based off one of these, thus resulting in a harmony across all the game elements.

The Institute of Play has created a specific design process which contains phases based off design thinking, with the goal of aligning the design with the learning goals.

It is good to keep in mind that the process is flexible, as you are expected to continue modifying or even rebuilding your game; understanding that the first iterations might not engage all the students. The 4 phases are as follows: Phase 1 (Recommended work time is 2 to 4 hours) It starts with a spark step focusing on empathy, where you explore different subject matter as possible game topics. Then continues to the define step, where the subject matter is chosen and the specific learning goals are stated. Moving on to the ideate step where you brainstorm game ideas with the learners in mind, aligning with learning goals and assigning specific metrics for success to assess the learning.

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Phase 2 (Recommended work time is 2 to 3 weeks) This is the step where we design and develop one or more prototype, often in paper to avoid costs. We take into consideration the different parts of the game and list them thus defining them for the next phases.

Phase 3 (Recommended work time is 2 to 3 weeks) On this step we playtest and iterate new versions of the game. We test the prototype with a small group and gather feedback used to refine future versions of the game.

Phase 4 (Recommended work time is 1 to 5 hours) Having tested your game with small groups, it’s time to start the rollout phase. In this phase you test a bigger group, such as an entire class, and proceed to gather observations from their experience, noting their interactions and what they’ve learn.

There are certain things to keep in mind during the phases such as maintaining the learning objective at all times, so you don’t run the risk of losing the game’s true meaning. Maintain the game simple and elegant, what this means is for it to feel natural, for the controls and rules to be intuitive, the less complicated the game feels, the easier the level of entry is; often times games are easy to learn, but difficult to master because of this.

Lastly, when designing for the purpose of learning, it is best to always share your designs, this allows you to collaborate with others, thus enriching the final product.

DESIGN PROCESS It is with this knowledge that the project moves to the 2nd part, where this acquired knowledge will be put to the test and applied in an educational game for Puerto Rico, the same way places like the Institute of Play has applied it to the United States.

Phase 1: Empathize and Define 21st century skills are defined as the subject which to teach in the project. The skills are as follows: creativity, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, media literacy, information literacy, and problem solving. Sustainability can be achieved by receiving these skills, as they are essential in order to successfully maintain the triple bottom line.

Triple bottom line is where the good of the society, personal gain and nature is accounted for in each decision. Online research, personal experience and the university are used to observe in which ways the skills are developed. We established that a card game is one of the most viable solutions with the skills at hand and the time available. The Institute of Play’s Game Idea Generator Template is used to establish learning goals, game ideas and how to assess them.

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How? When?

Possibly 2015

By gamifying the learning progress.

Exposing people to knowledge without overwhelming them, instead I’ll be entertaining them in the process.

Development will start in 2014 and continue on until 2015.

The project will take place in Caguas, Puerto Rico.

Most likely the university.

Research has already started and will continue until the end of the process.

Depending on the final product, it will either be distributed online or it will be shown as a prototype to people.

What?

Gamifying education in order to teach about sustainability

Who?

Why? What for?

I hope to involve people willing to learn and “gamers”. Designers who’ll offer me knowledge. If possible teachers and students.

Along with any other gaming organization.

Because the interest in learning could be improved, along with the commitment we hold for it. It is possible to inspire learning with games, as they are a great tool that’s barely used in PR.

L

Look for ways in which to improve your game.

Look at what works in gameplay and what doesn't.

Look at the way players react to it.

I

Ask for feedback. Inquire about the use of the system.

What could be improved?

Is this working properly?

S

Listen to the reactions during play.

What are they saying?

Why are they reacting that way?

T

Before influencing the player, see how they do.

Do they understand the game?

How it works? Do they need help?

Look

Inquire

Say it again

you speak

E

Think about the needs of the player.

Would you want to play this game?

Is this experience something you’d like?

N

Don’t come under a final conclusion from one or two tests. Keep in mind that they might attribute certain feelings to the wrong element.

Empathize

Non-judgmental

16

Where?

GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Phase 2: Ideation Game Design Toolkit:

Q Design Pack Games and Learning

Phase 1

Game Idea Generator Template

POTENTIAL LEARNING GOALS

GAME IDEAS ( BASED ON LEARNING GOALS

- People will develop their critical thinking skills.

- A game based off cards against humanity, using situations and potential solutions.

- They will develop their debating skills.

- They will develop how to better articulate their ideas and think on their feet.

- They will use their skill of deduction.

- A game based off werewolf and mafia, where a “guilty” party must hide among innocents, while they try to prove who the guilty one is.

- They will develop greater ease when coming up with innovative responses to random questions.

- A game where a player is given a sustainable or design theme and then he must prove why it’s positive in a debate with the other players.

- They will learn and practice topics about design and sustainability.

- A mod of clue based off sustainability and critical thinking.

- They will develop problem solving with limited resources.

- A game based off Doodle God, where combining different elements make for sustainable projects.

- They will develop their judgment skills.

- They will enrich their creativity and imagination when faced with the potential of creating new content.

- An alternate reality game, where a forum or social media is used to present sustainable scenarios.

Fulfilling these sustainable choices or riddles would bring rewards of rank online.

)

HOW TO ASSESS

- A mental tracking of points.

If necessary a sheet could be used.

- Opinion of the players, as to whether they had to use innovation or not.

- The desire to play said game again without being asked to.

- Their ability to answer questions on the spot.

- An evaluation paper, describing their experience.

- Possible feedback from social media.

- The number of downloads when/if it is posted online.

GAME IDEA GENERATOR TIP Make sure that assessments align with the learning goals.

www.instituteofplay.org

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Phase 3: Game Design We find that dividing the project into two games under the same system will prove that this system is viable for different subjects, thus it can be shared with teachers and professors so that they may create their own versions for the classroom. Keeping in mind the emphasis of critical thinking, the game is establish with the idea of having a player provide problems or situations, while the rest find a way to solve them. This idea was kept open as a means to provide players with the opportunity of interpreting the game as they wished, thus having the game’s depth grow alongside them.

As such, each subject shall be open ended and with the possibility of updating the game with new content as the necessity demands for it. Because of time constraints, we established solutions to be limited to 4 types, this inspired the use of specific meanings and elements.

Card Game’s elements The theme for each version is as follows, one shall be focused on Design and how to make it sustainable, as it is Mr. Alvarez’s main thesis objective. We found that these 4 design solutions were fruitful when used as a means to be sustainable; they are Multifunction, Human Centered Design, Life Cycle and Collaboration/Co-design.

The other game can be open to different interpretations with aspects of personalities and elements being used in different contexts of life, whether fictitious or real, as a means to practice possible solutions for real life problems. The elements are water, fire, air and earth. Each one contains a second meaning based off symbolism, Fire’s secondary use would be Spirituality, and Water’s would be feelings, Air’s ideas and Earth’s Goods.

As a way to facilitate conversation, we have situation cards, they shall provide clues and conversation pieces for the Judge to use in order to establish problems. The game’s umbrella name is established as Consilium, for its Latin meaning, counsel and planning; the main features of the game.

The goal in our game is achieving 15 points and winning each round by giving the best solution to the situations in each round, this is decided by how sustainable and efficient the answer is, along with how well explained it might be.

The reason for having 15 points is so that all players have a chance to catch up to the ones at the top, as even with achieving the most points in a die (6), they’d have to win 3 times in a row to succeed.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

The challenges are composed of other players and the Judge. The Judge is the person in charge of deciding if the solutions provided by the players are sustainable and efficient. In the case of the players they shall explain their own solutions and then debate the reasons why their responses are the best ones, this serves as the main obstacle, where communication and social skills will be necessary to succeed.

The main mechanics will be shown in the game rules and card descriptions. They are the use of solutions based off each cards, the conversations and debate that describes each use. The situation cards, they are used by the judge, the one who judges each person’s solutions, as with the solution cards, they provide open ended information which shall be developed and interpreted by the player. This interpretation creates the problems and situations which are solved by the player.

Another mechanic is the choosing of context, this assists in creating a world, a theme in which to play the game, thus assisting with sustainability and critical thinking. Having a context is used as a way to have all solutions chosen as winners be part of the world, thus previous choices affect the overall experience. The other most notable mechanics are the use of cards, drawing and shuffling, along with the throw of a die in order to gain points.

The rules are found in the manual and in certain parts of the cards. These include the limitation in how you can use each card and the number of them, the way you are only allowed to throw one die. How to judge each response and the time allowed explaining each solution. How you aren’t meant to interrupt other players, as this creates a hostile and chaotic environment in bigger groups.

The components are the cards, the die, the manual and the instrument in which to measure time. This instrument is expected to be a Smartphone or another computer of a similar variety in which to also search for information should the need arise.

Within the card, you may find the title, illustrations, description and keywords. The keywords are clues and suggestions in how to use said card.

The space is expected to be a table, mainly in areas such as classrooms, living rooms and hangout spots. The place should be quite enough so that the players can hear one another and form an effective conversation that would allow for an exchange of knowledge and information.

The events within the game are the choosing of context, the explaining of situations, the exposing and debate of solutions, deciding a round winner and the die roll. The conversations and information exchange is the main event that happens within the game, this is what will lead to learning from peers and play experience.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Implementing emotional triggers The emotional Triggers that are used are as follows: Through learning, experiencing the “aha!” moments when you realize how to use a card, or the solutions that develop from conversation will serve as the starting point to learning the majority of the skills inside the game. The explorers are the ones who will benefit the most from this trigger.

Character arcs, although not necessary, should the player choose a specific context with notable people or community, it is possible to have character arcs during and after each round. This is why it might be suggested to establish a specific number of time that happens from round to round inside the game world, thus allowing the fiction and in game world to grow and develop. The explorers and socializers will most likely benefit the most from this.

Through challenge, the main one is essentially defeating your opponents, the other players. As a judge, it’s choosing the best solutions and then living with the choices you made. As the game’s continuity leaves itself to have each new judge explain the consequences of the previous one’s choices. The killers and achievers will most likely benefit the most from this.

Through social interaction, one of the main elements of the game, this can be as extensive as the player allows it, it can serve as a rivalry, team building exercise or as an excuse to socialize with someone.

The game’s nature allow for people to share ideas, to express their opinions in a comfortable environment where people are required to listen.

The competitive aspect allows for the “Killers” to acknowledge people’s opinions, so that they may find better ways in which to debate or manipulate each statement.

The socializers are a natural fit for this trigger, as they enjoy sharing stories and connecting with other people.

Through acquisition, obtaining points, winning and the dice roll are guaranteed ways in which to activate the trigger. We expect achievers and killers to benefit the most from it.

Through spectacle, although not the main focus, it is possible to create such set pieces with the different mechanics at play, such as a particularly detailed solution or problem, along with the consequences of said round.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Through beauty, this can be seen in the card’s illustrations, the way they are meant to be aesthetically pleasing.

Through newfangled technology, although not provided by the tools given to the player, it is possible for them to receive such trigger when using components provided by them in the shape of smartphones and other computers.

Through primal threats, a possible reaction from the killers and achievers when faced with legitimate competition. It is expected for some debates to get heated, the players are expected to use their emotional maturity to get past these triggers.

Parts of the card After multiple playtests some specifications were developed. Using collectible card games as basis, the necessary card elements were found, they are as follows: Title: A name for the cards, something that can describe it in one or two words. It was found that a single word worked most effective for recalling their use, as it helped to essentially name each card in unique and easy ways.

Illustration: The main use of semiotics and design, helps distinguish the cards from one another without the use of text. Provides a way to represent multiple uses in a single card, helping the player understand that the content is not to be taken literally 100% of the time. This is why keywords are used to explain additional elements from those in illustrations, to provide content without the need of additional space.

Description: The use of flavor text to better explain the use of the word was found necessary for different types of players. Among those are the ones who would rather have things explained in a more explicit manner, even if the meaning can be interpreted from the other elements.

Keywords: They were added as a way to clue in the person on additional meanings and search terms to be used with personal computers or other hardware capable of said function. They were found to be of great assistance to players who found themselves playing for the first time.

It is expected for future releases to contain multiple versions of the same card with different keywords. This way it will be more obvious how each card can be interpreted in multiple ways.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Card Aesthetics Solutions

Situations

Front

Front

Espíritu

Name

Name

Border

Border

Image

Image

Background

Control sobre fuego y espíritu así como todo lo que simbolizan.

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Description Keywords

Backside

Situación en la sociedad o la vida diaria el cual necesita resolverse.

Educación, Salud, Desigualdad

Description Keywords

Backside

Border

Border

Image

Image

Background

22

Background

Background

GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Fuego / Espíritu

Control sobre el elemento de fuego y el espíritu así como todo lo que simbolizan.

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Fuego / Espíritu ae· nim sA

Fuego | Espíritu

·Sol Re fu

·Ig ni

debit · ·Ar

·Ig ni

·Sol Re fu

·Sicut I gni s·

·Sicut I gni s·

debit · ·Ar

Fuego / Espirítu

s· en lg

s· en lg

ae· nim sA

Fuego / Espíritu

·Aestus·

·Aestus·

Un evento o producto produjo una crisis de relaciones publicas.

Derrames, Discriminación, Veneno

Control sobre fuego y el espíritu

Control sobre fuego y el espíritu

Control sobre fuego y el espíritu así

así como todo lo que simbolizan.

así como todo lo que simbolizan.

como todo lo que simbolizan.

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Espíritu

Contaminantes, Plástico, Poliepóxido

Espíritu

Espíritu

Control sobre fuego y espíritu, así como todo lo que simbolizan.

Control sobre fuego y espíritu, así

Control sobre fuego y espíritu, así

como todo lo que simbolizan.

como todo lo que simbolizan.

Control sobre fuego y espíritu así como todo lo que simbolizan.

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

Energía, Poder, Pasión, Sexualidad

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

2

1 1

Bachelor Graphic Design Communications Criminology English Industrial Design Psychology

2 2 20

These images contain the quantifiable feedback from players who answered the survey provided after play testing. This survey can be accessed in this website:

https://zolrak.typeform.com/to/skruss The rest of the answers are being discussed in the text.

Year of Education

3 4

11

5

10

1st Year 2nd Year 4th Year 5th Year Graduated

Game Difficulty

4 5

17

Too easy Easy Adequate Difficult Too Difficult

1

2

Clarity of Rules

9 7

9

24

Super Fun Fun Not sure Boring Super Boring

13

5

1 1

Game Entertainment

5

Perfectly Clear Clear No sure Confusing Super Confusing

GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Rapid prototyping feedback Some of the feedback we received about things people disliked from the game are as follows:

Judging ideas and judge impartiality: This concern was based on the idea that competition would not motivate students to play, which has proven to be mistaken with the game design data. In fact, it’s one of the main reasons why achievers and killers prefer to play a game.

On the matter of being a judge, this is one of the primary ways in which players will get to practice their critical thinking skills, having to discern which responses are the most sustainable and effective is one of the best ways to get them thinking about the consequences.

Playtest of classmates from the Senior Seminar Project

This was proven correct with later playtests where it was decided to add an opinion question on how players felt about being judge, the majority of players enjoyed the experience, citing it as their favorite aspect and the rest enjoyed the fact that they must provide a logical reason behind their rulings instead of being based off “gut feelings”.

Number of People in game/Disrupting other players ideas: We found that more than 6 players causes the game to turn disorganized and hard to control. This is because players start chatting and disrupting other people’s turns; as such we were forced to require complete silence during each person’s solution exposition. The best way to solve this is to recommend 6 as the maximum number and to have bigger parties write down their ideas first. Writing down ideas was actually based off one of the suggestions in the survey.

Another element we discovered in groups of 3 was how the judge has a small tendency to become partial to a specific player. As a precaution we decided to emphasize in the rules how the winning answer must be effective and sustainable, this helped but did not erase the problem. This is why the recommended amount of players should be at least 4.

Overthinking: A small number of players found the core idea of the game taxing, this was based off the fact that they aren’t used to practicing the set of skills. From the players surveyed, 61% found the difficulty appropriate, 22% found it difficult and 17% found it difficult.

Continuous use of the game provided them with a better perspective in having to “overthink”, as they found themselves better prepared for critical thinking and debating their ideas.

Playtest with 1st year students from Prof. M Robledo’s Graphic Design Studio I

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

The dice: Over two players during playtesting found they didn’t like the idea of the dice. One of them was because they would rather “win” instantly; the other was because of the possibility to land a lower number being seen as unfair. To counterpoint, we found that 2 players particularly enjoyed it, while the rest didn’t find anything wrong with the use of a die. When taking into consideration how this plays with the emotional trigger of gain and chance, we decided to keep the process, considering how it provides an opportunity for other players to catch up, it was seen as essential for gameplay.

Lack of Time: Initially we had the phase of exposing solutions as 5 minutes long, this was found to be too long. As an effect, we tested between 1 and 4 minutes; we found 3 to be adequate enough amount of time, as 2 was seen as too short by players and 4 as too long. We also considered the possibility of recommending a lack of time limit, but this led to the gameplay dragging too long and leaving the players drained. As such it is recommended to keep that game mode for more “easygoing” game sessions.

Playtesting with graphic design students

Length of the rules: The initial prototype of the rules was 3 pages long, because of the aesthetics and use of mostly text, we found that a small number of players thought the rules were unnecessary or too big and did not read them. As a result of the survey, it was found that well over 64% understood the rules from the start, 25% weren’t sure and 11% found them confusing.

As such it was decided to work on a prototype that uses a hybrid of illustrations and texts. We also used different manuals and instructions online as example on how to simplify this manner of text. So far we have cut it down to about 2 pages. It is expected to either reduce or simplify the content even further in the future.

Ambiguity: Approximately 3 players being tested responded that the cards were too ambiguous. As a result we decided to add explanations in the manual and keywords at the bottom of the card. These keywords would serve as guidance or examples on how to use the card. It would also include specific words that could be search online to find more information about the subject.

The other aspect of ambiguity was on how open ended the cards were, this is because of the nature of the game, where players are expected to develop the subject shown to.

As a manner to resolve this without blocking the game’s main goal, we decided to add gameplay examples in the manual as a way to get people in the right state of mind. As all players found they didn’t have the problem once they played a second time.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

More scenario cards: A number of players voiced their desire to have more situation cards, out of the fact that longer or continuous play sessions lead to the 8 cards being reused. Because of time constraints during development, we weren’t able to create more than the amount available, though we found that combining both games’ cards could alleviate the discomfort. One possibility for the future of the project is publishing “situation packs” that could be used in all the games created under Consilium as a way to resolve the problem.

Having the winner of the round as Judge: One of the suggestions provided by a player was to have the winner become the judge. We found this to be ineffective as it would mean that not all players would be able to experience this aspect of the game. Another possibility that was considered was the fact that this system could be exploited, the same way having only 3 players causes some judges to be partial and judge according to personal relationships.

The latest version of the game description is as follows: Muestra tu liderazgo y salva a tu gente!

Trabaja junto o en contra de tus amigos para resolver problemas y ganar el juego.

Como juez, desarrolla situaciones y juzga las ideas para descubrir la mejor.

Debate tus soluciones: Utiliza lógica, creatividad y fuentes de información para crear soluciones sustantivas a las diferentes situaciones creadas durante el juego.

El conocimiento y la creatividad son tus armas más poderosas, ¿estas listo para usarlas?

The latest version of the game rules are as follows: #1 Decide el Contexto Escoge en que sitio va a ser el juego.

Especifica la época, lugar y si es permitido el uso de magia o ciencia ficción.

Ten en cuenta que las decisiones afectan la partida entera. #2 Elige el juez Toma una carta de situaciones.

Usa tu conocimiento y creatividad para elaborar la situación o problema de la carta. Puedes establecer limitaciones o restricciones a la situación.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

#3 Recibe las cartas Mantén 4 cartas de solución en todo momento. #4 Expone tu solución Se limita a darle un solo uso a cada carta.

Utiliza cualquier fuente de conocimiento para desarrollar tu respuesta.

Creatividad es bienvenida, aún así debe haber lógica en las respuestas.

Respuestas similares deben explicar su diferencia y porque es la mejor. #5 Discute las soluciones Tanto juez como jugador debate y hace preguntas acerca de las respuestas. #6 Se decide el ganador de ronda El Juez decide quién gana y explica porque basándose en lógica.

Escoge la respuesta más efectiva y sustentable. #7 El ganador laza el dado Lanza el dado y recibe la puntuación que dicte.

Si tienes la carta de “Oportunidad”, puedes usarla para intentar de nuevo.

Cuando termines la ronda, repite los pasos 2 al 7 hasta que alguien gane la partida.

CONCLUSION Having tested the game with multiple students, teachers and people in the 60 minutes event we found that 82% of the playtesters enjoyed the activity, and 18% weren’t sure.

100% of those tested were aware that they could learn something from the game, even those that responded negatively in the survey, with comments such as “who’s the idiot” when asked responded that their meaning for such comment meant it made them smarter.

This is a list of the different skills and branches of knowledge that the playtesters believe they were learning: • How to think clearly, how to organize your thoughts.

• Learning beyond the obvious. This was based off going beyond what the obvious solution was in order to have a better answer.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

• Sharing ideas and opinions in order to experience different perspectives. Beyond using the possible contexts, the fact that you get to listen to people’s ideas meant that you were exposed to their life experiences and wealth of knowledge.

• Debating, how to organize your points and explaining them in an efficient manner.

• System thinking, how every choice affects and helps the society. In this case it can be seen with the different rounds and the possible outcomes of your decisions.

• Problem solving and its variants. The majority of playtesters found this to be one of the most obvious benefits, with the way the game is composed of situations and solutions. The limited number of solution cards forced them into different ways of thought by finding new ways to use the resources at hand.

• People skills and empathy. They learned more about their friends, how to speak and understand them during gameplay. This is an effect of having to socialize and share ideas during play instead of just presenting cards.

• Creativity and Persuasion. Creativity being one of the primal components in the game, as it takes not only knowing a subject, but finding innovative ways in which to effectively solve problems. Persuasion as a means to convince the judge that their solution is the most appropriate one.

• Deductive and Inductive reasoning. Based off the interpretation of the different events that are created during gameplay.

• The consequences of your actions. With the use of context as a mechanic, it was just a matter of time before the players were capable of seeing how previous turn’s choices affected the game as a whole.

• Emotional maturity by respecting people’s ideas and how to share them. This is part of the social aspect and a possible outcome of positive peer pressure, as most players found themselves needing to respect other’s time and responses, this meant that they couldn’t just raise their voice or find other means of attention to get their ways. They had to face the consequences of their choices during gameplay and understand that you can’t always win.

Overall it can be stated that the most effective content of the game was created when it was possible to collaborate and co-design during its creation.

A good example would be the “Design” situation card on the Design deck. Other cards where communication during those involved weren’t as present have proven less effective in the scheme of the project.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

This project can be used as evidence that having students unite in order to create thesis projects can result in something greater than the sum of its parts. The game’s development proved that collaboration was the only way in which to succeed in its creation.

With the knowledge acquired by those involved it was possible to create a game that was seen as beneficial to society and by the knowledge imparted the planet.

On the third front of profit, the knowledge gained during its creation and gameplay can be implemented in future projects.

It is also possible to consider selling a printed version of the game for profit, as the majority of playtesters were interested in having a deck of their own This would not go against the creative commons, as we would follow in Cards Against Humanity’s example of providing a free PDF version along with a physical one of greater quality.

It was decided to host the game’s information in a website containing sustainable information related to Puerto Rico. Said website was created by William Rivera as part of his thesis project. The concept behind it would allow the player to find more information related to sustainability thus having the project serve its purpose.

The combination of design, symbols and game know-how allowed for the project to reach multiple masses of different ages, even those without game knowledge. The game was successful enough to consider future expansions in different subjects and game modes. A possibility discussed was adding a team version, where both the judge and players would be divided in even teams. This would allow for a clearer exercise in collaboration during gameplay.

On the learning front, the players were able to perceive some changes in their learning behavior by acknowledging that the gameplay forced them to think differently and to try to solve problems.

With more content and future expansions it can be possible to reach any audience given enough time. As the format of the game allows for any subject to be taught in this manner. Future ideas have an editable PDF being given in order to have other people create their own versions of the game.

With this information and assurance of the projects success, the yearlong project closes and opens up new possibilities in which to evaluate and evolve the work such as the PDF file known as Goals Evaluation. This will provide future information about ways in which to improve the game and possible expansions in game modes.

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GAME DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR EDUCATION

Designer’s Evaluation Document

Designer’s Name: Group Size:

Playtest Date: Time of Day:

Things to take notice of during playtesting.

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LIST OF REFERENCES Print Media • Brandt, E. & Messeter, J. (n.d.) Facilitating Collaboration through Design Games.

Space Studio, The Interactive Institute • Fullerton, T. (2014). Game design workshop: A playcentric approach to creating innovative games (3rd ed.). A K Peters/CRC Press.

• Sylvester, T. (2013). Designing games: A guide to engineering experiences (1st ed.).

Sebastopol, California: O’Reilly Media.

• Zagal, J. (2010). Ludoliteracy: Defining, understanding, and supporting games education / by José P. Zagal. LaVergne, Tenn.: ETC Press.

Digital Media • Allen, W.(n.d.). Retrieved October 16, 2014, from http://learningforsustainability. net/internet/online_games.php • Almer, M. (2009, February 27). The 13 Basic Principles of Gameplay Design.

Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/132341/ the_13_basic_principles_of_.php • Bartle, R (1999, August 28). Hearts, clubs, dimanods, spades: Players who suit MUDS. Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://mud.co.uk/richard/hcds.htm • Bavelier, D. (n.d.). Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/ speakers/daphne_bavelier • Chatfield, T. (n.d.). Retrieved November 18, 2014, from http://www.ted.com/ speakers/tom_chatfield • Coplin, D. (2013, September 25). RSA Animate - Re-Imagining Work. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://youtu.be/G11t6XAIce0 • Design Play Cards. (n.d.). Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www. designplaycards.com/

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• Dixon, D. Player Types and Gamification. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http:// gamification-research.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/11-Dixon.pdf • Elizabeth Landau (2014, February 28). We’ve all read his work—‘Godfahter’ of Helvetica font dies at 84. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://edition.cnn. com/2014/02/27/tech/web/helvetica-typographer-dies/ • Gamification of Education. (n.d.). Retrieved May 10, 2015, from https://badgeville. com/wiki/education • Hemp, P. (2008, February 19). Does Your Leadership Development Strategy Include World of Warcraft? Retrieved September 10, 2015, from https://hbr. org/2008/02/does-your-leadership-developme • Holpuch, A. (2013, March 4). Half the Sky Facebook game launches with women’s empowerment at core. Retrieved October 13, 2014, from http://www.theguardian. com/technology/2013/mar/04/facebook-game-half-the-sky • Hrehovcsik, M. Game Design Methods. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http:// gamedesigntools.blogspot.com/p/game-design-methods.html • Indra Kupferschmid (2011). Neue Haas Grotesk History. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://www.fontbureau.com/nhg/history/ • Institute of Play. (n.d.). Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://playmakers. instituteofplay.org/ • Kapp, K. (2013, June 13). “Life Lessons…from Video Games”. Retrieved October 18, 2014, from http://tedxnavesink.com/project/karl-m-kapp/ • Klopfer, E., Tan, P., & Verrilli, S. (2014, October 22). Introduction to Game Design.

Retrieved October 22, 2014, from https://www.edx.org/course/mitx/mitx-11-126xintroduction-game-design-2881 • Kuo, I. (2015, Janurary 29). Serious Games: Fighting to be taken seriously.

Retrieved February 18, from http://www.gamification.co/2015/01/29/serious-gamesfighting-taken-seriously/ • Marne, Wisdom, Huynh-Kim-Bang & Labat. The six facets of serious game design: a Methodology enhanced by our Design Pattern Library. Retrieved February 18, 2015, from http://seriousgames.lip6.fr/site/IMG/pdf/ec-tel_2012_marne_et.al_ dp_for_facets_draft_public_v0.4.pdf

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CARLOS A. POLO SOLER

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