Essential Question: How would you change the rubric for the final project to better reflect what is important in games? I like the rubric but I think you really need to play the game to judge some of the categories, especially # 3 on down. I think we need to look more at adjusting the categories to judge a game before it is played. Maybe #6 could be changed to flexibility. Meaning more that students have choice. ("What Makes a Good Game? " n.d.). I think a lot of game play involves students taking different paths and learning in the manner that best suits their learning style. On #2 I think Gerald is right that a game does not have to have a storyline. I think what you need is for the game to be interesting. According to "What Makes a Good Game? " (n.d.) a storyline "isn't essential to every kind of game (for example, not for a scavenger hunt), especially when players are competing against each other. In that case, the excitement of the competition is likely to engage them. However, a good storyline can liven up a competition still further (look at pro wrestling!)." So if you don't use a storyline you have to look elsewhere to engage. Topic #4 touches on this a little. Maybe #4 could be broken down into one that is about engagement and the other part could be about the challenges the game provides? I think there might need to be a category that deals with keeping the playing field level, especially if the game is to last an entire semester or year. It is not fun to play a game when you know who will win, especially if you aren't the person who will win. Kramer (2000-2006) talks about this being called the "kingmaker effect." I think there needs to be some built in ways to deal with this. I know Matera talked about using challenges that only certain teams can do or different teams receiving different amounts of points. He explained it like Mario Cart and the star power up. You only get the star when you are in the back but other players still come back to play again. If you win without the star the win is that much better. I think it would be important to explain this to players at the start so they understand and don't get upset later in the game. Sources
Kramer, W. Translated by Kramer, A. (2000-2006). What Makes a Game Good? Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://www.thegamesjournal.com/articles/WhatMakesaGame.shtml Matera, M. (2015). Explore like a pirate: Engage, enrich, and elevate your learners with gamification and game-inspired course design [Kindle Edition]. San Diego, CA: Dave Burgess Consulting. What Makes a Good Game? (n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/games/goodgame.html
2 Comments
11/12/2016 03:57:43 pm
One thing that I noticed about "keeping a level field" is that some teachers that implement gamification don't post a leaderboard. I remember reading a post about "fails" after gamifying a class and they mentioned it was an option to "opt-out" of a leaderboard, cause you are right about students not wanting to play if they know who will win. It's not fun. I know I hate it when I come in dead last everytime I try to run a Mario Kart race with everyone else battling you to get past you!!! I also remember reading about gamification in business and they noted that it was important to not focus so much on points, because gamification is not all about points. They said they should focus more on collaboration/relationships between "players".
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Sara Lucas
11/13/2016 10:42:36 pm
Most of my students get really competitive so I'm not sure I would want to leave out the leaderboard. That would honestly get my hard to reach students to do something. I think the key for my classroom will be creating challenges to help the low achievers catch up. I agree that this might need to be a team challenge and not individual. Many of my students thrive with others but don't work very well alone.
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