[A Game Called School...] Using Game Design Outside of Gaming
Natespank:
I'd like to use game design theory and principles to build a motivation structure for Real World applications.
(The short of this post is that I need better reward cycles. Somehow games blast mine out of the water.)
For example, I think there's a lot of potential to use game design principles to approach education. People hate school, but the average WoW player plays 20 hours a week and pays for the opportunity to do so. However, WoW used to have a ton of grinding- what if you could use a similar approach to entice students to study?
I think that there's an insane amount of potential here. I'm not kidding. WoW and other games have caused divorces. My friend plays 60 hours a week of various games- he's brilliant, how the heck did these games manage to dominate him so?
In November 2010 I began a 2 month project to upgrade my high school courses by completing 4 courses (Chem, Physics, Math and English). I'm really bad at studying- I've NEVER studied in all my school days. I game a lot though- I got to thinking that a lot of games are more or less achievement simulators, of the "surrogate activity" sort.
I tried to build a study structure based on WoW, Torchlight, D&D, and other games. The primitive system is as follows:
If these games are achievement simulators, they're acting as "good jobs." According to studies:
A good job:
1. stretches a person without defeating him
2. provides clear goals (SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, reasonable, tangible or something)
3. provides unambiguous feedback
4. provides a sense of control
Whatever system I use would have to challenge me- I could use constant testing for the feedback per subject. I could run ahead of the curriculum to stretch myself. I use weekly goal cards which I can collect to make my goals very clear and specific. I also have a degree of control by rushing ahead- I'm not quite under the control of a teacher's pacing.
I had a poster to track my weekly hours-studying quota, by subject. On it I was also a weekly progress quota for each subject- usually one unit. It took a few weeks of practice but I managed about 40+ hours, on target, every week.
Next to it I had another poster with card slots in it- on each card was the name of a unit that I had to complete. I could see the entirety of my future problems all together. There was also a box, by subject, for "achievements." Each time I completed a unit I added that index card to the little box for that subject- these little cards accumulated as I went.
I also gave myself a little index card for every solid hour I spent studying. I seriously struggle to study- these were my little crappy rewards, 1 per hour, to dig in. After counting the cards I ended up with about 300-400 hours over those 2 months. I finished my classes with 96, 95, 92 and 80. To get into my university program i need about a 76% average.
I've never studied before, I couldn't believe that this cheesy scheme worked.
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I'd like feedback on ways to improve or change this system to make it more compelling. My specific problem is this:
In these games you're rewarded for your efforts in concrete ways that measurably benefit you and make you better at what you're doing. It's a great reward cycle. However, my study system's reward cycle is lacking. The little index cards aren't working as well this semester. I need a better reward mechanism/cycle- I've hardly gotten anything done in weeks, which makes sense since the rewards are lousy. I need a better reward system.
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Any other feedback is also welcome. I posted this here because I think I might actually get useful ideas/feedback here.
Nate
Baxil:
Congratulations on its success thus far!
Off the top of my head, one major reward cycle you're not simulating is the MMO aspect of the source games you cite. A major component of MMO rewards is that, not only do you level up or get the Spatula of Hoodwinking +12 or gain the skill to craft lime green hair dye, but you also get to show it off and have your skill recognized by other players. Some games have explicit leaderboards, others just let you gawk at the color-coordinated Level 99 elf chick next to you, but in all cases there's a strong social component.
If your motivation is flagging again it may be time to see who else you can convince to join in with you.
Callan S.:
You might want to check out chorewars, as a similar approach.
In terms of real world applications I think the legal system and labour/'capitalist' systems in real life are like crappily made games. I sometimes wonder if people play wow etc not for fun gameplay, but since they actually slot into a life, with social connection, that is actually ordered. One where the capitalist dream of anyone can make it to the top isn't simply bullshit marketing, but actually the case. While in real life people bullshit themselves they can 'get a job', when, unless they have mind control powers, they have no such capacity - the game that is entrenched does not empower them that way at all. I'll quote an author I like "Whenever somebody says, “You’re lucky to have a job,” what they are literally saying is “You’re economically powerless – be thankful!”". Of course in real life a designer can't just make resources and currency poof out of thin air like wow does to power it's wish forfillment, but since plants grow food in a relatively predictable manner that can be designed around, currency can atleast grow on trees, even if you can't make it poof into existance from nothing.
Just thoughts to broaden the spectrum of possible real world applications.
Paul Czege:
Hey Nate,
Quote from: Natespank on March 10, 2011, 05:07:13 PM
However, my study system's reward cycle is lacking. The little index cards aren't working as well this semester. I need a better reward mechanism/cycle- I've hardly gotten anything done in weeks, which makes sense since the rewards are lousy. I need a better reward system.
You're in the deep end now, man. Two books I recommend. Reality Is Broken, by Jane McGonigal. And Punished By Rewards, by Alfie Kohn.
Paul
Natespank:
Quote
Reality Is Broken, by Jane McGonigal. And Punished By Rewards, by Alfie Kohn.
If I only had time to read one of them, which would you suggest?
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