Upping the "Game" in Learning Games
Games have the power to engage kids and games do have a place in the classroom. With educators seeking out more effective ways to engage kids in the classroom, more are turning to game-based learning as a solution. This has created a huge opportunity for a new breed of educational game.
August 2011
Games have the power to engage kids.
With educators seeking out more effective ways to engage kids in the classroom, more would like to turn to game-based learning as a solution.
It's not a matter of when, but how.
I believe the challenge exists for educators to find and access games that effectively blur the line between entertainment and education, balancing learning objectives, assessment, and game design.
It's a rare find since the days of the Carmen Sandiego and Oregon Trail series. These days, most educational games are found online in the form of mini-game arcade sites.
Compare this to the "non-educational" games market. In 2011, 561 million 10-15 year olds and 272 million 5-10 year olds are playing online in at least one of 500+ virtual worlds (KZero, 2011). And that doesn't include the millions more playing games on consoles and mobile devices. What we have now is a generation of young learners who are also experienced gamers.
So the challenge to us as educational game designers is to create a new breed of game that can not only deliver learning value, but also offer a gaming experience worthy of today's generation of young gamers.
Kids testing out some of our games in the classroom.
Over the years, I've been challenged to work on a variety of educational games for kids. Here's just some of the game design principles that kids have taught me along the way:
"If it's a game, I want to play it."
Kids really don't care if something is a "simulation game" or a "serious game" or "edutainment". If it's a game, kids think you should play it. So it's no wonder that kids get bored playing most educational games that focus on learning objectives and technology platforms first and gameplay second. They do care about learning and discovering something new from playing a game. They don't really care if a game uses a realistic 3D graphics engine. And they really don't care for crappy games - educational or not.
Carmen Sandiego has blurred the line between entertainment and education for years.
"Let me figure it out."
Kids are smart. They don't need lots of instructional text to read to figure out what to do. Often educational games are designed using a fixed, linear path, filled with yes/no and right/wrong scenarios. Great learning games should encourage exploration and play. Kids are already playing games that place them in roles from armed forces recruit to zoo tycoon. In the process they're using very sophisticated thinking skills to analyze, strategize, and implement their decisions. This creates opportunities for kids to discover both positive and negative outcomes that result from decisions they might make moving forward.
In Animal Crossing, players spend their time living in a village, meeting characters and performing tasks.
"Who is that (insert character here)?"
Most educational games are generic casual games - simple rules, short bursts of play, requires little or no commitment to complete, and features generic characters. There's no reason for kids to care about what they're playing for. I think more educational games should take a cue from brand/character universes like Pokemon, Harry Potter, and The 39 Clues. Think about how much more memorable and engaging educational games would be if story, plot and character was added to the mix. Characters bring emotion, empathy and motivational context. Leveling up could become much more meaningful than a number.
Discovery Kids: Seek Your Own Proof features a universe of agents and villains.
"Can I make my own..."
Rewards and customization are the key to retention and repeat play. Kids love to customize, collect and compare - which usually drives the overall game experience. Complete levels to unlock more items! Earn tokens to acquire more items! Dress your avatar and decorate your secret lair! Invite other players to check out your collection! Create your own games and levels using our builder tools, and challenge other players! There's a reason why millions of kids worldwide spend hours in online virtual worlds. And it's why more educational games need to incorporate these same gameplay features to keep kids playing.
Over 50 million players spend hours customizing their monster @ moshimonsters.com
"How do I get to the next level?"
Games are about constant assessment. In action games, boss battles typically require a player to use all the skills and items they've acquired to defeat the boss and advance to the next level. Casual games like Angry Birds incorporate a star system to encourage players to perfect a level in order to earn a triple star rating. In the world of educational games, scoring and leveling provide opportunities to assess a student's mastery or understanding of a topic. Educational games should also challenge kids to use higher level thinking like problem-solving and creativity to advance.
Game/level creation games like Gamestar Mechanic challenge players use creativity to advance in the game.
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