designing games for change for wicked problems
DESCRIPTION
Spring CTU Doctoral Symposium Workshop and EM Workshop Activities held on April 17-18, 2014 by Dr. Cynthia Calongne.TRANSCRIPT
Wicked Problems and Designing Games for Change
Dr. Cynthia CalongneCTU Doctoral Symposium, April 17-19, 2014
Wicked Problems
• Hard to characterize• No simple solution• Ambiguous or complex• Diverse perspectives• Changing conditions• Global impact
Wicked Problem Examples
• Public Planning and Policy– Global climate change– Human trafficking– Drug trafficking– Natural hazards– Social injustice– Healthcare– Pandemics– Nuclear
Addressing Wicked Problems
• Novel solutions for unique problems – Normal tactics will fail– Exploration by trial and error– Solution defines the problem
• Potential steps lead to consequences• Solutions are neither right or wrong• A symptom of another problem• Reciprocal cause and effect
Types of Wicked Problems
• Environmental• Economic• Spiritual• Political• Medical• Social• Moral
How Can Emerging Media Help?
Global CommunicationGlobal Argument
Social MediaPresencingDiversityGames
MIT’s Action Research Global Wellbeing and Gross National Happiness Lab
Presencing and Emerging Media
Virtual-Physioception
Motivation Intersubjective Presencing
Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs)
Transdisciplinarity
Body awareness(Mehling, Gopisetty, Daubenmier, Price, Hecht & Stewart)
Virtual Self (Fox & Bailenson; Ratan; McCreery)
Social Presence (Biocca et al.; Blascovich)
Player Identification (Van Looy)
Supermorphic Persona (Young)
Metacognition Theory (Flavell)
Being (Maslow)
Grit (Duckworth)
Generativity (McAdams )
Intrinsic (Dickey)
Intrinsic v. Extrinsic (Finkelstien)
Volunteerism (Shye)
Avatar appearance (Baylor)
Presencing- (Senge et. Al; Scharmer)
Transformed Social Interaction (Bailenson, Beall, Loomis, Blascovich &Turk; Bailenson)
Presence in VWs – (Allmendinger, Suter)
Dialogue (Bohm)
Transformed Social Interaction in CVEs- (Bailenson)
CVEs- (Montoya)
WoW- (Yee)
3D Visualization (Siau, Nah, Mennecke & Schiller; Sonnewald)
Manifesto (Nicolescu, Montuori) Team Science(Stokols)
Team cognition (Salas & Fiore)
Complexity Theory (Morin)
Wicked Problems- (Rittel; Conklin)
Courtesy of Dr. Barbara Truman, research in presencing and transdisciplinarity
Presencing
Sharing
theSocial Space
within theMind Space
thruGames &
Simulations
Everyone Matters
Benefits of Games
Games can stimulate
• Problem solving• Critical thinking• Digital literacy• Strategy & tactics• Motor skill development• Collaboration• Leadership & courage• Socialization
Game-based learning
• Vision & creativity• Sustainability• Immersion • Learning retention• Heutagogy• Knowledge networks• Socio-technical skills• Entrepreneurship
Game Design and Prototyping
Roleplay, Social Games and Simulations
Leveraging a Game-Based Culture
• Alternate reality games• Augmented reality• Games for change• Serious games• Gamification• Social games• MMORPGs• MMOGs
Design Games for Change
•Define the problem and desired outcomes•Identify the possible genres and tactics•Explore the story and game mechanics•Identify the EM tools, technology and resources•Design the quests •Integrate the story, quests and game mechanics•Play the game•Evaluate the desired outcomes and aesthetics
Design Goals, Game Elements and Outcomes
By Jane McGonigal http://janemcgonigal.com/learn-me/
Game Genres and Play Styles
Types of games
• Word, trivia or puzzle• Scavenger or Treasure Hunt• Action or adventure• Real Time Strategy (RTS)• Roleplay game (RPG)• MMORPGs• Arcade or Video games• First Person Shooter (FPS)• Simulations (Sims)• Board or card games• Mobile and social games
Play styles
• Individual or social• Multiplayer cooperative• Multiplayer competitive• Everyone is a winner!• Last man standing – PvP• Player vs Environment• Roleplay• Capture the flag• Team wins• High score• Social and free play games
Designing the Game Components
Design Concepts
Game Mechanics
• Rules• Objectives• Environment• Setting• Win Conditions• Challenges• Treasure, Loot or Gold• Badges• Reputation
Roleplay Games
• Story• Terrain • 2D or 3D Graphics• Strategies• Conflict• Players• Non-Player Character (NPC)• Enemies or Monsters• Competition
Game Controls and Observation
Game Scoreboard
A Few Design Distinctions
Strategy Game
• Game engine• Modeling
– 2D diagrams and 3D objects
• Character Creation• Level & Strategy Design• System Integration• Game Events • Win Strategy - Objectives• Quality Assurance
– Unit & Integration Tests– Play and Usability Tests
Virtual World Game
• Virtual World Simulator• Rapid Prototyping
– 3D Game Objects
• Bots (NPCs) and Avatars• Linking Object Models
– Designing Holodecks
• Multimedia & Animations• Rubrics - Objectives & Outcomes• QA - Change Management
– Object Behavior Tests– Integration, Play & Usability Tests
Requirements for the Environment & Aesthetics
Activity
•In groups of 3-5–Identify a problem –Identify a game genre for investigating it
»Explore the problem»Explore possible solutions
• Discuss the forces at work–The mnemonic = the words that end in –al
Prototyping the Game’s Design
A Game Designer Demos Her Game Badge
Emerging Media Tactics
• Global conversation– Social networks
• Social media• Semantic Web• Mobile technology• Cloud computing• Game-based culture
Designing Collectible Card Games
Crowdsourcing the problemTrial and error
Willingness to fail
Game Activity
•Using games for change–Identify the EM strategies for your game–Review its features and behavior
»How it uses the Web»How it leverages socialization & collaboration»How it supports individual play
• Describe the game mechanics–How do the players “win” at the game?
Mayan Temple Game Simulation
Non-Player Characters (NPCs)
Players and NPCsStory, characterization and
aestheticsDevelopment of quality models
and game prototypes
Collaboration, Communication andTransdisciplinarity
Scene from a CTU Emerging Media Sick Bay
Immersive and Mobile Games
Courtesy of Dr. Andrew Stricker
Designing a Game Inside a Game
Photo by C. CalongneGame Design by AgileBill Firehawk
Wicked Problems and Designing Games for Change
Dr. Cynthia CalongneCTU Doctoral Symposium, April 17-19, 2014
Game Activities