GAME 1: SEQUENCE
Goal: Get the cards in the right order within 90 seconds’ time.
Set up and Rules:
•
Deal out the cards to members of your row. Person who starts the deal is Person #1. Every other
person in the row should get a card. (Persons 1, 3, 5, 7, etc.).
•
You have 90 seconds to re-arrange the cards or yourselves so the words on the cards match the
order they appear below. Discard cards that do not belong.
•
For your team to win, Person #1 should hold the first card on the list. The rest should be held by
Persons 2 – 14 in the row. Person #15 should have all discards.
•
Card holders may NOT talk. Nonverbal cues are allowed.
1. Activity
8. Players
2. Explicit
9. Game Environment
3. Goal
10. Feedback Mechanisms
4. Challenge
11. Cues
5. Rules
12. Performing
6. Players
13. Quantifiable outcome
7. Interactivity
14. Emotional reaction
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Copyright Bottom-Line Performance, Inc 2017
Contact: Sharon Boller via email : [email protected] or via Twitter: @Sharon_Boller
COMMERCIAL GAME EVALUATION WORKSHEET
The game goal: What was it and was it engaging?
Core Dynamic(s) used in the game:
Game Mechanics: List up to 3 game rules from the game
Identify game elements used in the game and describe the key ones (delete or add to the list as needed)
__ Aesthetics
__ Chance
__ Resources
__ Conflict
__ Rewards
__ Competition
__ Strategy
__ Cooperation
__ Theme
__ Levels
__ Time
__ Cooperation
__ Story
How did you know how you were doing in the game? What feedback did you get
What aspects of this game could be inspiration for a learning game?
General Comments
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Copyright Bottom-Line Performance, Inc 2017
Contact: Sharon Boller via email : [email protected] or via Twitter: @Sharon_Boller
A PRIMER ON PLAY
Definitions and Terms
Term
Definition
Game (highlighted
words used in
Sequence game)
An activity with an explicit goal or challenge. It includes rules for players
and/or the system (if a digital game). It requires interactivity with other players
and/or the game environment. It includes feedback mechanisms that provide
players with clear cues on how they are performing. It results in a (win/lose,
hit the target, achieve the goal, etc), and it often triggers quantifiable outcome
an emotional reaction in players.
Learning Game
(aka “serious
game”)
A subset in the genre of games that is focused on specific learning objectives
(since we think all games teach!). Learning games can be used to help people
learn new knowledge or to reinforce what’s already been learned. Simulations
are a subset of learning games; simulations focus on emulating the real world
as much as possible and re-creating the conditions under which someone will
perform the job. They provide a safe place to practice the skills without any
real-world consequences.
Gamification
Using game-based mechanics (such as storytelling, points, continuous
feedback, levels, etc.), aesthetics, and game thinking to engage people,
motivate action, promote learning, and solve problems. Gamification does not
equal game.
Game Goal
What players are trying to achieve: what constitutes a “win.”
Core Dynamic
A description of the game play; what players have to do to win the game.
Examples include territory acquisition, collection, exploration, building, race to
the finish.
Game Mechanics
The rules of play. If the game is digital, these mechanics include the system
rules. The rules define what players can and cannot do in achieving the goal.
They also define what happens after a play does something in the game.
Game Elements
Features that help immerse players in the game. Things such as aesthetics,
story, conflict, chance, resources, and strategy are all game elements
designers can use to help create an immersive, fun play experience.
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Copyright Bottom-Line Performance, Inc 2017
Contact: Sharon Boller via email : [email protected] or via Twitter: @Sharon_Boller
FREQUENTLY USED CORE DYNAMICS
How do you win the game? When you tell someone about a game, you typically describe how you win or
what you have to do to win. Example for Risk: “Be the one to take over the most territories and achieve
world domination.” The choice of core dynamic(s) is a major element in making the game fun to play; we
play because we want to engage in whatever core dynamic(s) the game includes.
This chart lists common core dynamics. Any game you design will likely use one or more of these
dynamics. Some games have only one. Others may use two or three. In learning games, less is often
best:
Dynamic
Commercial games that use this
dynamic
Race to the finish – get to the finish before anyone else
Life, Candy Land, Mario Kart
Territory acquisition – acquire – or take – land, typically to
create an empire or own the most of something.
Risk, Settlers of Catan, Monopoly
Exploration – wander around and check out various aspects
of your game world to see if you can find things of value.
Minecraft, Civilization
Collecting – find and get specified objects/people.
Trivial Pursuit, Checkers,
Rescue or escape – get out of a situation/place you are in.
City of Heroes, Forbidden Island,
Capture the Flag
Alignment – arrange game pieces in a particular order
Tic-Tac –Toe, Bejeweled
Forbidden Act – get fellow players to break the rules, make a
wrong move, or do something they shouldn’t
Twister – get someone to fall;
Operation – get someone to touch an
edge, Great Divide – get someone to
break contact, Stare contest – get
someone to laugh
Construct/Build – create something using specified
resources.
Sims, Roller Coaster Tycoon
Outwit - Use specialized knowledge or skill to defeat an
opponent
Stratego, chess
Solution: Solve a problem or puzzle.
SpellTower, Rooms and Doors
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Copyright Bottom-Line Performance, Inc 2017
Contact: Sharon Boller via email : [email protected] or via Twitter: @Sharon_Boller
GAME ELEMENTS – AND USING THEM IN LEARNING GAMES
Element
Questions to ask when designing a learning
game.
Aesthetics – the visual look of the game and the various
game parts.
•
Do my visuals intrigue?
•
Do they mirror something relevant?
•
Do they clarify game play?
Chance – elements you include to equalize the playing
experience, to add an element of surprise, or to derail
players. Chance can be useful; it can often be
unintentional. Playtest is required to make sure you aren’t
creating a game where winning occurs largely by chance.
•
Is the use of chance deliberate or an
accident?
•
What real-world elements in the person’s
job are equivalent to chance within a
game?
Competition – players are in opposition to each other with
one player attempting to gain the advantage over another.
•
Is competition a key factor in real-world
success?
•
Does pitting one player against another
help/hinder the learning experience?
•
Should players compete against each
other – or against the game itself? Or
both?
Conflict – something the player has to overcome;
something to be conquered or to create a sense of
urgency.
•
Does the game conflict mirror what I need
them to learn?
•
Does it facilitate what I want them to learn?
Cooperation – players work together to achieve a goal – or
at least to manage a given challenge within a game.
•
Is there value in having players work
together? Does it help – or hinder –
learning?
•
Do I want to create unique roles – or
having everyone focused on the same
thing?
•
Do I want to start my game off easy and let
it get harder? Does that make sense for
what I’m trying to help people learn?
•
Do I need to account for different
experience levels?
Levels – a game can be organized into levels of play to
allow players to go from novice to mastery or to allow
players from different experience levels all play the same
game. Many games do not have levels; others offer them.
Levels typically indicate a progression of difficulty through a
game.
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Copyright Bottom-Line Performance, Inc 2017
Contact: Sharon Boller via email : [email protected] or via Twitter: @Sharon_Boller
Element
Questions to ask when designing a learning
game.
Resources – assets such as money or objects that help a
player gain an advantage. Typically resources can be
acquired or lost during a game with some resources
allocated to a player at the start.
•
What resources make sense?
•
Have I made my resources too complex?
•
In the real world, what resources would
people be able to use? Should I
incorporate versions of these into the
game? How?
Rewards –achievements players earn – either based on
performance or completion. Not all games include them.
•
What reward structure makes sense?
•
How do I link rewards to relevant feedback
on performance?
Story – a narrative that either weaves throughout an entire
game or sets up the reason you are playing the game and
elaborates on the theme.
•
Would story add to this game?
•
Can story be used as a learning tool?
•
Will story help learners embrace, get
immersed in the game?
•
How are my game’s strategy elements
mirroring real-world contexts?
•
Is the strategy in the game appropriate to
the learning objectives?
•
Are my strategic elements too simplistic?
Too complex? Necessary?
•
Do I want a theme?
•
Will a theme facilitate game play or
motivation? Can it help players’
engagement? Can it be used to link to a
real-world context?
•
Can it be symbolic?
•
Is time a necessary component of doing
the task I’m helping people learn in the
game?
•
Is there a way I should be compressing
time?
Strategy – elements you include to force the player to
analyze and consider various options. Gives the player high
control over the game’s outcome. (Think Chess, Stratego,
Risk)
Theme – a backdrop for a game. Some games use them;
others are devoid of theme. (Scrabble has no theme.
Forbidden Island has one.)
Time – in a game, time can be compressed (something that
would really take hours or days can be compressed into
minutes) it can serve as a resource that players can
gain/lose, or it can be a complete nonfactor. It can also be
integrated into the game goal with players racing against
time to win the game.
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Copyright Bottom-Line Performance, Inc 2017
Contact: Sharon Boller via email : [email protected] or via Twitter: @Sharon_Boller