What is a game made of? Well of course, there's the graphics, the physics engine, etc., but I'm talking about what really defines a game as a game.
From Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games, Fullerton/Swain/Hoffman, we have a list of the formal elements that make up a game. There are also dramatic elements (Story, Characters, and more), but I will skip over them for now and discuss just these core components, and how they relate to a potential programming game.
Formal Elements
In the context of a programming game, I am immediately inclined, for whatever reason, to design it for a single player (though from my own experience, I have enjoyed multiplayer titles quite a bit more). The question remains whether, from an educational standpoint, students will be better empowered playing/learning solo or in a group.
The overarching objective of this game is to learn programming...but insofar as the actual game's goal, that is still up in the air. But, we do know that every game must have an objective of some sort, a goal to be reached. The Rules and Resources with regards to this game are similarly still in development. The primary challenge in the design of this game (or any game for that matter) likely lies in the conceptualization of these components.
Next, we have conflict. This could simply be PvE, or, if the game is multiplayer, PvP. In either case, there must be some interesting challenge or obstacle impeding the player's "natural" progress. This is probably the most interesting part of game design for me; designing a programming game with some interesting problems to solve will be a fun task.
The last, and potentially most controversial formal element of games is the Outcome; in other words, the conditions for winning or losing. In games, having an unequal outcome is all well and good - many people play games for a sense of achievement, they want to be competitive. But competition has mixed results when it comes to learning. The challenge here will be balancing outcome, a core aspect of games, with the educational goal of learning and acquiring skills and knowledge in a fun way.
That's all for now, still have many more updates to come. If you want to know more about these game elements, I would suggest taking a look at Game Design Workshop or reading this wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.
Peace,
KR
From Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games, Fullerton/Swain/Hoffman, we have a list of the formal elements that make up a game. There are also dramatic elements (Story, Characters, and more), but I will skip over them for now and discuss just these core components, and how they relate to a potential programming game.
- Players
- Objectives
- Procedures
- Rules
- Resources
- Conflict
- Boundaries
- Outcome
In the context of a programming game, I am immediately inclined, for whatever reason, to design it for a single player (though from my own experience, I have enjoyed multiplayer titles quite a bit more). The question remains whether, from an educational standpoint, students will be better empowered playing/learning solo or in a group.
The overarching objective of this game is to learn programming...but insofar as the actual game's goal, that is still up in the air. But, we do know that every game must have an objective of some sort, a goal to be reached. The Rules and Resources with regards to this game are similarly still in development. The primary challenge in the design of this game (or any game for that matter) likely lies in the conceptualization of these components.
Next, we have conflict. This could simply be PvE, or, if the game is multiplayer, PvP. In either case, there must be some interesting challenge or obstacle impeding the player's "natural" progress. This is probably the most interesting part of game design for me; designing a programming game with some interesting problems to solve will be a fun task.
The last, and potentially most controversial formal element of games is the Outcome; in other words, the conditions for winning or losing. In games, having an unequal outcome is all well and good - many people play games for a sense of achievement, they want to be competitive. But competition has mixed results when it comes to learning. The challenge here will be balancing outcome, a core aspect of games, with the educational goal of learning and acquiring skills and knowledge in a fun way.
That's all for now, still have many more updates to come. If you want to know more about these game elements, I would suggest taking a look at Game Design Workshop or reading this wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game.
Peace,
KR
No comments:
Post a Comment