Look, Make Learn Conf London metropolitan University - Designing games to facilitate learning -alex m
1. Designing games to facilitate learning
How to design cheap and effective traditional games
2. Introductions
• Nicola Whitton
• Now... find yourself a group!
(1 Heart, 1 Diamond, 1 Club, 1 Spade)
• Share with your group...
– What’s your name?
– Where are you from?
– What’s your favourite game?
3. Aims of the session
During this session, we will:
• show that cheap and simple games can be
effective;
• introduce a simple model that can be used to
guide game design;
• help you work through the process to generate
and share your own ideas;
• have some fun!
6. Stage 1: Activity
• Select your ‘nationality’
• Learning objectives
– Spades select a context
– Agree on up to three objectives
• Define constraints
– Who is the game for?
– How long have you got to play it?
– How much money do you have?
– What expertise do you have as a team?
– Hearts select extra constraint
7. Stage 2: Grand design
• Step 3: Type of game
– Board, card, quiz, physical, puzzle, web-based, role
play, mobile app, console game, computer…
• Step 4: Core mechanics
– Goal, rules, scoring, progression, rewards, win states
• Step 5: Game balance
– Playing time, difficulty, level of chance, collaboration and
competition, seriousness, physical vs. mental
• Step 6: First prototype
– Playing space, artefacts
9. Stage 2: Playtesting
• In game design it is important to carry out play
tests / market research, and to test out your core
ideas at an early stage
• Diamonds – an extra challenge.
10. Stage 3: Refine design
• Step 7: Add story
– What is the game context, who are the players?
• Step 8: Add sub-mechanics
– Conflict, collection, chance, sabotage, tension, speed,
risk, rewards
• Step 9: Check learning
– Review against learning outcomes
• Step 10: Create final game
11. Stage 3: Activity
• Refine your game!
• Clubs – select a story layer
• Apply new story/narrative to your game
12. Step 11: Play your game!
• Share your game!
• Voting
• And the winner is...
Hinweis der Redaktion
Set up for 90 minute session with up to 32 participants
See workshop guidance notes
Model – name, where you’re from from, game [can ask them later as an extra challenge]
Hand out playing cards to all participants (an equal number of hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs).
When finding a group, players must end up with one of each suit on each table.
Give 2 minutes for people to introduce themselves to their group (show use of time and fast pace).
Overview of the aims of the session
Finalists for the world games speed design competition
Context – setting the scene and parameters
Grand design – putting the core mechanics in place to ensure that you have a workable game
Refine design – adding colour to increase fun and playability
We will work through each of these three phases during the session.
Step 1 – Be clear about what you want people to learn by playing your game, this is often secondary in educational game design
Step 2 – Be clear about the feasibility of your game and the constraints you have
International highly-prestigious speed game-design competition – select a national team
Learning objectives – spades select from table, first come first served
Hearts select an extra constraint – again, first come first served
Talk through the steps detailed above, these are also included on the hand-out. Doesn’t usually need much more than an overview because people get it when they work through the stages.
Groups start to design the game
Then the two red cards from each group go to the next group to see their pitch (2 mins) and give feedback (2 mins)
(Black cards stay, red cards move)
At end of this round, before moving back, Diamonds come to the front and write down their team’s favourite games (from slide 2): one point for each one they remember.
Talk through the steps detailed above, these are also included on the hand-out. Doesn’t usually need much more than an overview because people get it when they work through the stages.
Clubs come to the front to choose a story layer (first come first served)
During this round, hand out secret missions to random participant
Each team pitches their game to the other groups
Each person gets to vote for one game (not their own): they place their playing card on that group’s table.
Add up scores, and give prize(s).