WHAT GAME MECHANICS DO FOR US
download as pdfWith this essay I want to convince the reader that game mechanics are applied more broadly than just in leisurely games and in serious games. First, I will present my view on how game mechanics can be used in serious games to practice skills. I will criticize the method of adding simple extrinsic reward structures onto activities that remain unchanged in other respects. Then, I will argue that there are also game mechanics that encourage players to reflect on (in-game) morals, and that some leisurely games can have serious outcomes. Finally, I argue that the notion of "gamification" is simultaneously hopeful and troubling for society.
GAME MECHANICS TO PRACTICE SKILLS
Designing a game to let people practice valuable skills is an idea that has been around for millennia (Deterding et al., 2011). Strategic games such as chess and go, are likely to have military origins. During the Second World War, and subsequently the Cold War, the Allies used mechanical simulations to play operations room games, and used game theory to predict likely and strategic courses of action. In the second half of the 20th century, this idea got traction in education and business (ibid.). This led to the current situation in which serious games exist for a wide range of purposes. The overarching purpose of serious games can be subdivided into "games to train, educate, and persuade." (Deterding, 2012, pp. 14)The use of game mechanics has, however, expanded beyond serious games. Game mechanics have recently been appearing in activities that previously had little to do with games or play. This is denoted by the term "gamification". As defined by Deterding et al. (2011, pp. 2), gamification is "the game design elements in non-game contexts". In this expansion of game mechanics into new context there seems to be an emphasis on certain game elements.
Example applications of gamification to an e-learning platform (Khan Academy), in persuading people to recycle (Recyclebank), and in a Q&A forum for programmers (StackOverflow), show an emphasis on extrinsic motivation (Deterding, 2012). They use mechanics such as badges, points, and leaderboards, to persuade their users into 'desirable behavior'. An important criticism of game developers to this kind of gamification , is that these mechanics do not support any playfulness. They only provide a basic feedback mechanism from games, without letting actual play occur. Sometimes, benefits for the users are completely lacking, giving rise to the term "exploitationware" (Ian Bogost, as cited in Deterding, 2012, pp. 14).
This trend in gamification overlooks the importance of intrinsic motivation in play. The fun in playing often arises from self-directed acts. Instrumentalizing an activity, for instance by adding reward structure, can decrease the intrinsic motivation that was previously present (Deterding, 2012). From this flaw in examples of gamification, it follows that also for serious games, training or educational goals, should not be the most obvious purpose to play the game. Rather, the self-directedness of the players should be structured by game mechanics to support both playfulness and learning.
A development approach for serious games that deals with this dual purpose, is 'intrinsic integration'. In this approach, the game mechanics should provide the learning experience, instead of simply rewarding players to learn (Echeverría et al., 2012). Game mechanics should be designed to let players engage with the practice of a skill while they are fully immersed in play. Echeverría et al. (2012) have experimentally evaluated the intrinsic integration approach with an educational physics game, and show that it significantly improved learning outcomes. Furthermore, they found that there was no such difference between a version of the game that included a background story and fantasy aesthetics, and one that featured game mechanics only.
THE GAME MECHANICS OF THE MORAL DILEMMA
While the majority of serious games seem to focus on the learning of skills, or in persuading the players to change their (out-of-game) behavior, leisurely games have known a long tradition of incorporating moral decision-making into the gameplay. Computer games are well-suited to encourage ethical reflection in comparison with other media (Zagal, 2009). It uses the same device as theatre, literature, and film - drama - to allow a safe experience of moral situations, but adds to this by asking the player to make decisions which have in-game consequences.[ author's note - I'm still writing towards conclusion ]
- has been used long before gamification- Deus Ex HR is an entertainment game with serious elements (very reflective)
The moral dilemma that is posed by game mechanics
- Deterding on persuasion
- FuturICT Global Participatory Platform (incentive dynamics & multiplayer simulations)
REFERENCES
Bishop, S., & Helbing, D. (2012). FuturICT Global Participatory Platform. Retrieved from http://www.futurict.eu/sites/default/files/docs/newsletters/PLATFORM%20Global%20Participatory%20Platform.pdfDeterding, S. (2012). Gamification: Designing for Motivation. interactions, 19(4), 14–17. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/ft_gateway.cfm?id=2212877&type=pdf&dwn=1#page=16
Deterding, S., Dixon, D., Khaled, R., & Nacke, L. (2011). From game design elements to gamefulness: defining gamification. Proceedings of the 15th …. Retrieved from http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2181040
Echeverría, A., Barrios, E., Nussbaum, M., Améstica, M., & Leclerc, S. (2012). The atomic intrinsic integration approach: A structured methodology for the design of games for the conceptual understanding of physics. Computers & Education, 59(2), 806–816. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2012.03.025
Gee, J. P. (2005). Learning by Design: good video games as learning machines. E-Learning, 2(1), 5. doi:10.2304/elea.2005.2.1.5
Schulzke, M. (2009). Moral Decision Making in Fallout. The International Journal of Computer Game Research, 9(2). Retrieved from http://gamestudies.org/0902/articles/schulzke
Zagal, J. (2009). Ethically notable videogames: Moral dilemmas and gameplay. Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, …. Retrieved from http://works.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=jose_zagal
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