Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
result has been a more appropriate workload for students and more opportunity
for students to motivate themselves by pursuing intrinsic interests.
Future Plans
Our first implementation of GAME was a success. Students readily took to the
online dashboard, which allowed them to see at a glance how close they were to
the grade they wanted, and what assignments were still available to help them
get there. Procrastinators could see that their skill point totals were lagging
behind their classmates
, and overachievers knew when they were far enough
ahead of the game to take a breather. In an exciting example of emergent
gameplay, one student earned enough experience points to skip the final project
entirely. We also observed a great deal of metacognitive reflection. Students were
thinking about what they were learning, and about how they were learning it.
'
One of the students who at first resisted our game-based design ended up
excelling in the course, as did several who accepted the course design imme-
diately. Very few students struggled, and although we have taken steps to
prevent similar problems in the future, these struggles were mainly unrelated to
GAME. The integration of tried-and-true game mechanics into our class didn
t
prove a panacea, but then we never expected it to. We have learned a
tremendous amount from observing our ideas in practice.
'
As of this writing, we are in the middle of the second semester using GAME
within
We have already implemented many
improvements to GAME, and we intend to continue iterating both in the
short- and long-term. Specific plans include:
“
Teaching with Technology.
�
n
Integrating more functions directly into the dashboard, which will
improve instructor workflow as well as user experience.
n
Experimenting with narrative elements to address the motivational com-
ponent of
as described by Thomas Malone.
n
Creating meta-quests that encourage specific paths through course con-
tent using positive reinforcement (as an alternative to requiring specific
assignments outright).
“
fantasy,
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