Student Demographics - The Multiplayer Classroom: Designing Coursework as a Game - page 206

games in their classes were faced with the fact that almost all lacked the
production values of the big budget games. Now, however, production values are
all across the board from cutting-edge graphics on AAA titles to simple Flash
animations on Facebook.
Still, even the youngest child expects a certain level of engagement that comes
from quality game design and storytelling. Whether we use video games in the
classroom, or design the coursework as a game, they will notice the difference in
quality immediately and punish us with their inattention.
Just as we create traditional age-appropriate coursework, so too must the
multiplayer classroom be age-appropriate, and not just for children, as shown
in Figure 12.2.
This new wave of casual and social games has swept up older players as well.
There have been many reports of games being played in assisted-living facilities
to sharpen reflexes and cognition. And, of course, family members of all ages are
now playing together (see Figure 12.3).
The older members of the population make up a huge portion of continuing
education students. I suspect more than one teacher of a continuing education
class is playing around with coursework as a game.
Figure 12.2
Catching up to the Gamer Generation.