Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Intrinsic motivations come from the inside; for example, wanting to achieve the aspi-
rational goal of maintaining and restoring New Zealand's forest ecosystem and biodi-
versity. This intrinsic motivation is shared between client and target audience, and
became the learning objective for Ora. Extrinsic motivations come from the outside;
for example, wanting to see the results of the learning objective. The client-centred
extrinsic motivations were to control possum population dynamics temporally and
spatially, with the aim of promoting understanding and awareness of the effectiveness
of available possum control options. The game should therefore allow players to inte-
ract with the underlying science to experience this. The extrinsic motivators of the
target audience were to see native bird and tree recovery and maintain a 100% NZ
Pure perception. Therefore, the game-world, its narrative and rewards should display
these results, following appropriate in-game actions.
Learning outcomes
- Using learning outcomes for defining and assessing student
performance is well established in higher education [13]. Learning outcomes and
objectives ultimately define the primary game goals in the correct context. Consider-
ing the motivations of client and target audience allowed us to define the learning
outcome and objectives for Ora: participants should be able to gain a realistic appreci-
ation that management of an ecosystem is a complex problem. This learning outcome
provided the educational design and directive for player achievement, and describes
the scope of the activity for player and designer. The player's path to meet the learn-
ing outcome is via the application of learning objectives, broken down into objective
tasks. Objective tasks guiding Ora gameplay design are to monitor the environment to
assess tree health and possum impacts, and to manage the environment.
2.2 The Translation Space (2)
is where learning objectives and objective tasks are
embedded within a simple narrative, contextualising the gameplay for the player and
the designer who aims to 'maximize the player experience through the planning,
structure and execution of the key elements of Gameplay Progression (mechanics,
duration, ancillary rewards, practical rewards and difficulty)' [14].
Narrative -
Ora places the player at the heart of the action: You are the hero tasked
with saving the beautiful but fragile native forest from the jaws of hungry invaders.
The narrative was established to reflect client and target audience motivations. The
setting is native NZ forest, invaded by Australian brushtail possums, the player is
introduced to the game world by an omnipresent entity, the guardian of the forest,
who enlists the player's help in returning the ecosystem to its former glory. A giant
tree at the centre of the virtual forest is the physical embodiment of the forest guar-
dian. This “control tree” houses the gameplay interface that the player uses to moni-
tor, interact and control the underlying forest-pest-management models. It is here that
we find the non-player character Liana, a scientist who acts as liaison between guar-
dian, game-world and player. Liana provides the narrative context and acts as the
gameplay mission delivery system, and is the player's main point of contact inside the
game.
2.3 The Design Space (3)
is where the educational content is mapped into gamep-
lay. To meet the learning outcome, the learning objectives are translated into a set of
primary game goals that guide gameplay development through skill stages. Skill stag-
es are a core device of the SPP. They apply the skilled performance scaffold which
