Eyes and Ears - Learn to Play: Designing Tutorials for Video Games - page 97

then the word “spoon” would be more readily recalled in the first list
than in the second. This is because it is in isolation as compared to the
second list. In a similar fashion, if you were to walk into a classroom and
observe a chainsaw sitting on a desk, it is unlikely you would forget it.

LIST 1 LIST 2

Chalkboard Knife

Desk Plate

Board Marker Fork

Spoon Spoon

Lectern Pot

While dual coding theory as well as the psychological effects dis-
cussed here talk about long-term memory being stored in words and
pictures and recalled more easily if it is held in both, other theories are
more relevant to game design. These deal with the working memory
as well as long-term memory, although not to discount Paivio's work
because it was definitely foundational and transformational! Mayer's
cognitive theory has a series of principles that best demonstrate how
we can use elements of multimedia to solidify learning. It is my strong
opinion from being an educator and game designer that these can be
meaningfully applied to game design with an understanding of how
the eyes and ears process information differently, and the psychologi-
cal effects that this causes.

Mayer's Principles: Designing Learning for Our Eyes and Ears

Core to Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning is the inclu-
sion of several principles. These principles demonstrate different things
about how we can best make multimedia displays line up with the cog-
nitive architecture of the human mind. Of course, it sounds like these
might be design principles, and, in my opinion, that's awesome. The
principles and concepts contained in the cognitive theory are extrapo-
lated from years of research and understanding of what constitutes good
multimedia learning. This, of course, is bolstered by both psychological
and neurological studies of how the brain handles the eyes and the ears.
Mayer's principles can be directly mapped to game design concepts, and
that is what I would like to talk about here, as I think it is most relevant
to you, the reader. If you want to read further, the Appendix has a lot