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CSCI 5530: Serious Games Development (Simulations and Serious Games)
1
Winter 2012
Bill Kapralos
CSCI 5530, Winter 2012 Bill Kapralos
Winter 2012
Game-Based Learning and TrainingFriday, January 27 2012
Bill Kapralos
Overview (1):Something to Consider
The learning pyramid
Synergy
Analog meets digital
The effects of going digital
As and Aside
Further terminology
As an Aside – Second Life
Overview (2):The Millennials
The millennial student
Video games and learning
Serious Games
Overview
A couple of videos
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Synergy
Analog Meets Digital (1):Analog Simulations and Games Meet Computer Simulations and Games
Computer simulations and games made for research,
corporate, and commercial purposes before 2000 →
considerable differences with the what is currently
available, at least externally
Simulations produced most of their output in the
form of numbers while games included some form
of visual interface → this divide has eroded away
and currently simulations and games are very
much inter-mixed
Analog Meets Digital (2):Analog Simulations and Games Meet Computer Simulations and Games (cont.)
Early computer simulations (“sims”) → automated
versions of their analog counterparts
Crude approximations of their analog versions and
lacked depth in almost any attribute → visuals,
interaction, etc.
Part of this was due to the limited computational
power available at the time → but over the past
couple of decades computing power has increased
tremendously and we now have the proliferation of
the Internet
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Analog Meets Digital (3):What Analog and Digital Sims Share
The five critical characteristics defined by Thiagarajan
are common to all simulations (“sims”) and games
Conflict/challenge, constraints, closure,
contrivance, and correspondence → present in all
games and sims whether they are implemented on
a computer, paper, or acted out in real life
However all of the five except for challenge are
profoundly affected by going digital → challenge is
designed into the game or sim from the outset (at
least it should be!) whether designed as digital or
analog
Analog Meets Digital (4):The Effects of Going Digital
Fundamental differences between analog sims and
games and digital ones with respect to
Gameplay experience → playing a card game with
a group of people in person is different than
playing with them online…
What is required to support the sim/game ?
What participants can and cannot do → you can
cheat at solitaire when you play with a deck of
cards but you can’t cheat when playing solitaire on
a computer (at least not in the same manner)
Analog Meets Digital (5):The Effects of Going Digital (cont.)
Fundamental differences between analog sims and
games and digital ones with respect to (cont.)
Of course, there are many games that only exist as
computer games → Tetris, Mario, various MMOs…
Important difference → going digital changes things!
Although there is some overlap, there is a different
body of literature (and researchers) dealing with
digital games as opposed to traditional games
Some see this as a continuum → for those coming
from CS or IT there is no continuum
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The Effects of Going Digital (1):Base Model
In analog educational simulations much of the details
on original system which sim is based are taken for
granted and not made explicit
Example: live simulations of an emergency
evacuation at many workplaces usually take
environment for granted but you cannot take the
environment for granted in a computer simulation
→ many resources allocated to developing
environment and verifying that the simulation
environment is an accurate reflection of the model
being implemented
The Effects of Going Digital (2):Base model (cont.)
There are also aspects of a simulation that could
never be implemented in an analog simulation
Toxic smoke, nuclear plant explosion/accident,
landing a plane in fog/adverse weather conditions
→ too costly and too dangerous!
But this can be done within digital simulation with
no safety concerns → this is one of the benefits of
using digital simulations/games for education and
training!
The Effects of Going Digital (3):Rules
Rule enforcement hard-coded in digital games/sims
All board and card games also have rules associated with them but compliance is by the honor system → rules are written and players agree to abide by them
Rules in live-action sims may also be written but enforcement is done “on the fly” → player or facilitator controlled so basically they can be bent, broken, or changed when the simulation is running
Rule structures pre-determined in digital sims/games → must be written into the original model descriptions so that they could be implemented by the program
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As an Aside
Further Terminology (1):
Virtual Words
3D environments where participants from different
(remote) locations can meet with each other at the
same time
Can capture and convey enough social cues , such
as body language, interactive props, and the look
and feel of “real” surroundings to convince some
part of the participants’ brains that they are
physically in the other world
• Some virtual worlds allow users to build and
modify the environment → Second Life
Further Terminology (2):
Virtual Words
3D environments where participants from different
(remote) locations can meet with each other at the
same time
Can capture and convey enough social cues , such
as body language, interactive props, and the look
and feel of “real” surroundings to convince some
part of the participants’ brains that they are
physically in the other world
• Some virtual worlds allow users to build and
modify the environment → Second Life
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Further Terminology (3):
Virtual Reality
A medium composed of interactive computer
simulations that sense the participant’s position and
actions and replace or augment the feedback to one
or more senses, giving the feeling of being mentally
immersed or present in the simulation (a virtual world)
Four Key Elements of Virtual Reality Experience
1. The virtual world
2. Immersion
3. Sensory feedback
4. Interactivity
Further Terminology (4):
Virtual Environment
Virtual environment (VE) often used as a synonym
for both virtual reality and virtual world
The term VE actually pre-dates the term VR
VE ambiguous → defined as a virtual world or as a world presented in a particular VR hardware config.
Definition of virtual environment
A virtual world
An instance of a virtual world presented in an interactive medium such as virtual reality
Further Terminology (5):
Educational Simulation
Structured environments abstracted from some real
life activity with stated levels and goals
Allow participants to practice real-world skills with
appropriate feedback but without affecting real
processes or people
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Further Terminology (5):Putting it all Together
HIVEs, virtual worlds, games, educational simulations
Further Terminology (6):Putting it all Together (cont.)
Overlap of simulation, games, and pedagogy
As an Aside (1):
Second Life An Internet-based, multi-user, 3D world construction set that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, socializing and self-government
Users communicate through their graphical avatars (virtual personifications) using gestures, text messages, and their voice (via VoIP)
Avatar’s can be personalized → this is considered by many to be compelling and fun
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As an Aside (2):
Second Life (cont.)Comprised of “virtual land” → can be purchased directly from Linden Labs or from 3rd party usersVirtual land is divided into regions that have a specific name and represent 65,536 square meters of area (often called “sims”)Mainland regions typically consist of many landowners residing side-by-sideIslands are owned by individuals, a corporation, or institution and typically their development is dictated by a particular theme
As n Aside (3):
Second Life (cont.)
Is Second Life a game ? Is it a simulation ? Is it an
educational simulation ?
What do you think ?
Something to Consider
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The Learning Pyramid (1):Overview
In the early 1960s the National Training Laboratories
(NTL) in the US developed The Learning Pyramid,
which identifies the average level of knowledge
retention achieved when information is delivered in
various formats
Transmission oriented learning activities (where
students are passive listeners or observers) →
lowest levels of knowledge retention
Activities that require students to discuss
information, apply knowledge, and demonstrate
knowledge → highest levels of knowledge retention
The Learning Pyramid (2):Graphical Summary
Long before video games and the web!
The Learning Pyramid (3):Controversial and Debated ?
The source of the learning pyramid is sometimes
disputed but according to the NTL, it was developed
and used by the NTL at the Bethel, Maine campus in
the early sixties
But NTL no longer has or can we find, the original
research that supports the stated numbers
In 1954 a similar pyramid with slightly different
numbers appeared on p. 43 of a book called Audio-
Visual Methods in Teaching
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The Learning Pyramid (4):Controversial and
Debated ? (cont.)
Page 43 of the book
“Audio-Visual
Methods in Teaching”
The Millennials
Continued From Last Week (1):An Interesting Quotes
Marshall McLuhan
A Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar
His work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory
Known for coining the expressions "the medium is the message" and "the global village" and predicted the Internet almost thirty years before its invention
“Anyone who makes a distinction between education and entertainment doesn’t know the first thing about either one”
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The Millennial Student (1):
Who are the Millennial Students ?
Born between 1981 - 1999
The generation raised in the sensory-flooded
environment of digital technology/mass media
The internet generation digital natives as
opposed to digital immigrants
Very technologically literate see technology as a
necessity, both in life and in learning
The Millennial Student (2):
Challenges for Educators
Millennials view traditional teaching-and-learning
environments as boring
Traditional teaching doesn’t address their learning
needs
This generation has always been digitally connected,
leading to a mindset unlike any that faculty have seen
The Millennial Student (3):Expect Learning to be Fun & Interactive
They prefer learning by doing (trial and error)
This is the same learning that occurs in video
games
Obtain knowledge when given opportunities to
rehearse or practice skills reinforcement, application,
repetition, practice
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The Millennial Student (4):Challenges for Educators (cont.)
Millennial students are no longer the students our
educational system was designed to teach
This change is certainly not incremental from those
of the past nor simply changed their “slang”,
clothes, style, etc. as happened between previous
generations
A big discontinuity (“singularity”) has taken place →
an event that changes things so fundamentally that
there is no going back
Singularity → the arrival and rapid dissemination of
digital technology in the last few decades
The Millennial Student (5):Challenges for Educators (cont.)
As a result of the ubiquitous digital environment and
the sheer volume of their interaction with it
Millennials think and process information
fundamentally differently from their predecessors
→ these differences go far beyond and deeper
than most educators suspect or realize
Possible that current students’ brains have
physically changed → different from their parents
“Different kinds of experiences lead to different
brain structures” → Dr. Bruce D. Berry of Baylor
College of Medicine
The Millennial Student (6):Challenges for Educators (cont.)
As a result of the ubiquitous digital environment and
the sheer volume of their interaction with it (cont.)
Whether or not the millennials’ brains have literally
changed, one thing is certain → their thinking
patterns have changed
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The Millennial Student (7):
Sample Video
“A vision of students today”
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (1):Overview
In the next few slides, we will cover a view presented
by Mark Prensky → “internationally acclaimed
speaker, writer, consultant, visionary and innovator in
the field of education and learning”
Mark argues 10 ways which millennials differ from
“digital immigrants” and provides some insight as
to how their education should reflect these
differences
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (2):Twitch Speed vs. Conventional Speed
Twitch speed → the rate that a game player’s thumbs
move up and down on the controller
Due to games and other experiences (phones,
other interactive media/devices), millennials have
far more experience at processing information
quicker than their predecessors → better at it
Of course, humans have always been able to
process information quickly (pilots, surgeons, etc.)
but this ability has now moved into a generation at
large and at an early age
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Ten Ways Millennials are Different (3):Twitch Speed vs. Conventional Speed (cont.)
Problem for millennials
Short of video games, little moves that fast
Traditional school which moves “slowly” feels very
boring to them!
We need to create learning experiences that maintain,
pace, and exploit this “twitch speed” while adding
content that is important and useful
Digital game-based learning!
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (4):Parallel vs. Linear Processing
Millennials always multitask and some of this stems
from games
Patricia Greenfield of UCLA (1984) cites parallel
processing as → “a cognitive requirement of skilful
video game playing”
The mind can actually process many tracks at once
(or in very quick succession)
People can learn to do much parallel processing in
certain job situations → fighter pilots, etc.
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (5):Parallel vs. Linear Processing (cont.)
Need to be thinking of additional ways to enhance
parallel processing for millennials to take advantage
of this now more highly enhanced human capability
Millennials are fed much more information at once
than has been done in the past → as in the games
they play, having all info at their fingertips
(numbers, video, links, simultaneous
conversations, etc.) with the ability to move
seamlessly between them is their “nature”
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Ten Ways Millennials are Different (6):Random Access vs. Linear thinking
Millennials were the first to experience hypertext and
“clicking around” in their games on the Web
Doing so, they have developed “hypertext minds”
as though their cognitive structures were parallel,
not sequential
This new random information access structure has
increased the millennials awareness of and ability
to make connections and has freed them from the
constraint of a single path of thought
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (7):Graphics First vs. Text First
In previous generations, graphics were illustrations
accompanying the text → make text clearer
Currently → the role of text is to clarify what was first
experienced as an image
Millennials are continuously exposed to high quality
visuals with little or no accompanying text →
sharpening of their visual sensitivity
Challenge → design ways to use this shift to
enhance comprehension while maintaining the
same or even greater richness of information in the
new visual context
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (8):Connected vs. Stand Alone
Millennials have become accustomed to the
worldwide connectedness of email, messaging,
multiplayer games, etc.
Both synchronous and asynchronous → there are
others that can be contacted, spoken to, and
played with, somewhere in the world 24/7/365
This connectedness has made them much more
less constrained by their physical location → willing
to work in “virtual teams”
Connectedness → information is available to them
at the click of their fingers…
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Ten Ways Millennials are Different (9):Active vs. Passive
The “just do it generation”
Much less tolerance for passive situations such as
lectures, classrooms, meetings
It has been theorized that this is directly from
growing up with video games → games are
designed to teach you as you go i.e., “trial and
error”
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (10):Payoff vs. Patience
Important lesson millennials learn from video games
If you put in the hours and master the game you
will be rewarded → with an advance to the next
level, with a win, with a place on the high score list
Games (and computers) can provide feedback very
quickly → has led to a huge intolerance on the part
of the millennials for things that don’t pay off at the
level expected (and quickly)
Need to offer millennials meaningful rewards NOW
rather than advice about how things will “pay off in
the long run”
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (11):Fantasy vs. Reality
Fantasy elements from both the past (e.g., medieval
Dungeons and Dragons) and the future (e.g., Star
Wars, Star Trek) are apparent in their lives
Encouraged by games and technology
Rather than “force” the millennials to “grow up and get
real” and abandon their rich fantasy worlds
We need to search for new ways to combine
fantasy and reality to everyone’s benefit
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Ten Ways Millennials are Different (12):Technology as Friend vs. Technology as Foe
To the digital immigrants
Technology is something to be feared, tolerated, or
at best, harnessed to one’s purpose
To the millennials
The computer is a “friend” → where they turn to for
play, relaxation, and fun
Owning or having access to a networked, game
enabled computers feels almost like a birthright
and a necessity
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (13):In Addition to the Above 10 Differences, a
Defining Characteristic of Millennials is their
Attitude
An irreverent, often sarcastic, “tell it like it is”, “don’t try
to pull the wool over my eyes”, way of looking at
things → this attitude is captured in many of their
games
Ten Ways Millennials are Different (14):Summary
In all the ways just described, and many others,
millennials are cognitively different from their
predecessors
Strong scientific evidence from neuroscientists and
psychologists on brain plasticity and malleability to
back this up
Milllennials feel bored by most of today’s
approaches to learning
The many skills that new technologies have
enhanced that have profound implications for their
learning are almost totally ignored by educators
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Ten Ways Millennials are Different (15):Summary (cont.)
Although certainly not the only way, video games
provide one of the few structures currently available
that is capable of meeting many of the millennials
changing learning needs and requirements
One of the reasons digital game-based learning
(serious games) is beginning to emerge and thrive
My own comments…
Video Games (1):
Meeting the Needs of Millennials
Recall from last week’s lecture
Video games are nothing more than formalized play
within a digital medium
Play = learning!
Gaming and interactive simulation environments
support learner-centered education
Learners are able to actively work through
problems acquire knowledge through practice
Faculty work as facilitators, facilitating the experience
and subsequent knowledge acquisition
Video Games (2):Video Games and Learning
In contrast to traditional teacher-centered learning
environments, video games present a learner-centered
approach player/student controls learning
Through interactivity allows the player to learn
via active, critical learning
Provides students the opportunity to learn to
appreciate inter-relationship of complex behaviors
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Video Games (3):Motivation for the Use of Video Game for
Learning “Real-World” Content and Subject
Matter
Today’s learners have changed drastically (as we just
examined)
These learners need to be motivated in new ways
Video Games (4):The Video Games and Learning (cont.)
Given the benefits inherent in video games with respect
to learning, application of video games to other areas
has not gone unnoticed recall US military
Video game technology has been
adopted and applied to applications
whose primary purpose, unlike
computer or console games, is not
entertainment serious games
Serious Games
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Overview (1):What Exactly are Serious Games ?
Video games that are used for training, advertising,
simulation, or education
More loosely defined games that don’t have
entertainment, enjoyment, or fun as their primary
purpose
Leverage the power of video games to captivate and engage players for a specific purpose such as to develop new knowledge or skills
Overview (2):Many Benefits
Allow users to experience situations that are difficult
(even impossible) to achieve in reality due too cost,
time, safety concerns, etc.
Support the development of various skills analytical,
spatial, strategic, recollection, psychomotor, visual
selective attention, etc.
Allow for improved self-monitoring, problem recognition
and solving, short/long term memory
Overview (3)
Cost Effective Alternative ??
Simulation Labs → expensive to build/maintain!
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Overview (4):Serious Games Applications
Have been employed in a number of learning-based
applications educational, national, security,
corporate management, military, government, and in
the training of emergency personnel/first responders,
and health care workers
Recently great effort in the development of
applications related to health and healthcare
Overview (5):Serious Games Applications (cont.)
Video 1 → BBC report on serious games
Video 2 → games for health
Overview (6):Serious Business (iDATE)
Currently → $1.5 Billion industry globally
By 2015 → $15 Billion industry globally
Expected that the business world’s interest in
serious games will increase → particularly small and
medium enterprises (SME) whose awareness of
these tools is still rather limited
Anticipated that healthcare and will experience
greatest growth amongst the other categories
particularly when considering the increased
resource consumption required with “hands-on
training
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Overview (7):Interdisciplinary Approach
Not only about gaming!
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