04/21/23
Rethinking the Library Game:Creating an Alternative Reality with Social Media
Jason J. BattlesValerie D. GlennLindley C. Shedd
The University of Alabama
04/21/23
Libraries and Gaming
• Gaming in Libraries• Wii, DDR, Rock Band, board games
• Libraries in Games• Second Life
• Library Games• General focus on information literacy
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Libraries and Gaming
• Why create a library game?• Promote information literacy• Highlight library resources• Engage users
• Don’t we need a programmer?• No. You just need creative staff members,
clear game objectives, and web skills.
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Learning Objectives of the Game
• Highlight resources and collections• Special Collections• Electronic Journals• Online Course Reserves
• Initiate students on how to access and search these resources
• Encourage critical thinking of participants
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What Will Engage Students?
• “Academic Games Are No Fun”• http://games.slashdot.org/games/
07/12/05/130233.shtml
• Games they play• Halo and Call of Duty• MMOGs like World of Warcraft• Guitar Hero and Rock Band
• Online sites they use• Facebook• YouTube• Twitter
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Finding the Right Game Format
• Libraries cannot directly compete with most commercial games
• Determine your available resources• Financial• Human
• Incorporate popular social media sites to engage students where they are
• Develop manageable game objectives and a strong concept to keep players
Alternate Reality Games (ARG)
• Web-based and story-driven design
• Disguises the fact that it is a game at all
• No defined rules
• Runs over a fixed period of time
• Player reveals the plot and goals through interacting with game components
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Alternate Reality Games (ARG)
• http://www.argn.com• This is Not a Game by Dave Szulborski
• Internet-based and story driven• Examples:
• http://www.massivedynamic.com/• http://www.marevitreum.com/• http://www.tracesofhope.com/
• Indiana University’s ARG work• http://www.argn.com/2008/09/
indiana_university_combats_the_freshman_fifteen_with_skeleton_chase/
Why an ARG?
• Non-traditional approach that is more engaging for players
• Does not require large budgets or a team of programmers
• Social media sites are natural locations for game components
• ARGs have been successful in marketing movies, television shows, and video games
• Why not libraries?
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Our Game - Project Velius
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Considerations in Building our ARG
• Development directed by diverse team of library personnel with limited resources• No additional funding• No team of programmers• Limited student work allotment
• Game must be completely online
• Game should be accurate representation of how library resources are accessed and used
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Building an ARG
• Story creation is the most important element of ARGs, but it is also the most difficult
• The story plays out like a screenplay
• The creation of game assets is dependent on the creation of the storyline
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Project Velius Storyline
• Developed over several months by three committee members
• Main character and her boyfriend work at a biotech company
• He goes missing
• She uses clues found in library resources and social media venues to find him
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Our Game – Project Velius
• http://www.projectvelius.com
• Library Resources• Unique historical collection• Electronic journal article• Online course reserves
• Social Media Components
• Web sites
Social Media Components
• Facebook group• Served as the hub of the game• Facilitated player interaction
• Twitter accounts
• YouTube video
• WordPress blogs
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJwnsWaBpCc
Web Sites
• www.projectvelius.com• Main gateway for the game
• www.yenosresearch.com• Fake biotech corporation involved in a
questionable research program
• www.knowgarden.org • Student homework site that was only
discoverable through game clues
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Running the Game
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Running the Game
• Ran over a six week period from September 17 to October 22, 2009
• Blogs and Twitter were the main tools used for character interaction
• Members of the development group took on the roles of the characters
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Running the Game - Continued
• These puppeteers made blog posts and tweets timed by a detailed script
• They also built the story’s alternate reality through backdated blog entries
• One person served as a game master to help players via the Facebook group
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Marketing
• No carrot
• Flyers, news ad, web ad
• Bibliographic Instruction sessions
• Freshman compass courses
• English 101
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Assessment
• Web stats• Google Analytics• WordPress
• Survey of players
• End of game event
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Lessons Learned
• Start with a bang!
• Keep them interested• Resist controlling the tempo or gating
player progression• Consider the length of the game
• Build something you can easily replicate
• Find collaborations to help with aspects of the game that are not your strength
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Lessons Learned - Continued
• Understand the limitations and use policies of any social media tools you intend to employ
• Think about the need to track players
• Create buy-in among the campus community
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Next Steps
• Follow advancements in technology, gaming, and instruction
• Continue to examine what motivates players in games
• Find ways to include students in the creation and development
• Consider external collaborations
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Contact Information
Jason J. [email protected]
Valerie [email protected]
Lindley [email protected]
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