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Emily Sheepy
David I. Waddington
Concordia University, Montreal
DIRECTIONS FOR PLAYER-CENTRED
DESIGN OF GAMES FOR CHANGE:
ENGAGING CIVIC LITERACY
CGSA
May 29, 2014
SOCIAL CHANGE GAMES PRESENT
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INFORMAL CIVIC
EDUCATION.
We believe that games foster civic
learning when they help players to
develop knowledge, skills, and
dispositions that players then apply to
public matters in the world outside the
game (Raphael et al.,2010, p. 203).
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GET WATER! THE GAME
Get Water! Trailer (Decode Global, 2013)
Touch-based endless runner
Target amounts of water collected unlock narrative
(cut scenes)
Achievements
(short-term goals, e.g. “Find 3 mangos”)
Skill Upgrades
(earned in-game or purchased)
Gameplay
Dialogue box featuring quotes submitted by players
Social features
Players purchase “pencils”; these are in-game donations
Monetization
What’s the player experience like?
What are players learning?
How are players evaluating these games?
What are their expectations for a game with a social message?
What features do they notice?
How do players’ evaluations relate to later actions?
Do they try to learn more? Why?
Do they talk about the game? Why?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
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PLAYERS’ IDENTITIES LEAD THEM TO
PRIORITIZE DIFFERENT GOALS.
•Aesthetic appeal
•Usability
•Learnability
•Use of genre conventions
•Facilitation of play.
Gamers
• Clarity and credibility of information
• Facilitation of real-world attitudinal & behavioural change.
Active Citizens
•Correspondence between learning activity and content objectives
•Facilitation of learning.
Educators
Messaging problems are playability issues
for social change games.
DATA, DATA, AND MORE DATA
• Think-aloud protocol
• Play logs & observations
• Pre & post-play
questionnaires
• Semi-structured interview
• One-month follow-up
questionnaire
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22 adults aged 20-42 participated (15M: 8F)
20 completed the study
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THEME: OVERSIMPLIFICATION.
" ... gender roles, inequality, and
pollution to a certain extent, weren’t
really--they were either sort of lightly
touched on or not really touched on at
all ... [There are] other social issues
that just, from who I am, seem just as
important as the water."
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THEME: (IN)VISIBILITY OF GENDER
I would have just gone right off to … they’re trying to target a demographic of women ... I didn’t see her as, like, a voice for women.
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THEME: CREDIBILITY AND VOICE:
CONFLICTING VIEWS.
I like these blurbs.
They're cool ... they're
people who are
connected on the game
... what they think about
access to free education
... some people will read
that and ruminate on it.
Like, what's the credibility of
these people for me who have
played the game somewhere
else, ostensibly? ... I either like
to hear what experts have to
say … or also people that I
know …
… last time I checked, Seattle
or Tacoma didn’t look like that.
THEME:
‘TYPICAL’ PLAYER BEHAVIOR AS BARRIER
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I know that people will escape the
cinematics … they are not going to read the
quotes … I know because I've seen it--I
know my friends … they do this with Angry
Birds, the Simpsons' game …
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CONTENT-MECHANIC INTEGRATION MATTERS TO
CIVICALLY MOTIVATED PLAYERS.
I was interested in learning more about the issues …
I didn't quite understand, other than the experience
of the frustration of not being able to keep water in a
jug, I didn't really understand the purpose of the
peacocks …
None of the gameplay elements help the player
understand the character’s real-life dilemma. I’m not
sure how, if at all, the tools earned throughout the
game relate to any real situation involving water
gathering -- maybe the purification tablets.
POST-TEST RESULTS:
WHAT’S THE MESSAGE?
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1/3 water conservation
1/4 mentioned girls/women
3/4 didn't make the links between
girls, education & access to water
"... water scarcity is a big deal, and is a big
reason why girls miss out on school."
DELAYED POST-TEST RESULTS:
IT WORKED (KIND OF)
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• 17/20 discussed the
game with someone
• 5 discussed games with
social messages rather
than the target issue
• 8/20 tried to learn more
about girls' access to
education or water
scarcity
Discussion Learning more
THANK YOU
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QUESTIONS?
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Decode Global. (2013). Get Water! [Video game]. Montreal
Raphael, C., Bachen, C., Lynn, K. M., Baldwin-Philippi, J., &
McKee, K. A. (2010). Games for civic learning: A conceptual
framework and agenda for research and design. Games and
Culture, 5(2), 199-235.
REFERENCES
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