“Moving Players Beyond Clicktavism” by Heidi J. Boisvert

GAME/WORLD:Moving Players Beyond Clicktavism

Heidi J. Boisvert

Friday, August 31, 2012

WHY GAMES?





HOW THEN CAN GAMES CHALLENGE THE VERY IMAGES

AND ACTIONS THEY PERPETUATE?


“THE ONLY WAY TO DISMANTLE A MYTH IS TO

RE-MYTHIFY IT...”ROLAND BARTHES



“Ever since video games were invented, parents and teachers have been trying to make them boring...making games educational is like dumping Velveeta on broccoli.”

Justin Peters


CASE STUDIES


ICED: I CAN END DEPORTATION1st 3D Social Change Game, 2008


PICK 1 OF 5 IMMIGRANT YOUTHthey represent different immigrant statuses.


LISTEN TO CHARACTER’S STORYbased on authentic case studies.


NAVIGATE CITY IN 1ST/3RD POVaerial map reveals trigger points


ANSWER MYTH/FACT QUESTIONSabout immigration policy & law


MAKE MORAL DECISIONSbased on expansion of aggravated felony laws


CHOOSE WISELY......to avoid spawning immigration officers.


OR WIND UP IN DETENTIONoften indefinitely with little recourse for getting out.


SPEND TIME IN THE HOLE...and then pressured to sign a voluntary deportation order.


AWAIT YOUR HEARINGbefore an immigration judge whose hands are tied.


HEAR YOUR OUTCOME3 programmed randomly to mirror legal terrain.


IMPACT• allowed over 230,000 to experience the devastating impact of unfair

detention and deportation laws.

• used by 250 groups in the U.S. to generate local support for fair immigration policy.

• generated extensive media coverage (over 200 interviews): 68 TV stations, 27 newspapers, 295 radio broadcasts, 140 blogs & 76 internet news.

• changed the frame “what about illegal don’t you understand” in mainstream media to “when you deny due process to one group of people you put all of our freedoms at risk.”

• increased knowledge on subject by 84% and changed attitudes by 62%.Friday, August 31, 2012

HOMELAND GUANTANAMOSbrowser-based, flash doco-game, 2009


YOU’RE A JOURNALISTget your first assignment.


GO UNDERCOVER AS A GUARDfind out what happened to Boubacar Bah


GUIDE HELPS YOU NAVIGATEthe interactive map of the facility & introduces you to fellow

detainees.


WHEN YOU MEET CHARACTERSclick on the icon & listen to their personal testimonials.


DOCUMENTARY VIDEOSof their personal stories offer you clues.


ANSWER QUIZ QUESTIONSabout the issues raised in the testimonies you heard.


IF CORRECT, EARN AN ITEMwhich can be used to unlock critical information about each the

case.


THE MEDICAL RECORDreveals that Boubacar was put in solitary confinement after

sustaining a serious head injury.


ACCUMULATE ALL ITEMSand the clues will begin to fill the missing details of the case in

your notebook.


UNRAVEL THE MYSTERYthen you can publish your article exposing the lack of standards

in immigrant detention.


IMPACT

• rendered detention conditions & deaths in detention accessible to over 86,000.

• used as a mobilizing tool by 300 partner groups during a night of a thousand conversations.

• helped institute national detention standards policy.


AMERICA 2049

1st ARG on Facebook, 2011

“...parachutes us into an alternate reality not too far from our own,

where we find America poised at a crossroads, and where we are asked

to make critical decisions about how we truly want to define

ourselves as a nation...”


PRE-LAUNCH SEEDING


TRAILHEAD


BREADCRUMBS


BREADCRUMBS


A friendly reminder: It’s time for your annual SMRTTid check-up!

BREADCRUMBS


COUNTDOWN CLOCK


AGENT TRAINING


LEVEL UNLOCKS WEEKLY


AGENT TERMINAL


GROUND TEAM PROVIDES CLUESFriday, August 31, 2012

SOLVE PUZZLES TO ADVANCE DISTRICTS


COLLECT CRYPTOGRAPHS


MINIGAMES TO CRACK SAFE


ALTERED HISTORIC ARTIFACTS


FUTURE FABRICATED EMBEDDED WITH CAPTCHAS


CHAT THREADS OF DWF COMMUNICATION


SEARCH ENGINE OF THE FUTURE


WEEKLY NEWS UPDATES & REGIONAL INFO


WEEKLY DAILY SHOW STYLE CURRICULAR EPISODES


DISCUSSION FORUM FOR COLLECTIVE SLEUTHING


EVALUATION OF ATTITUDES AT KEY DECISION POINTS


LIVE EVENTSwith leading cultural

institutions each week

Jane Addams Hull HouseLES Tenement Museum

Angel IslandBirmingham Civil Rts Institute

Bosque RedondoLevine Museum

Skirball Cultural Ctr.Arab American Museum

Ellis Island


CELEB INVOLVEMENTgenerously donated their time

to put a face on the issues


IMPACT

• educated over 25,000 during the first 12 week run about the enduring struggle for civil and cultural pluralism & engaged players to participate in a future struggle for human rights.

• 86% of players indicated at least some willingness to become active on an issue they encountered in the game.

• 25% reported they had spent time reconsidering their views on the issue in real life.

• generated mainstream press coverage from 120 outlets.


GETTING THERE...


KEY LEARNINGS

• use emerging technology in unexpected (but familiar) ways

• mainstream medium enables pervasive integration into daily lives & reaches large numbers

• high production values, slick & commercial makes a difference

• compelling narrative drives game play & engagement

• fun & challenging game play motivates continued exploration

• social collaborative problem-solving & awareness-raising

• expand virtual into physical activation around issuesFriday, August 31, 2012

BUT HOW CAN WE BETTER BALANCE MESSAGE WITH

ENGAGEMENT TO INCREASE IMPACT?


BY NOT MAKING “SERIOUS GAMES.”


CHALLENGES

• attaining the “threshold of enjoyability” required for deep learning to take place (Wang, Shen & Ritterfeld).

• combatting the “ecology of interruption” which erodes knowledge schemas, and emotion-feeling cycles (Carr, Turkle et al)

• designing and employing more rigorous scientific research to measure impact. (Graesser, Chipman, Leeming & Biedenbach & Ennemoser).

• transforming clicktavism into activism; bridging digital with physical engagement.

• instigating long-term sustainable change through repeat exposure (aka healthy addiction).


EMERGING METHODOLOGY


POP CULTURE WITH A PURPOSE!

INTERACTIVE MEDIA TOOLS

PLAY

QUALITY PRODUCTION+ STYLE

MESSAGING+ SOCIALENGINEERING

SOCIAL ISSUE


“If we want to change Culture through culture, then we must learn to speak to hearts and minds through the semiotic systems--the

cognitive and affective cues--employed by the commercial industry to construct the alternative realities into which the masses are escaping,

not simply appropriate basic mechanics.”


“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society...those who man manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government...”


“In building our physical and social worlds, we build our minds and our capacities of thought & reason...it is the brain’s great

plasticity and thirst for cheap outsourced labor that drives the distributed engines of socio-technological adaptation and change.”


APPLIED TO NUI & OUI TOOLS


INCREASED CONFLUENCE BTW PHYSICAL & VIRTUAL + HUMAN & MACHINE


QUESTIONS...1. do emerging technologies carry the power to create “whole new agent-world circuits” in the brain (and

body)?

11. if so, in what ways can we speculate they transform us into “profoundly embodied agents”?

III. how can i harness these technological affordances &

cognitive theories into socially conscious game design?


EXAMINATION AREAS

• brain architecture & neural mechanisms

• sensory motor system in the body

• scaffolding onto the environment

• affect & emotions as feedback loops


EMERGING FINDINGS• Kinesthesia enhances learning, reasoning & cognitive change. (Goldin-

Meadows)

• Virtual worlds serve as cognitive niche construction; more embodied, more we offload. (Laland)

• Repeated simulation changes perceptually guided behavioral patterns via neural remapping. (Barsalou)

• Social collaborative learning generates “higher achievement outcomes, better retention, improved motivation, high level reasoning & better social skills.”(Johnson & Johnson)

• “Novelty effect” induces rapid orienting response patterns, which stimulates limbic system, cueing brain for reward. (Birchfield et al)


CURRENT PROJECTS


PLAY AS PROCESS

• Humanizing target audience (understanding ecology of play)

• Getting at core values (rational)

• Cracking the “culture code” (emotional)

• Unearthing systems thinking (visualization)

• Designing a board game (creative application)

• Play-testing each teams games (iterative co-design)


BUILD CIVIL SOCIETY IN CUBA


END HOMELESSNESS IN U.S.


INCREASE SEC IN 3-7 YR OLDS


GUIDING INGREDIENTS• Abstract message to quietly infuse values through play

• Implement dynamic meaning to allow story to grow organically out of gameplay

• Encourage subjectivity and embodiment to increase authentic affective atunement

• Induce healthy dependence to ensure repeat exposure to social message

• Understand the multiplicity of social contexts and types of engagement of target audience

• Integrate opportunity for social connection and emergent play (not false free will)

• Enhance super-boost fun factors by increasing complexity/diversity of game play and audio/visual presentation

• Shift focus from content and knowledge transfer to a social ecology of participationFriday, August 31, 2012

THANKS FOR LISTENING...

send questions to:[email protected]

follow me on twitter :@hjboisvert


mailto:[email protected]

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“Moving Players Beyond Clicktavism” by Heidi J. Boisvert