An ‘Open World’ Educational game, Liber Domus is currently focused on Grade 6 Mathematics, and is geared to the Portuguese curriculum. However there are plans, not only to cover other subjects and grades throughout K12 – but to regionalise for other countries too.

Educators who are interested in collaborating with Eduardo on these developments, will receive access to the game for their classrooms, and should contact him using the details below.

The post Liber Domus – Interview with Eduardo Nunes first appeared on Ludogogy.

“The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world.” – Half-Life 2

Change through worlds

Ever had one of those teachers that just loved to assign essays? I had one of those during 5^th grade. She would hand out assignments to simply write. Constantly. No themes, structure, word limit, nada. You had no idea which were the criteria for scoring. What was she looking for?

So, after many previous essays that drained me of any creativity, I had one more to do by the end of the year, and with all the wisdom my eleven years of age would allow me, I decided to write about Mali. I went to the library, looked up Mali on a map, and searched for it in geography and history books. Even after all the research, I knew little about the country. Google wasn’t even born yet, so I just knew that there was this Mali Empire hundreds of years ago, with the capital in Timbuktu which was a major city and trade centre. Everything else; the culture, geography, language, customs, traditions, etc., I had only a small grasp of. So, as any kid would, I made  everything else up.

This is not one of those stories in which I got an excellent grade by being creative and resourceful. I probably got an average score. But it was, for all purposes, my first world.

From there, I was hooked. I started imagining entire civilizations, countries, cities, a multitude of scenarios and people, all different, all busy in their day-to-days, with different professions and ambitions and perspectives. I imagined festivals in a riverside village where people would all dress in green and white and would pave the floor with flowers and colourful fabrics. Strange visitors would come and present their strange products or display their art.

I could not draw, so instead, I would gather as much stuff as I could, including those tiny houses and objects people sometimes build from wood, clay, and other materials, and I would use those to build my cities. You are probably thinking that it was a bit of a weird hobby, but it was very important back then. First, it was something I could control, in a period when I could not control all the bad things happening with and around me. At the same time, I could imagine freely and role-play situations that would happen, work out solutions and find different perspectives.

What I was doing back then is now what is considered an important tool for creative writers [i], and arguably, one that can help support change in ourselves.

Change through roleplaying

“What is better – to be born good, or to overcome your evil nature through great effort?” – Paarthurnax in The Elder Scrolls V:Skyrim

Going back to the Mali example, although a rudimentary sketch of a world, it can be perceived as a base for scenarios and role-playing. In this Empire, there are borders, therefore, there are friends and enemies, diplomacy, trade and war. Inside it, government, central and local, generals and elders, farmers, and craftsmen, buildings, roads, fields, mountains, deserts, rivers, and creatures.

All of these, by themselves, are pretty much useless. Imagining them can be interesting and can be used to expand our own created mental limitations, forcing us to create something we have not thought about yet. But it does not spark change.

But it does allow for the construction of dynamic scenarios, where characters can interact. If you create backstories, then you can create conflicts. If there are conflicts, there are resolutions. You can create problems and then imagine how those would be resolved. That is why roleplay is considered a very important tool to improve communication, creativity, social awareness, independent thinking, verbalization of opinions and development of values[ii].

Still, there are some limitations in this exercise. All the hypotheses you can create exist inside your mind. There are no outside influences and eventually you run out of ideas and scenarios. It is much more fun to roleplay with more people, as you can mix, incorporate, exchange ideas, and even work as a team to make it more complex.

These dynamics are extremely valuable, in particular, for children. It does not just change skills. Their existence gives them different perspectives, to reflect on ambiguities of arguments, to consider distinct approaches and solutions and be critical. For all purposes, it changes their view of the world.

Small note: It is curious that, while some critics have pointed to Dungeons & Dragons as a roleplaying game that creates stereotypes and promotes racism, one could as easily argue that, since the game is set in a fantasy world where multiple races co-exist and have to work together to fight (sometimes ambiguous) evil, forcing users to roleplay with multiple races and utilize their strengths, it does just as much to break barriers and create racial awareness.

Change through storytelling

Ben Okri once wrote

“We live by stories, we also live in them. (…) If we change the stories we live by, quite possibly we change our lives”.

We live in stories. Our lives are, first and foremost, stories we tell ourselves and others. When we change, we can do it by changing our narrative, the way we want to do things or why we do them, we can do it by changing our actions, changing the ending the story is heading towards.

It is through stories that we learn about others, other places, customs, opinions, solutions. When we read or hear about it, part of us changes, even if we do not want it. A thief that hears about the story of the little girl that he just robbed of her stuffed rabbit, given to her by her deceased mother will change the thief, no matter the outcome. A little girl, dismayed for losing her stuffed rabbit, hears about the story of a former thief that has decided to dedicate his life to recovering personal items with sentimental value that had been stolen, will feel just a little bit better and change her perspective about people changing their ways.

In every story there is the possibility of change. One could even argue that it changes even the storyteller. In every character, a new perspective, a new set of thoughts, ambitions, desires, flaws, habits, and with it, a new option for us to change our own.

Change though Digital Games

“If our lives are already written, it would take a courageous man to change the script.” – Alan Wake

Digital Games present a world of possibilities not found elsewhere because it can connect all three elements mentioned earlier: worldbuilding, roleplaying and storytelling, and present it all in ways that enable either change or promote behaviours that can lead to change.

For instance, this is relevant, when it comes to decision-making and choices and how those impact and change the environment, the characters, the outcome of the game itself and, to some extent, the player. Although that is not true in all games, those that rely heavily in RPG mechanics and are story-focused, can create the perfect environment to provoke reflection on choice and change. Although associated with the narrative and fictional worlds of each game, it is probably the closest players can experience to a multitude of “what if” questions; essential for players to understand what can change, why and how.

When watching a movie or tv show, or reading a book, how many times does it cross our mind, that we would do things, handle something, make a decision differently? But we do not have a say on how the ending is going to be, nor do we get to see how things would turn out if the story had gone a different path. In open-ended or, even better, in open-world games, that option is present.

Take any Sim game, such as Sim City or The Sims. Players enact change through almost every action they take. When presented with the possibility of change in real-life, players have already witnessed the different scenarios and consequences of it in-game, as the environment simulates the impact of that change, small or big, good or bad (fig. a).

From another perspective, Dragon-Age is famous for decisions branching towards entire sequels, forcing players to think and rethink how they are going continue with the story, including some really hard life or death decisions and replaying to experience different paths. One particular game, Life is Strange, takes these mechanisms to another level, allowing the player to not only experience hard decision making but also multiple “what if” scenarios. Other titles such as Frostpunk and This War of Mine present the player with a fresh perspective, albeit gruesome, about the impossible decisions during a world-changing winter in the first case (fig b), and the impact of war on civilians (fig. c).

Even better, we get to make these decisions as a character. This is extremely important as it enables meaningful change within us. We might be going through similar decisions in our lives, or we could be presented with those options in the future. Or we could make connections between the difficulty and ambiguity of a potential choice presented in the game with one we are struggling with in real life. In fact, there are already studies showing that playing through a character (i.e. Roleplaying) inside a narrative (i.e. storytelling) improves intrinsic motivation in players[iii], a key element for people to make impactful and difficult decisions and choices[iv]. It comes as no surprise that a study has found that players of MMORPG tend to choose characters based on desired physical and mental abilities and that then influences the desire of the player to “better” themselves[v].

Even NPCs can have an impact. It has been hypothesised that characters, with whom the player can empathize, could provide positive influence in how children perceive certain struggles, motivations and behave by mimicking or taking advice through dialogue, which means that by placing specific NPCs inside a game, we can influence the choices a player makes in real life in the future and enact real change[vi].

A note about small stakes

“small stakes ensure you the minimum blues (…), small stakes tell you there’s nothing you can do, can’t think big, can’t think past one or two.” – Small Stakes, by Spoon

There might be just two types of change. Small, tiny changes, and large changes. Usually, the first ones are easy, and the second ones are difficult. Small and easy usually points to meaningless change, while large and difficult tends to be meaningful changes.

Society will have you believe that you should change. At any point, either you need it or not. But nothing fancy, just small and easy, such as buying something, going somewhere, doing anything, distracting yourself, as long as it doesn’t cause that much of a hassle.

But these small changes tend to make us numb. It is all about the instant gratification of changing very little with limited negative consequences.

But real, meaningful change is worth it. In the wise words of Dr. Kelso, “Nothing in this world that’s worth having comes easy”. That includes change.

The post Digital Games as Roadmaps to Meaningful and Powerful Change first appeared on Ludogogy.

While playing videogames, children seem to reach immersion levels not found anywhere else. They go to sleep thinking about how soon they can be awake again so they can keep playing. While they are playing, you can scream; you can do summersaults; they will not break concentration. And if you question them about the game, they can recite you so much lore that it could easily fill a history manual. Of course, we want children to learn with as much excitement and engagement as they play!

But if games are mostly used for fun and to escape reality, using games for learning could break that purpose and become paradoxical. And that is where educational game development gets stuck.

That has not stopped researchers, game developers and educators from producing millions of educational games, some more successful than others, using different genres, different processes, mechanics, game elements, to the point where the variety of such tools is becoming too much – and for so little result.

There have been so many failed attempts. And with each experiment that did not give the results developers desired, they looked at creating more complex games and using more advanced technologies such as 3D, AR and even VR; searching for what was missing. 

The answer cannot be found in technology, or by giving the user a wider range of graphic and mechanical possibilities to explore in the games, just as that is not the answer for any sort of videogame. 

What is missing in educational games is, literally, the size of a world

Developers and educators often confuse the reasons why gamers play. If they have not played themselves, it is easy to place all games in the same “bag”. In reality, the reasons for playing are many and not limited to fun elements. Curiosity, development, creating alternatives, looking for possibilities, exploration, relaxation, are all possible motives.

And that is where worldbuilding becomes an interesting system.

By creating games that children play, not only because they are fun, but also because they become intertwined with the story and immersed into the adventures and the game world, we find that even when the game is forcing players into doing meaningless and repetitive tasks, they will happily grind if it allows them to progress and evolve.

Any D&D player knows that. As WoW gamers can tell you, while they take eight-hour-long strolls, playing is not always fun. Consider those hardcore old school Runescape players, who would  spend weeks in a poorly designed Java-based game simply fishing. Yes, you read that right – not catching monsters or fighting dark powers – fishing.

And that is due to the existence of a complex and complete world. Just as in fantasy literature, success comes when a game is full of elements such as geography, weather variations, a societal structure, a socioeconomic fabric, important characters, a massive amount of history that adds depth, and a narrative that places the gamer inside the story and the events which unfold. Developing games is also about creating worlds for the players. 

Without a whole world to explore, playing might become repetitive, boring even, and if you remove the fun element, you remove any motivation for the gamer to play. It still might be better than simply studying, but not by a lot. 

Research says as much, with gamified learning environments producing lower long-term retention learning rates than schools (Putz & Treibmaier, 2019). On the other hand, role playing games show higher immersion rates and, even better, a positive connection between gameplay and learning (Sancho, et al., 2009).

Worldbuilding as a System

Worldbuilding is not just a tool for creating good and immersive games. It can also be a system, and a good one at that. Designing worlds is a complex procedure, which is full of dangers, just like the cliffs that surround the Argonath. Very much like going down the rabbit hole for the first time, it is not for the faint of heart. But if you have the talent of a seeker and the wits of a Citadel scholar, you just might find that this tool can become your dæmon.

Even when designing the simplest of games, you probably need characters. And those characters are alive. They communicate with the player. How do they talk; with an accent? If yes, why? Where do they come from; some far away land? Sure. Why there? What are they doing so far from home?

The scenarios where the game occur are there for a reason, your player must move through mountains. Which ones? How are they named? Where are they located? Now the action moved to the moon. Does that make any sense? Probably not. 

Here is one last example. Your player has to complete a set of tasks; let us say, a series of mathematical equations. It is fun, surely. It is also educational. If completed, the player receives a badge, an achievement and wins a hat for their avatar! Cool, right? Wrong! They are working just so they can customize their avatar?! 

What about the story behind the equations? Why those? Why not create a scenario where those equations help rescue a walrus from being captured by evil pirates? Wouldn’t that be more fun? Now let us expand! The Walrus is named Tom and he is very friendly. The player is now in the Arctic. Why? You were sent on an expedition by the Royal Academy of Walrus Protectors of the Kingdom of Wallabe. This is just one of the missions you see! Walruses are in grave danger, especially those from the Droughtnought Tribe because their chief is very stubborn. Those pirates you managed to avoid earlier, remember? You did that by completing a set of equations to calculate the strength necessary to break the metal bars in their cages. Then you followed them to Ground Kindir, their hideout. What next? Maybe another calculation to avoid detection? And so on.

The bigger the world, the more depth you can give the story and the context in which it plays out. This also means that, even if you decide not to use 90% of the world created, it now has room to expand; without breaking away from the narrative built; without “betraying” your players who are more curious than ever about the fate of that world and its characters. Worldbuilding can be, as you see, an enormously powerful system.

Worldbuilding for Game-based Learning Environments and Collaboration

Creating worlds for educational games is an interesting challenge for two reasons. First, it implies a collaboration between several professionals, game developers, designers, publishers and, most importantly, teachers; all of whom have their own set of constraints and desired outcomes. 

Game developers, for instance, focus on game mechanics, which might or might not be useful to teachers, who are more concerned about the means of getting the educational contents inside the game. Publishers might be worried about what type of content is appropriate for a school scenario. Will it  include any sort of violence or will it, even accidentally, create of negative impact on the learners? Designers, therefore, are also under a lot of pressure to create acceptable content.

The second challenge can also be an opportunity. Worldbuilding for education means creating a mixture of game content such as narrative, quests and adventures and educational contents. The more learning moments and information you can insert into a narrative without breaking immersion, the better. This requires imagination. And a lot of people have more creativity than just one. Each team element can bring their own ideas, scenarios, adventures, characters, and all their individuality.

But even if you do need to “steal” a few moments from the game to teach the player something they absolutely need to learn for the educational objectives you set for the game; if your story is engaging enough, then, just as they are willing to spend hours grinding away in any other RPG, they will listen to all the teachers have to say.

A Small Note on Discrimination

Plenty has been said about looking down on people who are gamers, but extraordinarily little seems to be changing. Viewed by a large part of society as antisocial by nature, they are geeks, freaks, weirdos. And even among those who accept gamers, at least superficially, what I find even more intriguing is the negative mindset towards anything game-related. 

The same applies to anything fantasy-related. Worldbuilding requires anyone who attempts it to get out of a world-sized box and create a new one. It is, not only a massive challenge, but a creativity test. It most definitely should not be looked down upon, as anyone who can create a whole new world just through their mind should be, at the very least, encouraged and commended.

“May the worlds you build be better than the one you inherited”

– Trent Hergenrader

The post Worldbuilding in Game-based Learning Environments – A System and a Tool first appeared on Ludogogy.