Different types of educational games

One of our goals with this game is to make the students have fun while learning system development. We need to make sure the student are entertained while playing the game, and at the same time give the student enough system development related task to ensure that they actually learn system development. To do so in the best possible way, we need to look more into what kind of game that could suit our task. In the following chapter we have listed different type of game concepts that could suit our task, and written down positive and

negative sides of each concept. To come up with the different concepts we have used our own gaming experience, and looked at different game concepts used in well known and popular games.

3.4.1 Multi user Dungeon (MuD) game

It is possible to make a multiplayer text based online game. In this game one will take the concept of old MUD based games and adapt it to our educational purpose. A MuD game is usually text based. The player takes the role of a character that move around in a virtual world that is described through text. The players interact with each other and with the surroundings by entering commands in a command window. Because of the nature of a MuD game, the gameplay, fun and nostalgia (for those who played the old MuD games) will probably come first, and the educational part of the game will come as secondary information.

Example:

You are a mail man working at the bottom floor of a 15-story high building, and have to solve different types of puzzles to work your way up through the building. As the game progresses you gain different work experience, and get hired in more attractive jobs (mostly computer related in our case, as we are trying to educate people on system development). A typical scenario for a MuD game could be: “You have entered the 10th floor where you are a newly hired project coordinator. When you exit the elevator you are presented to your new project

group. They explain how they are in the middle of a large dispute on how to solve their ongoing project.” You then have to move your character around the floor, interact with people, and help the group solve the problem. If you solve the problem in a satisfactory way, you can move on to the next floor, and maybe even get a promotion.

Benefits

• Possible to reuse old MUD-engines in the development of the game • Nostalgic to play a MUD game for many people

• Possible to implement multiplayer • Fun to play with others.

Drawbacks

• We doubt that text based games have the same appeal as graphical games • Could prove hard to implement good multiplayer

• Hard to implement system-development related tasks without having graphical

interface

3.4.2 Football manager – Window based single player JAVA

The idea here is to do a remake of the popular game type Football Manager (“Football

Manager”, 2007), but instead of letting the player control a football team, the player controls a system development company. In this game the player takes the role of a project

leader/project employee/company leader, and is given different system development tasks. The player is given different problems to solve, for instance how to administer resources, development methods etc.

Example:

The player is a new employee in a System development company, and is given the task to manage a project. The player hire/fire employees based on different computer skills, and build up a project group (One can clearly compare this to how a football manager manage a team). The player is given a time line for the project, and during the project the player manages the workers, work tasks and problems that occur during the project. Maybe the workers come to the project leader (the player) and ask for advice on how to make a grouped entity relationship model, and the player has to use an in-game drawing tool to make this. After a successful project, the player gets access to larger and more advanced projects to lead.

Benefits

• Good possibilities to implement system development learning.

• Possible to reuse open source football manager games. For instance Bygfoot Football

Manager (“Bygfoot”, 2007)

• Relatively easy to implement the basic interface and unlimited possibilities to further

implement more advanced features (for instance drawing boards).

• Large possibilities to make a game that covers the task at hand. • Should be possible to implement multiplayer feature.

Drawbacks

• Football Manager is a popular game because one manages a known football team with

known players. Would a Football Manager game without the football be the same success?

• Much work in implementing good feedback on advanced tasks.

• Much work in implementing large and difficult problems to present to the player. • This solution could prove to be a very large task to implement, and would most

probably just be a proof of concept solution.

• Boring to play alone?

3.4.3 Single player career-game based on the game, Jones in the Fast Lane

Turn based single player game where the player takes the role of an up and coming person in the system development business. The player got the opportunity to evolve through education and work, and use the money he earns to improve his status by buying a nice house, furniture, car and clothes. The game itself is very much like a board game. The interface shows a picture of a city the player can move around in. In this game the clue is to balance the three main issues in the game, namely work, education and money (status). This idea is based on the old classic Jones in the Fast Lane (“Jones in the Fast Lane”, 2002).

To implement system development learning in this game, we provide good system

development literature in the in-game school, the in-game work gives system development related tasks through different types of mini games, and the status part of the game is there to have a ranking system that encourage the player to improve his character.

Example

The player in this game starts out with nothing. He gets a story on how he has just been kicked out from his parents’ house, and need to make his own living. In order to get an education, the player has to go to the bank and get a loan in order to start his education. Once he has taken the most basic courses at the in-game school, he can apply to a low income job. While working, and solving different system development tasks, he earns money to improve his education and after a while get a better job.

Benefits

• Easy to implement a good interface • Encouraging gameplay

• Easy to implement turn based multiplayer

• Can have a nice appeal with 3d pictures in the user interface • Easy to link education and system development learning

Drawbacks

• Hard to implement simultaneous multiplayer

• Time consuming to implement 3d pictures to give the game a good “feel”?

3.4.4 Web portal for group assignments

The idea here is to make a server/client program to publish and work with group assignments. Through the portal one can solve and hand in group assignments, and get access to other peoples assignments to get a view at what others are doing, and to correct them in order to help others out. The content of “the game” will be given as assignments formulated by an administrator (typically a group teacher), and one is given a time limit when the assignment has to be handed in. It is also possible to implement a ranking system that encourages the students to work harder and be more thorough on their deliverables.

Benefits

• If this is implemented right, this is a “game” that the INF1050 course at UiO would

want to use.

• Possible to give hard assignments without having to program them into a game.

• The content of the game would be updated frequently as the administrators add content

Drawbacks

• This is not a game!

• Similar software already exist (“Fronter”, 2008)

3.4.5 Evolving puzzle game

This game type is based around the educational content. It works as a series of assignments that the player has to answer using knowledge based on the theme that the game is supposed to teach. Which assignment the players are presented is largely based what they answered on previous assignments. This game type does not have any notion of a game world except from textual descriptions that can be given with the assignments. There is little use for an avatar, and the player's connection with the game would most likely only come from referring to their chosen name in the assignments. The main benefit of the Evolving puzzle game is its keen focus on the educational content. Every part of the game would be focused around using extrinsic knowledge to solve puzzles.

Benefits

• Focus on educational content • easy to implement

Drawbacks

• few game elements

• might become repetitive without a large amount of different assignment types • low immersion level

• would it be entertaining?