Games and game-likeness
One of the main problems with game research is that there is no definitive definition of game or what constitutes a game (Mayer, 2011). Caillois (1961) describes a game as an activity that is voluntary and enjoyable, separate from the real world, uncertain,
unproductive ( the activity does not produce any goods of external value), and governed
by rules. Hays (2005) defines gameas an artificially constructed, competitive activity
with a specific goal, a set of rules and constraints that is located in a specific context. According to Salen and Zimmerman (2003), a game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome. There are many academic definitions of games, but none of them have been accepted as definitive and all encompassing. In fact, there is an active community of game theorists among whom the debate of exactly how to define a game goes on continuously (Szulborski, 2005). Ludwig Wittgenstein (1953) demonstrated that the elements of games, such as play, rules, and competition, all fail to adequately define what games are. He concluded that people apply the term game to a range of disparate human activities that bear to one another only what one might call family resemblances. While some regard conflict and
competition as central to a game, activities without conflict such as The Sims
than many games that fit the conventional definition. With new media, new demography and new usage, definitions and perceptions of games have constantly evolved. In
particular, many educational materials created with an aim to entertain as well as educate have been under debate if they qualify as games or not. There are a lot of poorly designed materials that try to qualify as games without understanding the fundamentals of games. But there are also many carefully designed materials that are game-like but do not fit into the formal definitions of game.
In particular, educational materials created with an aim to entertain as well as educate have always been quite debated regarding whether they qualify as games or not. Game enthusiasts have complained that the educational materials that sell themselves as games are just interactive systems but not games at all. There are a lot of poorly designed materials that try to become games without understanding game’s fundamentals and exploiting the benefits of games. But there are also lots of carefully designed materials that are game-like but do not fit into the formal definitions of game. So, why are there so many game-like learning materials that do not qualify as games from conventional definitions of games?
While we acknowledge the necessity and value of clear definitions, ill-defined
activities such as The Sims have been not only been successful but also reached new
demographics that were not addressed by traditional video games. Researchers such as Rieber(1996) have suggested effectiveness of hybrid learning environment combining simulation and games in microworlds. In our research, we are not going to constrain ourselves into the formal definitions and categorization of games, but are exploring a
Game-like elements
There have been many attempts to distill game elements, characterize them and study them. Malone and Lepper (1987) mentioned challenge, curiosity, control, and fantasy as integral features of games. According to de Felix and Johnson (1993), games are
composed of dynamic visuals, interactivity, rules, and a goal. Thiagarajan (1999) asserts that conflict, control, closure, and contrivance are the four necessary components. Juul (2003) suggested that games consist of six elements: rules, variable quantifiable outcome, player effort, valorization of the outcome, attachment of the player to the outcome, and negotiable consequences. In 2001, Garris and Ahlers (2002) discuss about fantasy, rules/goals, sensory stimuli, challenge, mystery, and control. Marc LeBlanc’s taxonomy of game pleasures (Schell, 2008) for participants identifies eight fundamental aspects to fulfilling their emotional needs: sensation, fantasy, narrative, challenge, fellowship, discovery, expression and masochism.
As mentioned earlier, we are not trying to generate formal definitions of games or game elements, but rather we are looking into understanding the properties of game-like elements, which we define as the engaging and interactive aspects of games. Specifically, we are looking into game-like elements such as narrative, immediate visual feedback, visual representation, collecting and sensory stimuli. Even though the game-like elements are defined based on their engaging nature, these elements can have significant
pedagogical impact in both positive and negative ways. We want to assess these elements in terms of their pedagogical affordance and constraints and want to select and integrate those ones that can be beneficial pedagogically or at least not hurt the learning.
Game mechanics and Gamification
Marc LeBlanc and his colleagues (2004) wrote a paper proposing a game design framework around the concepts of Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics (MDA). They define those terms as follows:
• Mechanics are the agents, objects, elements and their relationships in the game. They
define the game as a rule-based system, specifying what there is, how everything behaves, and how the player can interact with the game world.
• Dynamics are the emergent behavior that arises from gameplay, when the Mechanics
are put into use.
• Aesthetics are the emotional response from the players to the gameplay.
According to Salen and Zimmerman (Rules of Play, 2003), core mechanics represent the essential moment-to-moment activity of players. During a game, core mechanics create patterns of repeated behaviour, the experiential building blocks of play.
Hunicke, LeBlanc and Zubek (in MDA Frame Work, 2004) state that mechanics are the various actions, behaviors and control mechanisms afforded to the player within a game context. The mechanics support overall gameplay dynamics.
Game mechanics are principles, rules, and/or mechanisms (much like mechanics in physics) that govern a behavior through a system of incentives, feedback, and rewards with reasonably predictable outcome…Game mechanics are just the basic building blocks. They can be strung together and combined in interesting ways to drive a very complex sequence of actions suitable for different contexts or desired results.
Gamification is the use of game mechanics to drive game-like engagement and actions. Gamification is the process of introducing game mechanics into these regular activities to make them more game-like so that people would want to proactively take part in these tasks.