These are the six principles of good games for learning that I believe Gardens of Times reflects:
Interaction: One way a player interacts with this game is by designing, building and improving the garden. The player, as they move up in the game unlocks new items to add to the garden. They also have to add certain items to the garden in order to meet goals.
Customization: Players have several options to customize this game. For one, a player could choose to focus on creating their garden, with game play (which are seek & find puzzles) kept to a minimum if they choose. Customization is also available in the form of choice in which type of puzzle they want to play. For instance, I did not like the "spot the difference" puzzles, so when given the mission to get 9 stars in chapter one, I choose not to play that puzzle again. Customization could also be gained through playing a more social game if the player wants - they could choose to visit their neighbors gardens, or receive and give gifts.
Agency: This is similiar to the customization, in which choice plays a big part in the gameplay. A player not only had control over the look of their garden, they also had control over which missions to do. Typically there were 3 missions to choose from - one of which moves forward in the game/puzzle play, one of which makes you collect more stars in the previous puzzles, and one of which asked you to add to your garden in one way or another.
Challenge and Consolidation: I think an example of this would be the puzzles themselves... that new items would be introduced to seek as well as old items, and you'd constantly always have to look further but it was satisfying at the same time. Another example of this is in Chapter One, I was getting very good at the seek & find puzzles, and then a "spot the difference" puzzle was given... it was similar because you were still looking for items in a lot of clutter but different because you weren't given the name of the items first.
Just in Time/On Demand: This happened as I progressed through the levels and new elements of the game were introduced... for instance, the "collections" element of the game wasn't introduced until I was in Chapter Two.
Pleasantly Frustrating: The puzzles worked this way - there was always a new item that you needed to find that you hadn't before - but then there were always items that you found time and again. And, in order to earn more stars you had to play the same puzzle over again, but there were always a nice mixture of old and new items to find. In fact, the only time I found myself frustrated in this game was when there was a definite glitch in the program - once "collections" were introduced, I was not able to move forward because it kept wanting to "update" my time machine and refresh my browser... but then, my game would be abandoned and I couldn't ever earn the star I needed.... not part of the game design though (frustrating because the game wasn't working the way it was designed and I was actually enjoying it - did anyone else find this problem?).
I agree with your example for the customization principle; I hadn't thought of that before. The game is customized because you can choose which missions to complete, and which ones to skip. I also didn't like the spot the difference puzzles; I found those more frustrating and not as fun. I would usually only play those when they first opened, and then concentrated on the others when I needed more stars.
ReplyDeleteYes, I also had a glitch in my game; I would complete a level and it would ask me to refresh and update. It would do this several times in a row even after I refreshed it. Very frustrating! Especially when I had completed a level in a good time; it would not give me my points.
Excellent application of Gee's principles of good games! Remember these are not just principles of good games they are principles for good learning! A major outcome of this course is not just to design good games but to design learning environments that engage kids in motivating and effective learning experiences like games do!
ReplyDeleteI felt the challenge and consolidation element of GOT was excellent. In the first scene the same item was identified as a choker, turquoise beads, and necklace. This definately proed to be challenging until one grasped the concept of looking at the same object differently. It was a challenge that was repeated throught the puzzles. For instance a banana and yellow fruit were interchanged.
ReplyDeleteVanessa, I did not experience the glitches you did in the game. That would drive me crazy though. Technology glitches like that really turn me away from the task I am trying to complete, whether it be editing a video or picture, downloading or uploading something, or trying to accomplish something on my tablet, its frustrating, just makes you not want to mess with it. Anyhow, I agree with your points about GOT being pleasantly frustrating, and really related to this principle. Its no fun if you master something right away, there has to be a challenge, and Gee makes a good point with this principle. It keeps you driving on with the task at hand, or game in this conversation. I too actually enjoyed the element of challenge and frustration, because it made achieving the "prize" or next level all the sweeter! Specific examples to me from the game were when I would try to find all the items in a row to get the most points to advance, and thought I found them all, and then it would throw some really random item I hadn't seen before or an item that I didn't even know what the word meant! But it was fun and made me want to play.
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