Here’s where we’ll discuss Alice J. Robison’s “The Design is the Game: Writing Games, Teaching Writing.” PDF | Link As was the case with Moberly’s article, I’m posting this from the past and into the future of the class. Weird, huh?
I think Robison’s argument is pretty straight-forward, though what I like here is that she’s approaching it from the point of view of a game developer instead of just a player. I think this comparison works well when she talks about the process and about “what is your game about,” but less well frankly when she (and really, her subject here “Chris”) reflect on the idea of what makes a game “fun.” What is or isn’t “fun” is obviously tricky, and besides that, I’m not entirely sure as a teacher about how important it is for all things to be “fun” in the classroom.
Regardless of the “fun factor,” I like the comparison between game design and curriculum design, and I especially like the discussion on the top of page 363 about how game designers (and curriculum designers in my view too) create “potential” created that has to be acted upon by users and that the goal is to anticipate as much as possible, while acknowledging there is a certain amount they can’t predict. In the nutshell, this is how teaching seems to work for me, and it’s also the limits of teaching at the end of the day: we can offer students all kinds of potentials and support, but in the end, if they don’t want to “play,” they don’t have to. And that can be frustrating.
And besides all that, I do like the insight into how game designers think about these things. I knew this before, but it’s clear from this piece that game designers do nothing random.
Thanks for the nice writeup, Stephen! Looking forward to hearing what your class thinks. I had to cancel my trip to 4Cs because of a back injury (no travel for me, unfortch) but hope to get to meet you at C&W.
Fascinating article! I had to rethink my previous post on Morberly’s article after reading these lines… “At the heart of game design and development is the need to create interactive systems constrained by rules and generative of significant meaning-making experiences [...] Reduced to a set of design constraints, making a game involves creating a learning space that has a determined beginning and end.” Robinson goes on to explain how these are the same types of design decisions that we make as English teachers.
The two lines above illustrate what I was describing in my last post about the limitations of prescribed choices. I was okay with expressing my annoyance at game-designers who stunt creativity by limiting player’s choices, but, due to Robinson’s article, I have to think about this idea of limitations in relationship to my own teaching.
How many constraints am I placing on the creativity of my students by the design of my class? And are these limitations necessary perimeters that they need to learn to work with?
I think the bonus we have as teachers, however, is that we can change up our lesson or our class structure in reaction to what we are noticing in the classroom and in the reactions of our students. Game designers can’t do that so much because they are limited by the whole idea of having to anticipate what the players will do/think and they don’t get to be there, sitting with a player beyond, perhaps, a small sample group. I suppose that is why you get so many “New and Improved!” re-releases of certain games? I certainly try for “New and Improved!” with each lesson I’ve taught– even if that “New and Improved!” comes as we are doing the lesson. It is the advantage of being there in person and not having to be a program
I thought it was interesting that game designers have outcomes and standards just like the writing classroom, but theirs are more tailored to what they want their players to say and think and feel as they play, while teachers’ have educational outcomes in mind. Her concluding thoughts that video game designers are like curriculum designers was something new to me. I’d like to see an example (or multiple examples) of how composition teachers have developed units or lesson plans based on video game design. Do you have any of these Professor Krause?
I don’t, but interestingly enough, I went to a talk this afternoon where someone was discussing using games to teach various media classes. If I can hunt down his name and send him an email, I might be able to get some slides and links out of him to see if he’s got anything to share via a web site or something.
Yes, definitely! I, too, was struck by that aspect. I always thought that games– especially if they set out to be educational– always have goals… but to think that they are set up in a lot of ways like lesson plans was interesting. I can totally see that, though. It will be good to get some examples, like Angie asked. Thanks!
It is not like they are just making games for the sake of playing, well some might think of it that way, but they do have a purpose and they have rules and regs to follow as well.
I think the idea of play in education is important. I have taught at all levels and one of the most importnat parts of kindergarten is play. Play is under rated as something that is…well just play. I often talk of the way we do the multi-genre essay in 121 as play, but i dont mean that in the way that play is often used. I like this article as well becuase she is talking about the audience of these games and their expectations. For an writing teacher that is a big deal to be able to discuss using this article in the sense that we are constantly talking to our students about who their intended audeince is. I also like the reading and writing aspect she discusses. Games are a genre, board or video, and to be able to look at those conventions and point to what they are is so important. Games are part of our culture, a big part, and so we as educators can use them to our advantage and for that purpose, or we can go against them and say they have no value. I think that when we use games or anything that connects with our students we are saying to them that we value what they value and I know from expereince that goes a long way with students.
I definately found this article interesting. I never would have thought about all the connections between curriculum design and game design. We are always telling our students, “consider your audience’s expectations” and “construct your argument logically and with purpose.” I think discussing game design could provide a connection for students with these concepts in a new and exciting way. Really cool stuff.
Yes! Infrastructure! Mundane things! After reading the Grabill book, that’s all I see anymore: people thinking through everything that goes on behind the scenes in pursuit of a specific, positive goal, regardless of how mundane or unexciting it is… it’s kind of humbling, don’t you think?
I agree Dave. Talking about video games in the classroom like this would certainly have an impact on some students and teach them how to be more aware of audience expectations. We could ask students questions such as: so what makes this game so much more exciting than that one, what elements as far as story or strategy?
I really connected with the comment he made about the “aha” moment. I finally had one of those moments last week in regard to my research paper. So, I guess the author really did make me see the connection between writing and game design. I must admit, I was very skeptical at first. I would love to see what he could do with one of our rather mundane lesson plans. I wonder…is it possible that the creative genius can flow in the other direction? How about someone developing a game that helps teachers to make lesson plans exciting! Now, that game, I would be playing!
I enjoyed Robinson’s article so much. This is the thread that we can use to bring in those reluctant learners. The boys that don’t like reading or writing but will play video games and they can tell you everything about the characters in those video games. I have often thought about having them deveiop a game for some of the stories because that is how they think. Games are a genre that English teachers need to consider because that is where the interest is at. Great article for ponderings…….