This is a refinement and continuation of last month’s entry, Games are artificial. Videogames are not. Games have rules. Videogames do not. Explanatory footnotes, additional examples, and sources are at the bottom, reachable by clicking the linked numbers inside braces [#]. First, to clear up a few points: Though I am using very specific meanings… Read more »
Posts Tagged Theory
Games Are Artificial. Videogames Are Not. Games Have Rules. Videogames Do Not.
Mar 31, 2011This is something I have tried to explain before, on a few occasions, framing the argument different ways. I’m trying another way here, which I think may be clearer. If I place tape on the ground, for example in the form of an intricate maze, and declare that it’s a rule to not step over… Read more »
Are Complex Systems Learned by Interacting with Complex Systems?
Feb 28, 2011Many videogames are complex systems. It follows, according to casual discussion of games and learning, that complex systems are what we learn by playing videogames. This assumption leads to the idea that to teach a complex system, we should model it, and somehow make a game out of that model. However there is a subtle… Read more »
Reading Between the Lines: Learning by Experience
Feb 28, 2011This graphic represents a series of decisions, and the success of acting on those decisions, each of which leads to other opportunities to make decisions and act on them. As time progresses, the player advances in circumstances along the arrows in the direction they are pointed. Taking one arrow rather than another at a forked… Read more »
Diagram: Player Actions and Memory
Jan 31, 2011In an attempt to better organize and present my thinking about player experience, in particular as it relates to player interaction and learning, I’ve been working on a diagram. Although it has seen many iterations on white board and note pad, this marks my first attempt to clean it up and present it coherently in… Read more »