Video Game Secrets - BIANCA WOODS
Slides from Bianca Woods's presentation on "The Secrets Video Games Can Teach L&D About Crafting Scenarios and Simulations That Work." I didn't attend the session, but the slides and references to the games used as inspiration are still useful.
Play GO VIRAL! | Stop Covid-19 misinformation spreading
Great example of a quick game to educate people. In this game, you pretend to be someone who wants to spread misinformation (really disinformation, since it's deliberate). Through the simulated choices of social media messages and lots of immediate feedback and coaching, you learn to recognize tactics for manipulating information and influence online.
Designing game-inspired narratives for learning
Conference paper by Miranda Verswijvelen, Ricardo Sosa, and Nataly Martini on what we can learn from how game designers write narratives and apply that to scenario-based learning.
This study turns for guidance to the expertise of narrative designers for games, where storytelling for interactive narrative has a long history of testing, iterating and perfecting. A collection of proven techniques described by game narrative practitioners will inform creative writing efforts to craft prototypes to test the transferability of those techniques to interactive narratives in a healthcare education context.
Designing eLearning Games Using Interactive Stories - Scissortail Creative Services, LLC
Kayleen Holt shares 6 questions to consider when designing elearning games that incorporate interactive stories.
<p>When designing eLearning games using interactive stories, ask yourself the following six questions:</p><ol><li><strong>What’s the point?</strong> Be clear about the learning goal.</li><li><strong>Does it matter?</strong> Make sure the story is realistic, relevant, and tied to the learning goal.</li><li><strong>Is it fun?</strong> Slapping a leaderboard onto a course doesn’t make it a game. Games need to be fun. Test the fun factor by getting input from learners.</li><li><strong>Does it make sense?</strong> Take time to get the script right in the beginning, and check it with every change to make sure all the branching paths still make sense.</li><li><strong>Is it immersive?</strong> Don’t pull your learner out of the story. Show, don’t tell. Use high-quality visual design and audio (if narrated). And don’t preach.</li><li><strong>Does it exclude anyone?</strong> Include diverse characters and avoid stereotypes. Use inclusive language, and design with accessibility in mind.</li></ol>
Yes, but; No, and; etc.
Old discussion on reddit about a game design mechanic that helps go beyond yes and no by adding complications. Some of these have 6 options, which is too many for a branching scenario, but a smaller version of the model could work. Maybe Yes, Yes but, No with 3 choices: Yes you succeed, Yes you succeed but with a complication, or No, you don't succeed and have a negative consequence.
<li class="_3gqTEjt4x9UIIpWiro7YXz"><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM">No, and...</p></li><li class="_3gqTEjt4x9UIIpWiro7YXz"><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM">No.</p></li><li class="_3gqTEjt4x9UIIpWiro7YXz"><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM">No, but...</p></li><li class="_3gqTEjt4x9UIIpWiro7YXz"><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM">Yes but...</p></li><li class="_3gqTEjt4x9UIIpWiro7YXz"><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM">Yes.</p></li><li class="_3gqTEjt4x9UIIpWiro7YXz"><p class="_1qeIAgB0cPwnLhDF9XSiJM">Yes and...</p></li>
Escape Room Activity Pushes Boundaries of Nursing Education at IWU | Illinois Wesleyan
Interesting description of how the IWU School of Nursing created an escape room using a mannequin to reinforce learning about medication administration. One thing I appreciate in this description is how it's clear that the clues were placed in ways to reinforce the content, not just as a completely artificial escape room concept disconnected from the learning.
Recordings - From Instructional Design to Dungeons & Dragons
The recordings from the TLDC event "From Instructional Design to Dungeons & Dragons" are now available on their website and YouTube. This was a wonderful and deeply nerdy event. Early on in the planning, Luis wondered if there were really enough D&D players to make an event like this possible, and it's clear there were plenty of folks interested. If you're curious about the connection between games and learning, check it out, even if you've never played D&D before.
Game Making Software - Construct 3
Construct is a tool for creating games with visual programming (Javascript is also an option). There's a free option available to try it out. This tool would definitely have a learning curve, but it looks like a solid option for people who want to build something more complex than a typical elearning authoring tool.