Day 4 - Afternoon

"What interested you in video games as a form of teaching?"

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm an avid gamer myself. I also love teaching, so anything that blends the two would be ideal. As part of my graduate program in Instructional Technology, we've studied multimedia theories described by Richard Mayer. Whether intentionally, accidentally, or as a result of a sort of common sense, the best games are designed to maximize on the brain's cognitive load without overloading it. You always learn while playing a video game. No, the knowledge may not be practical, but learning does occur. In World of Warcraft, for example, even the most novice of gamers can easily begin playing, questing, and working collaboratively with other players.

How do game designers achieve this? How do they trick us into learning? I'm continually amazed at how much information I and my students who play World of Warcraft know about a world that doesn't exist. This includes knowledge of landmarks and regions, political factions, items and statistics, even history and lore. So as I play, I begin to analyze what the designers have done with the world they've created. How do they structure it? How does the player interface with the world? What makes it intuitive?

The ultimate question, however, is: "What lessons can I learn from what they've done and how can I apply it to an educational game?"

-Lucas