Game Making Pedagogy using a Three M Framework
Game Making Pedagogy using a Three M Framework
Summary
PLEASE NOTE THIS IS IN DRAFT FORMAT ONLY - NOT READY FOR DETAILED FEEDBACK BUT HAPPY TO CHAT ABOUT BIG PICTURE.
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Introduction / Context
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Main Sections
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Overcoming Challenges of classroom application
Concepts Summary
pedagogy / concepts in this chapter
- funds of knowledge
- socio cultural approaches
- systems thinking
- game player types - from Richard Bartle
Intro
In a previous chapter in this collection I outlined the opportunities of a project based approach to learning computing and in particular the craft of coding. In this chapter I explore the potential of Computer Game Making as a way of undertaking computing projects in line with the principles of project based learning and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). In this way it acts as an extended case study illustrate some of the design principles in practice.
I’ll make a summary of research around project approaches to game making and draw out some of the benefits and some elements that are special about making games. My aim is to engage with research on game making but also to keep the subject connected to learning experiences in a school or after-school context. To do this I look at tensions to game making approaches especially those that impact the use of game making in the classroom. As a fruit of my own research with families making games together, I share a learning design which aims to incorporate some of the thinking and techniques that are explored in relation to research.
Context Background (UK)
Research on computer games has often focused on game playing either of commercial (off the shelf) games or specialist educational game software. However, for many researchers a far more promising area that of making computer games.
In other parts of this book we have examined the role of the RSA reports Reboot or Shutdown and After the Reboot [-@the_royal_society_shut_2012; -@the_royal_society_after_2017] to examine and shape UK computing education ethos practice around the introduction of a new Computing curriculum. Some of the key recommendations of these reports were first proposed in another influential report called “Next Gen: Transforming the UK into the world’s leading talent hub for the video games and visual effects industries” @livingstone_next_2011. As the title suggests the focus here was not on the overall empowerment of young people but rather on providing the UK games and animation industry with the talent needed to succeed. The three top recommendations school level were to include computer science in core curriculum, introduce a new computing GCSE, bursaries for computing teachers and extensive and well supported use of games and visual animation in the school curriculum as a way to attract more young people to the subject.
In 2017 a the After the Reboot report examined changes in the area of computing education. The new curriculum and exams were introduced in 2014. This had been launched together with an extensive bursary program and even award level bursaries run in partnership with computing industry. The first two of the Next Gen recommendations were in place. However the use of games and making as a way to encourage wider participation in computing has not been realised. Indeed the After the Reboot report had some concerning observations. The report found that girls, ethnic minorities and students of lower socio-economic status were all less likely to take computing as a subject at GCSE level.
After the Reboot returned to the subject of game making as a way of increasing engagement in the process of coding. The review highlighted several area of promise but which needed more research, namely; using games for engagement, use of game patterns and involvement in girls in coding and social and cultural aspects of coding [@waite_pedagogy_2017].
While the focus of this research was to support the delivery of the computing curriculum in schools, it is worth mentioning that there is a rich stream of computing projects and associated research that happen outside of the classroom. In a previous chapter I outlined the advantages and challenge of bringing a project-based approach into the classroom. In this chapter I use the example of game making to as a way to examine these issues in more depth. I explore a concrete example of how this more chaotic learning can be brought into formal environments with appropriate scaffolding. In main section of this chapter explores a game making pedagogy that is a result of my own research. From now on I will use the term learning design instead of pedagogy to refer to this specific implementation of several underlying pedagogic principles.
Research on the Benefits and Uniqueness of Game Making
PERHAPS CHANGE THIS TO MOST SIGNIFICANT FEATURES -
In the following section we draw from educational research to explore what is already known to be beneficial in terms of game making. Researchers Kafai and Burke have undertaken one or the most extensive reviews of the educational potential of game making. This is available in the form of a book called Connected Gaming but a there is also a shorter version freely available - see http://tiny.cc/2tzutz. The review is divided into personal, social and cultural dimensions. The personal dimensions are those most closely aligned with school curriculums. The kind of socially oriented skills needed to complete projects take place in design activities are often described in educational circle as 21st Century Skills. Cultural dimensions covers the potential to develop cultural participation or to leverage cultural understandings for positive gain in the learning experience and tactics overcome exclusion from cultures of gaming and computing.
PERSONAL -
Coding and Computing Practices
The main learning objective of making games in educational setting is to develop coding and computing skills. While some game making tools use a specialised graphical interface, many game making tools involve working with code directly. These new tools have allowed students to practice the mechanics and core structures of coding and a more applied definition of computational thinking. A study by Adams and Webster [-@adams_what_2012] indicated that games rather than media or storytelling computing projects were more likely to use logic and variables extensively.
Design patterns are an important factor in learning to code in a professional community. The use of games to explore computational patterns is explored as a case study in another chapter. In their analysis of computational thinking in relation to game making, Werner and colleagues [-@denner_using_2014] examined design patterns and game mechanics as well as more straight forward coding constructs.
Game mechanics are also a key part of considering and understanding games as systems a topic which is explored in the next section.
Games to explore systems
Katie Salen-Tekinbas is an academic specialising in game studies. She was also a lead in the design of software called Game Star Mechanic and a New York high school - Quest to Learn - which incorporates game design into it’s curriculum and who’s guiding educational principle is game-based learning. https://www.q2l.org/about/
Games to study other subjects
There are extensive studies on game making to learn other subjects which are covered in the review. A key one carried out the Kafai one of the authors. Cross-curricular projects are a potential way to overcome limits in time devoted to computing. Many teachers will attest that to truly understand a subject you can should try to teach it. Tasking students with making games that teach a key piece of the curriculum is one way of encouraging deepen understanding of subject matter.
SOCIAL - Developing Social and 21st Century Skills
In the previous section we looked at knowledge or curriculum based subjects. In this section we cover more social or so-called soft skills that game making has the potential to develop in students.
Game making is inherently project-based making so we can draw on research that outlines the benefits of that approach. In previous chapter the inclusive possibilities of design and project-focused computing were summarised.
These include; more learner choice in projects increases motivation, authentic and shareable project outcomes encourage peer feedback and reflection project iterative support and a mastery approach, supporting challenging goals encouraging self regulation and structured guidance for goal setting.
What is notable about the these potential benefits is how closely they align with a concept which has been circulating for some time but which
21st Century skills as potential benefits. https://opendocs.ids.ac.uk/opendocs/bitstream/handle/20.500.12413/14674/EIR_I023-I024_21st_Century_Skills_FINAL.pdf?sequence=467
The term 21st Century Skills is used quite flexibly in educational research but there is broad understanding that they cover skills like social skills, self reflection, cultural awareness and a range of technical abilities that allow participation in information society.
Studies [@baytak_case_2010] including my own show the potential of making games to create a collaborative classroom community. Learners are often keen to share their games for others to play and play those of others. This motivation can be leveraged to provide detailed feedback.
More research is needed as may studies focused on observations of collaborative skills in passing rather than the core element. For the broader perspective the potential to develop such skills is exciting, however even from a narrow perspective of delivering the computing curriculum, collaboration can be used not as the end goal but a useful educational approach in itself. HOW SO?
CULTURAL
The distinction between social and cultural element is a bit fuzzy. Making games can be used as a way to explore complex cultural and social issues. In Kafai’s review of cultural dimensions focused primarily to explore elements of inclusion and potential cultural barriers to gaming. It also detailed methods and case studies that used cultural considerations to include participants in game making activities.
CULTURAL - Games as a vehicle for exploring a complex cultural worlds
- Games for change - systemic
- a good vehicle for need for cultural exploration - race, sex, social issues - already talked about systems in less cultural ways
- Games a vehicle for other subjects - like other media projects too (in personal learning?)
CULTURAL -Inclusion
Recent studies study the use of games and playful techniques to overcome exclusion from the culture of computing [@kafai_diversifying_2017; @kafai_beyond_2014]. As explored elsewhere contemporary understandings of inclusion consider aspects beyond issues of disability. If students feel excluded from the school cultures then making bridges to home cultures is vital. One way to make those connections to home cultures is to allow for more choice of what can be incorporated into computing projects.
We previous saw that Waite’s review for RSA also highlighted the importance of social and cultural approaches to game making including the roles of gender. ADD LINKS HERE - OR MOVE TO ANOTHER SECTION
Research by the UK National Literacy Trust [-@picton_video_2020] of 11-16 year olds found that 96% percent of boys and 65.2% of girls play video games (http://tiny.cc/videogstats). This shows that while there is a disparity of genders, game playing is extremely common and you are unlikely to be part of a household where no games are played. Thus even if not all young people play games they will have knowledge of the conventions and culture of video games allowing educators to draw on these interests and experiences.
GENDER - STILL AN ISSUE EVEN THOUGH SITUATION IN TERMS OF NUMBERS PLAYING HAS CHANGED - STILL POTENTIALLY A HANG OVER IN TERMS OF “NOT MY THING FEELING”-RECOMMENDATION TO BE SENSITIVE TO GENDER ISSUES AND PERCEPTION
CULTURAL - Family Game Experience as an inclusive Fund of Knowledge
Knowledge of a games and gaming culture is sometimes drawn upon by teachers as a concrete example of a coding concepts. A very common examples is that of explaining if-then code constructs. For example, if Pac-Man touches a ghost then a player life is lost. We have already met the tactic of using concrete examples to ilustrate in other parts of this book. However there is something special about drawing on home or out-of-school experience of young people.
The term Funds of Knowledge came out of work in Latino communities in the US where home cultures, skills and traditions were invisible in the school cultures resulting in a form of deficit thinking about the performance of these communities [@moll_funds_1992]. The concept of funds of knowledge is draw on Gutiérrez [-@gutierrez_syncretic_2011] in the promotion of a concept of creating third space, neither home life, nor a traditional classroom. This kind of third space is perfect to create new kinds of working relationships between students and with teachers as facilitators.
There is a related stream of UK based research by Sonia Livingstone that examines family cultures and the role of digital media including video games which echoes some of the findings of the NLT that playing video games and conversations about video games can bring families together.
Thus this process is this useful not only for an inclusive approach it is also good for navigating computing projects too.
More research is needed on ways to draw out attitudes and knowledge of game cultures and to make this as accessible as possible. see later. (missions? methods?)
The concepts of a third space normally happens outside of the school environment, thus the challenge exists how to create such a third space within the classroom. Suggestions now, and the methods part of the 3M framework (drama process).
To allow students to bring their own home funds on knowledge into their work teachers can adopt two main ways.
- Allow students to base their coding projects on well known game tropes or genres.
- Allow for choice over the narrative of the game and the characters to allow for student choice
Authentic projects creating real results
THIS MAY BE SOCIAL RATHER THAN CULTURAL - IN FACT WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE REALLY
An important concept in both project and inclusive approaches to education is to make projects as authentic as possible to increase learner motivation. For game making this authenticity or realness applies not only to the tangible, shareable nature of resulting game created but also a link to the real world of game design.
On an immediate level the desire to create a good game for peers as a source of pride and kudos is a good reason to share created games in the class and potentially publicly.
When learners are designing with someone else in mind, this guides them to shaping their game design effectively. The process of projecting beyond your own experience to an imagined user is a vital design skill that is potentially well developed by making games.
As game making is a huge well known industry, learners understand that the resulting knowledge and skills is not inert but authentic thus and can be applied outside of the classroom.
According to BiE authenticity in project-based education comes in different grades. They offer advice on making PBL work seem real-er to students. https://www.pblworks.org/blog/four-ways-think-about-authenticity-through-lens-gold-standard-pbl-videos
It may not be possible to create a technically commercial advanced game but other audiences exist. For example, so-called Indy Games are made by enthusiasts and often released at low cost or for free on the internet. They often appeal to a retro game aesthetic and are thus easier and quicker to make. Highlighting this movement can reduce student dissatisfaction at not being able to code something like a 3D racing game immediately. As another way to increase authenticity schools sometimes enter online game making competitions or wider creative competitions like the Coolest Project. You may be able to add authenticity in a similar way by providing a frame for your game making.
An Overview of some Game Coding Tools
In my writing in this book I have tried to focus on some non-technical teaching and learning approaches in computing. This is partly to counteract a tendency I have noticed to sometimes focus on new tools, technologies and toys in the world of computing without looking at the underlying learning potential. This can sometimes be unhelpful, especially in the case of kit based learning experiences where everything you need to build a project comes in a box with step-by-step instructions. In this section I will share some of the characteristics of game making tools which hopefully avoid this trap of being too limited in scope. Some game making tools for beginners use a GUI to abstract away the detail of the underlying code complexity. While those may be useful to learn game design without coding, in this section I only include tools that allow users to code the game directly.
Pygame - a python based library for 2D Games
Pygame is an add on (code library) for Python that makes game making a bit easier. Python is a good choice for a class that has had experience of coding in that language of for teachers that want to encourage fluency in this language. There are good resources aimed at beginner coders available too. There are some interesting resources and books to support game making with Pygame on the website of the Raspberry Pi foundation. https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/tag/pygame/ There are also good tutorials available on the home page of the project - https://www.pygame.org/wiki/resources
Where is less strong is the ease of setting up your code and game environment. It can be tricky to get started compared to some of the other tools here. There is also less of an active community of
Scratch - a familiar and flexible tool
Scratch was one of the first block based programming environment to really catch on in schools. Scratch was designed for more general multi-media projects rather than to make games. However, given free reign games are often what young people try to create first. The ability to create your own graphical and audio assets is a real advantage. However, from my experience, while it is quick to get started, the lack of program common game patterns like gravity and collisions means that complexity of the code you need quickly mounts. Even then, for the most part the actual game play of the learner created games is often a bit unsatisfactory.
Where Scratch does stand out is the community element of the website where learners can get inspired by the extremely diverse creations of other young coders. The ability to remix the work of others is a great way start to get used to the tools and the way of working.
Phaser.js in a Code Playground - an authentic web game making framework
Phaser is my own tool of choice when it comes to authentic javascript game-making. To teach it I ask learners to code games an online coding environment called a code playground. Code playgrounds are a tool used by both expert and novice coders to share examples of code that can be edited and preview online. The killer feature is the ability to make changes and quickly see the new results appear. The concept is also very useful for learners and exists for block coding in tools like Scratch and for text coding in Trinket. Many text based code playgrounds exist and I tried a few and settled on Glitch.com - although the process also works well in Trinket. I love this approach due to the authenticity of the tools. Phaser is used by professional game makers and Glitch is the testbed of choice of many code developers. If learners do take to this way of working they can be creating genuine indy-games, dynamic websites and flexible web applications.
Screenshot of Phaser in Glitch.com playground with code and game side by side
The drawbacks of this approach is the potential complexity of using real web technology. While it is possible to hide the elements of html and css away from the user, many mistakes are possible which break the game completely. Luckly Glitch has the ability rewind and undo your changes via a easy to use timeline of your project.
P5.play - an arts inspired coding environment
P5.play is a an add on to the p5.js javascript framework. P5 is a fun javascript library that is quick to learn and get creative results. Sample projects often involve moving interactive, coloured shapes around and generating patterns. P5 project has become popular not only with artists and designers but increasingly with educators. This is partly due to the ability to use it in code playgrounds with all of the advantages previously discussed in the section Phaser and Glitch. While P5.play is limited to 2D games, it add some useful design patterns like animation support, basic collision detection and help for mouse and keyboard interactions.
MakeCode Arcade - specialised block based programming
MakeCode Arcade is a block based programming environment similar to Scratch but with some interesting features which are tailored to game making like gravity, lives and a game over block. In addition, the multi-media making abilities are very stripped down, you can download the games to hand held devices or run them easily.
Screenshot of MakeCode Arcade with code and game side by side
Tensions around Game Making Tools
One way of exploring what works and what doesn’t in a community of learners is to look at tensions that emerge in the learning process. This section explores tensions in my learning design related to use of different game making tools. It is included as some of the issues that emerged may be useful to you when making decisions about appropriate tools to use in your game making.
The use of phaser for my first attempts was interesting as the process involved a new tool set for me. We used a combination of a code playground, js framework, external tools to create art Piskel and another web based tool to create audio sound effects. This created a large amount of choice and a very rich learning landscape.
There were benefits in that the process of moving assets from one online space, onto the hard drive as a file and then uploading to the code playground was a chllenging but achievable task which really built digital literacy skills.
However it was so complex and diverse that group understanding of what was happening was negatively impacted. At times, there was peer learning - at time not as they were using different tools.
It was very authentic, a factor which is judged to be good for motivational factors, However my initial idea of participants participating in and gaining from being part of a community of professional and hobbyist javascript game makers did not seem realistic for this project.
I did resolve this issue of tool complexity by using the new MakeCode Arcade tool. Like scratch this is self contained in asset creation. Unlike Scratch it is very limited in terms of what can be created.
Focus on tools and inclusion
There is a tension balancing simplicity of game making Tools and the flexibility of the product created.
As computing teachers it is likely that one of our core aims will be building familiarity and fluency of use of code constructs.
About the 3M Game Making Model
While the potential benefits of game making are striking many challenges exist. Later in the final section of this chapter I explore some tensions and limitations more generally. In this section I look at a design that aims to address key challenges and tensions. The 3M game making model - (made up of Missions, Maps and Methods) - that I now share with you is the result of a trial and error process evolved over several years working with families to make games together. I have also tested it out in a local Primary school.
While I hope this summary of the tools is useful the following sections are to do with a learning design that can be applied using any of the tools above. In truth The evolution of the process has been both trial and error and collaborative from working with families, to volunteers from PGCE computing course. It has happened at the same time as my own research on design and project approaches.
The 3M process has evolved with the aim that it is accessible to parents, teachers and learners. Part of that accessibility is the playful, game like approach to it. I was inspired by a session by one of my PhD supervisors Nicola Whitton who created a game to help people learn about game concepts. In a similar way this game making model involves game techniques of missions, maps and playful methods to help with the engagement, immersion and navigation of our game making learners. My design focuses on making games to learning the craft of coding, to build meta-cognitive skills (especially goal setting and reflection) and to explore some systems concepts. You may have other goals which you need to steer your learners towards. FOR EXAMPLE?
In my description of the 3M model below, I draw on project based learning and design based terms and principles that are explored in another chapter. Later in the chapter I share ideas on how to adapt this version of the 3M framework to suit your own needs.
3M Model in a nutshell
Learners start by playing and remixing a broken and incomplete (half baked) game.
One of the first design choices that emerged was to start with a common but incomplete template of a 2D platform game which they then adapted to their own designs in an increasingly sophisticated way. Instinctively I gravitated towards a technique that I would later find to be documented as the Use-Modify-Create model.
This is line with a lot of the research indicated that at good way of starting is by remixing and altering the code of others.
Rather than remixing from an existing community of games however I wanted to try another approach - that of using a Half Baked game. A concept was introduced to the field by Kynigos who describes the process of starting with a deliberately incomplete or inappropriate game to provoke students to change it.
Due to the challenging nature of coding a game from first principles, I have adopted a common approach of starting with a templated game to remix. This choice leads to a tension in design; given this templated starting point, how much freedom of choice do learners have over the game they create. A tension being, if you provide too much choice then you may struggle to support learners as they get stuck with a huge variety of diverse problems.
To help resolve this tension we can look at the concept of open world games for inspiration. Open world games provide the player with a series of choices but also to have restrictions to the wide extent of the world/choices. The feeling is of freedom, but there is an acceptance of bounds for example player accept that they don’t have choice over their starting point.
Missions (using Game Patterns and secret side-missions)
Many open world games have a concept of a main mission and then optional side missions. The guiding challenge or main mission of this design was to create a playable game around a theme (environmental in my case) for a real or imagined audience.
Design Patterns as Missions
My Missions existed on different levels. Some linked to game mechanics -some to more systems thinking - some to do with engagement, social learning and reflection.
In my this design I chose a starting point of an incomplete platform game. I asked my family learners what they would like to add to this game. They came up with a list of features that we can describe as game design patterns. By game design patterns here I mean common features that game players would commonly expect from a game. For example moving around the screen, avoiding hazards, collecting coins, jumping on enemies, finding a door or flag to progress to the next level.
Game designs have a solid place in the way that professional coders learn their trade. They are part of the craft approach to coding that we have explored in a previous chapter. The craft in this case involves building a knowledge of patterns that occur
Supporting Learner Choice: The core of my learning design is the use of game design patterns as a relatable way for student to choose their paths and to structure the support through coding concepts linked to these patterns. You can see how this is in line with some of the concepts of inclusive and project based approaches discussed earlier.
Diagram of Possible Missions on a Web Page Menu
I found that result of this approach is a kind of creative chaos. It resolved tensions around groups getting stuck. But provided another tension around how much guidance to give learners in the code examples provided. For my group of novice coders I chose to provide almost complete code help. This was because I was looking to follow the Use Modify and Create pattern. This design helps build familiarity with code and the code environment.
Sample Game Design Pattern
Analysing Broken / Half-Baked games
Getting participants up and running from ideas, to a design to then starting to code too a long time when starting from first principles. In order to reduce the test of their patience I quickly adopted the use of a template to help them to get to grips with coding
The framework provided the following advantages, a working example of code syntax, and a structure of variables and functions already working together. The combination of working with it, gaffer taping bits on to it, and then playing a game to analyse the core line by line.
One participant wrote “that was a great moment - when after struggling to add text on to the code, we played the code matching game. We realised how much we had actually picked up that process”.
Adding onto the template had helped the participant to read and understand code.
Game Maker Types and Missions
As digital and online games became more complicated Richard Bartle proposed that players to get different things out of them. He created a test to finds out what kind of game player you are. https://matthewbarr.co.uk/bartle/
This model holds that there are four different kinds of player styles: Griefers, Achievers, Explorers, and Socializers. Achievers get satisfaction by progressing by playing by the rules of the game’s missions. Explorers discover the systems governing the operation of the game world. Socializers form relationships with other players by telling stories within the game world. Griefers (or Killers) interfere with the functioning of the game world or the play experience of other players. Open world games that allow you to choose how you play the game. If you want to stick to the main missions you can follow guidance to do that but if you just want to explore or be social or mess around you have the chance to do that too.
Bartle Game Player Type Test
One of my favourite warm up activities is to get game making participants to take the Bartle test as a group. I convert the quiz in to an interactive physical game. Personal and ethical choices are explored in real time. It’s a lot of fun.
I propose that as well as different Game Player types there are also different styles of Game Maker. Planners like to study to get a full knowledge of the tools and what is possible before they build up their game step-by-step. Social makers form relationships with other game makers and players by finding out more about their work and telling stories in their game. Magpie makers like trying out lots of different things and happy to borrow code, images and sound from anywhere for quick results. Glitchers mess around with the code trying to see if they can break it interesting ways and cause a bit of havoc.
I don’t propose that people fall neatly into any one category. Instead these categories are mostly aimed at educators to help them plan their game making sessions. After some of my own sessions I wondered if some of the frustration and confusion surrounding learners on-going participation was due to the diversity of the different approaches.
For example, I noticed that sometimes parents would get frustrated at their kids messing around and creating tricky or impossible games. I could hear them struggling to bring their kids back into line with what they thought was the right way to go about making games. At the same time when I reviewed the tapes of what they were doing these young people were often exploring the code, making many changes, and inviting others to play their game for feedback very activity - which are excellent coding practices.
To address this issue I created some extra missions to suit these Glitcher game makers who enjoyed playing against the game. While I guessed planners wouldn’t need them, for magpie makers, and social makers I created other extra missions that might encourage or legitimise their favoured activity. Thus some of the missions were social in nature (Find out who plays the most computer games per week in your group), others were more anti-social in nature (add an usual sound to someone else’s project) and some exploratory missions that encourage feature sharing ()
These extra missions are available here - https://mickfuzz.github.io/makecode-platformer-101/missions
Also while many learners appreciated the quick progress and immediate feedback of patching code to add game design features, other learners wanted to know the full detail of the underlying template code. These planners appreciated having step by step tutorials that explained the code piece by piece.
One of the things all game maker types can benefit from are resources to help support learner navigation, this brings us to the next M - Maps.
Maps
I kept a journal and recorded sessions to identify learning tensions that blocked progress. Some of these tensions can be summarised as learner confusion about what they should do next or at the other extreme being overwhelmed at choices available, getting stuck or being unsure of what coding progress was being made. To try to resolve some of these tension I drew on the use of another technique from open world adventure games that of Maps.
In more traditional project based learning the kinks of support would involve learning journals, structured student reports or templated check in points. I wanted to avoid this kind of more formal approach for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it felt like a huge shift moving from the mechanics of coding to then writing up the report and one that was hard to fit into the end of busy sessions. Secondly, my study involved a lot of students from whom writing was not a strong point so I wanted to explore other methods.
Physical Maps of Missions
The first step was to try to address issues of being unsure what to do next or jumping around from one thing to another without completing them. I printed out a large scale map of the different kinds of game pattern missions represented as different islands. When learners selected their next mission, they moved their counter onto that spot. Thus learners had to be intentional about their next steps. They also kept a track of the missions that they had completed by tracing a trail as they progressed. Having a physical map in my family setting this process was particularly useful to help the parents encourage goal setting and progressing from one task to another rather than getting stuck in a loop of asset design.
Missions as Islands
In addition this chaotic, colourful and visual representation served to encourage peer knowledge of what other people were up to, build a sense of community and to encourage reflection as each design patter was completed.
Maps can also be used retrospectively to help learners to reflect on their progress. I asked student to create a physical character that could move around the large scale print out of the islands. When they chose a new pattern to work on they moved their counter and drew a trail of where they had been.
When moving the counter on the map they can be prompted to look at the coding concepts or other learning dimensions that they have been working with when implementing their game patterns.
Learning Dimensions Map
The has been a growing tendency in socio-cultural research to look at the learning that is happening in any given activity from an observational perspective. That is to say that rather than deciding what you want to teach and planning around that, you choose an existing authentic activity and map the learning that actually happens in reality.
This is the approach adopted in an interesting research program which looked at hands on tinkering with Science exhibits in a museum setting. In an article called – It looks like fun but what are they learning –Bevan and Petrich worked with educators to examine video footage of families interacting with exhibits. The resulting map of learning dimensions is notable as not only are the underlying science concepts explored but, more general skills and attributes and helping behaviour common to an exploratory process is also present.
While this is an informal way of using maps the are other approaches that are more formal including one called a concept map which is a visual representation of target specialised knowledge. There is a section on concept maps as part of the teach computing website here. https://blog.teachcomputing.org/how-we-teach-computing/
I created an online map of the different learning dimensions that learners were most likely to pick up through game making.
Navigating Learning Dimensions
This process also helped me to understand the kind of learning experience I was hoping the game makers would be having.
Navigate Dimensions
The journey that the learners started to have is reminiscent of the semantic waves with ocillations between more concrete and more abstract learning dimensions.
Methods (Inclusive)
The third M in this 3M framework stand for methods, these are broadly speaking educational, design and drama methods to support an inclusive process. These may help with participation and to maximise some of the potential benefits of game making explored in the first part of this chapter.
Fun and Physical Ways linked to Game Making
THIS SECTION NEEDS TO BE CLEARER - IS IT ABOUT PHYSICAL TANGIBLE APPROACHES OR NOT? OR DRAMA GAMES / STARTERS? SEPARATE?
The use of physical computing to create concrete and tangible activities has been show to increase engagement of diverse groups of learners. Making the digital physical has been a guiding principle for inclusive learning designs for some time. To support my game making projects, I made some very simple arcade cabinets out of wood with simple arcade buttons. Connecting arcade buttons to the computer via a Makey Makey or similar break out USB joystick adaptor is a relatively simple electronics project which can be completed quickly. The process of building their own arcade cabinets was a very engaging activity and a fantastic target to work towards as they made their games. Some families did this at home in very low tech ways with cardboard materials.
While it can be time consuming I highly recommend, this method of involving some kind of physical making or tangible product if at all possible. The results in terms of learner engagement can be transformational. For more information on the value of physical computing to increase inclusion you can read this article (RUSK?)
Using a Drama Framework / Processes
Drama Starter Games and physical activities - You may love or hate the kind of warm-up games that are common in drama circles. Either way they are good ways to help focus learner’s attention and get them ready for new experiences. Making games lends itself well to creating a fun and welcoming classroom environment with links to the learning happening later in the session. In a family learning setting I was able to make the most of this by playing physical warm up games, playing video games on arrival leading to then analysing what made them challenging.
Most computing teachers will be familiar with some of the positive impacts of Unplugged activities.
Drama Framework - One of the methods I have used to increase learner and parent engagement is the. used the concept of using a fictional scenario or simulation to increase the perceived authenticity of a project.
There are well researched benefits which allow the rapid construction of a community of learners, which while less authentic than a professional community, can still provide some of the benefits.
I was lucky to be able to work with practitioners of Drama Education department at Manchester Met to work on a several process dramas with families, students and staff.
You don’t have to be a drama practitioner to introduce such a fictional scenario but there are some interesting techniques that we can draw on to make this process more engaging for learners.
For example, one which I asked trainee teachers to devise also worked well. Without the space to go into too much detail here are some of the benefits of using a fictional frame using the example of the fiction of making games for a alien race coming to destroy the earth.
- We were able to explore issues of gaming cultures, and hostility to them from a naive alien view point.
- We asking learners to step into a role. “As game designers, we will do Y”
- Drama creates a jeopardy and a commitment to the process
- I used the fictional audience as a way to encourage reflection in learners, at the end of each session they shared their games with the alien audience and talked through their design decisions and challenges.
Challenges - and how they may link to a classroom setting
THIS SECTION MAY NEED TO BE INCORPORATED IN THE PREVIOUS ONE - OR BE MUCH CLEARER HOW IT IS SEPARATE.
This sections acknowledges the complexity and diversity of classroom situations and the challenges of project-based game making within the constraints of the curriculum.
Prioritising Learning Dimensions
The potential dimensions of learning in Kafai and Burke’s review of research is very diverse including; 21st Century Skills, developing coding and information technology skills and teaching other subjects through cross curriculum projects. This potential put a responsibility on teachers to prioritise and promote certain learning outcomes over others.
Teaching in more formal environments For my study, I ended up de-prioritising more general communications skills (21st C skills) and highlighting coding concepts and systems concepts.
Time considerations and classroom culture
Project-based approaches are often explored in after-school clubs or other informal settings, as the time needed to run authentic projects is often scarce due to competing curriculum demands. However they are successfully integrated into core school activities by many educators. Some of the ways to overcome this are explore in previous chapter. CROSS REFERENCE OTHER CHAPTERS
Starting a community from scratch
Finally, one of the most challenging but rewarding aspects of making games together was the building of a community of learners. As explored previously the benefits of sharing code, playtesting games and the value of the encouragement of peer learners are significant.
In all the programs I ran only one parent and one student had experience of coding. This process of starting up such a community from scratch is challenging. In the previous sections I have shared my tips to help build a small game making community. These include encouraging peer sharing with diversity of learner paths, narratives and activities to encourage group reflection, starting activities which build a team spirit.
At times I felt these community building activities took away from coding and problem solving. A frustration, it felt as if we were just getting going and time was up. However I leave this to you as educators to resolve. And don’t forget one last ingredients raw enthusiasm.
Concusion - Over coming challenges and looking to the future
In this chapter we have looked at game making as one example of the kind of desing and project focused approach explored in other chapters.
It has uncovered particular tensions involved in undertaking this kind of approach in a school setting.