Intellectual Production #8:

Working alone–and for some of you this is re-reading (no harm in that!), read chapters 1-3 and do at least 5 of the exercises Fullerton suggests.

Exercise 1 .3: Your Life as a Game

List five areas of your life that could be games. Then briefly describe a possible underlying game structure for each.

Herding Cats

Objective- gather students in a classroom during flex learning time, no students roaming the hallways

Obstacles- cell phones, students dislike of flex, large school grounds, students hiding in bathrooms

Rules- students need to be in class during flex time, teachers can only use verbal cues to persuade students to move into learning areas

Reward- students are in classes during learning time

This game requires multiple players to work in a team to herd all students in an organized fashion back to class

Game of Finances

Objective- manage finances effectively and increase the pot of money

Obstacles- school, economy, social life, gas prices, unforeseen circumstances, travel

Rules- do not spend more than you make, you must pay the tax man every month,

Reward- a trip, buy something I want, sense of security

Game of Fitness

Objective: Improve physical fitness, gain strength, and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Obstacles: Lack of time, sore muscles, unhealthy food temptations, weather

Rules: Complete a set number of workouts per week, follow a balanced diet, and track progress regularly.

Reward: Improved health, achieving fitness goals, personal satisfaction

This game has levels that correspond to fitness milestones, such as running a 5k, lifting heavier weights, or hitting target goal

Dating Game

Objective- find a life partner

Rules- dating preferences and requirements such as age range, gender, demeanor etc.

Obstacles- liars, infidelity, incompatibility

Levels- as you progress throughout the game your risk level and possible rewards increase due to the longer amount of time you invest into each game

Master’s Degree Marathon

Objective: Complete a master’s program in education to gain advanced teaching skills and qualify for a higher salary.

Obstacles: Balancing coursework with teaching, staying motivated during late nights, managing finances for tuition, and meeting deadlines.

Rules: Attend classes, complete assignments on time, and actively participate in discussions. Bonus points for implementing new teaching strategies learned in the program.

Reward: Higher salary, professional growth

This game has stages, such as completing individual courses, and submitting a final capstone project. Each stage brings you closer to winning.

Exercise 1 .5: Your Childhood- List ten games you played as a child, for example, hide and seek, four square, and tag. Briefly describe what was compelling about each of those games.

Hide and seek – easy to understand, thrilling to try to not get found

Tag – easy rules to understand, exciting, can play with any number of people and almost anywhere

Bump – I loved basketball and it got your adrenaline up

Cops and Robbers – simulated a real life situation of running from authority. Exciting and engaging

Slap – fast paced, easy rules, fast paced and exciting

Capture the flag- active, easy to follow, exciting trying to steal from someone else’s territory

Red light- green light

Simon Says

Octopus

What time is it Mr. Wolfe

I started writing the reasons beside each game however I found myself repeating the same thing. What was compelling about these games was they included some sort of thrilling component. They are simple to understand with little to no equipment and they engaged you because of the excitement and suspense of getting “caught” or “out.” Additionally they all have a social component that I found really enjoyable.

Exercise 2 .1: Think of a Game

1. Think of a game, any game. Now write down a description of the game. Be detailed. Describe it as if to someone who has never played a game like it before.

2. Now think of another game—a completely different type of game. The more different this game is from the first one, the better. Describe it.

1.Cribbage (Crib) is a card game typically played by two players, with a standard 52-card deck and a special scoring board where pegs are moved to count scores. The objective is to be the first player to move their peg across the board to the end line (usually 121 points). This is done by combining cards in different ways to score points.

Setup:

Players will remove a card from the deck without looking. The lowest card will deal and have the first “crib”

Each player is dealt six cards, and they choose two cards to place face-down into the “crib” (a separate pile that belongs to the dealer).

The dealer then shuffles the remaining cards and begins the game by cutting the deck and revealing the starting card

Scoring: Points are scored in several ways:

Combinations of 15: Any two or more cards that add up to 15 (e.g., a 10 and a 5).

• Pairs, Runs, and Flushes:
• Pair: (e.g., two 7s). 2 points
• Run: Three or more consecutive cards (e.g., 4, 5, 6). 3 points
• Flush: Four cards of the same suit in the hand (not counting the crib). 4 points

Play:

Pegging: Players take turns playing one card at a time, trying to make combinations that score points, such as creating a total of 15 or a pair. Same scoring as listed above. The number count of all of these cards cannot go above 31.

After all cards have been played, players reveal their hands and score them according to the combinations outlined above.

After both players play out their hands, the dealer scores their crib as well.

2. Diddy Kong Racing

Objective: Race other drivers to get to the end of the track first

• You can choose your character, vehicle, and which race track you want
• There are also items you can collect that help you drive faster or slower or which slow down your opponent

3. Compare your descriptions. Which elements were different and which were similar? Dig deep and really think about the underlying mechanics of each game.

Similar

• Both are designed for the players to enjoy and be engaged in
• Both require certain equipment or game tools in order to play
• Both have a starting and end point. Whoever crosses the end point first determines who is the winner.
• The points in crib are similar to the items you can drive over in Diddy Kong because they propel you to move ahead
• Both require strategy but also have elements of luck (which cards you are dealt, which track you race etc)
• Players would be better at both of these games with increased practice

Different

• Crib has many more rules and would be much more difficult to teach a new player
• Crib would not suit as many age groups as Diddy Kong would because of the math and many rules
• Diddy Kong does not require other players as you can play the computer. Crib requires someone else to play (unless done online)
• Strategy would be different in each game. Crib uses memory while Diddy Kong uses quick reactions

Exercise 2 .2: Players

Describe how players might join or start a game of Go Fish versus single-player Quake. What steps do they need to take in each case—social, procedural, or technical? There will clearly be differences in the beginning of a multiplayer card game versus a single-player digital game, but are there also similarities? If so, describe them.

Go Fish

Players need to consider their social surroundings. Asking others to participate with them and potentially teaching the rules and procedures of the game. They do not need technology but would need to shuffle the deck, hand out cards in the agreed upon manner, and decide who goes first

Quake

Players would need the correct technology to play the game. This could be the system or console. They do not need to consider social norms because they are playing alone but they would need to know the rules and the objective (to stay alive)

Similarities

They would need to have the proper equipment, they would both need to know the rules and objective, and they both need to engage the players to continue playing

Exercise 2 .4: Rules Can you think of a game that has no rules? If so, describe it. How about one rule? Why is this exercise difficult?

• Even the games that I can come up with that seem like they do not have “rules” still have structures that are played within. For example, role playing as a child. Although there may not be defined rules, the children tend to follow what the societal norms or rules are.
• Silent game- only rule is you cannot make any noise

This exercise is difficult because games need some sort of structure so that its participants can have an understanding of how to participate. If these rules are not upheld then they are no longer playing the game.

Exercise 2 .7: Premise

What are the premises for the games Risk, Clue, Guitar Hero and Catan? If you don’t know these games, pick games that you are more familiar with.

Clue –The premise is that there has been a murder in a mansion. Guests are trying to play detective and determine who was the murderer, in what room, and with which weapon.

Risk- The premise of risk is war. Players move their armies to strategically capture land

Catan- The premise is players are competing for material resources in order to build large settlements and develop their land and armies before their enemies can.

Guitar Hero- The premise is the player is a rock star or lead guitarist performing in front of fans.

 

Reference:

Fullerton, T. (2014). Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games, NY: Taylor & Francis (CRS Press)/ Chapters 1, 2, 3.

Gee, J. P. (2008). Cats and portals: Video games, learning, and play. American Journal of Play, 1(2), 229.

The article “Cats and Portals: Video Games, Learning, and Play” by James Paul Gee, published in American Journal of Play (2008), explores the potential for “good” video games to impact learning. Using his analogy of Cats, he describes how play allows for discovery and therefore the development of new skills and learning. Gee illustrates this interaction with video games through various examples, such as SIMS, to show how play can foster skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, language acquisition, and knowledge building. Gee argues that video games integrate play and learning, offering space where mastery is achieved through trial and error, similar to the process of learning in real life. However, he does not address diverse learners and their unique abilities and challenges to benefit from this discovery. How can Gee’s concept of “play as discovery” be utilized in designing educational learning environments, and how might this approach be adapted for in-person activities to enhance and support learning?

Gee, E., & Gee, J. P. (2017). Games as distributed teaching and learning systems. Teachers College Record, 119(11).

The article “Games as Distributed Teaching and Learning Systems” by Gee and Gee (2017) explores distributed teaching and learning (DTAL) systems, discussing how learning can occur outside traditional schools through affinity networks and digital tools. Gee and Gee highlight that humans draw on experiences from texts, media, virtual worlds, peer interactions, and often do not distinguish between these but rather utilize them to navigate future problems. Video games are an example of a new conversation that we can utilize in learning, ultimately not far off from the games we are already playing in our own minds while trying to solve a problem or testing different scenarios. The authors suggest that learning through distributed systems like games could help create better, more engaging education, since these tools encourage problem-solving, collaboration, and social interaction. They also found that DTAL systems offer more freedom and agency for people to learn with flexibility of schedule, income level, social network, location, or other restricting factors. Did the authors consider whether knowing you are engaging in learning within a DTAL system enhances or detracts from the learning experience? Could this awareness influence motivation and engagement if learners recognize their activities as educational or valuable?

Both articles emphasize that learning in online spaces or through video games is closely tied to real life learning, where experiences in virtual environments can translate into skills and knowledge in the real world. While the first article by Gee (2008) focused on video games and skills or learning associated with them, the other (Gee & Gee, 2017) was focused more broadly on DTAL systems associated with those games and how they impact further learning and knowledge building.