Theresa Devine - Shared Desires, Conflicting Agendas and Lessons Learned

Shared Desires, Conflicting
Agendas, and Lessons Learned
On Collaborating to Create
Educational Games
Theresa Devine
Assistant Professor
Arizona State University
tcdevine@asu.edu
http://studio4gaminginnovation.com/
http://theresadevine.com/
http://zamtox.com/
July 22-24 2014
2014 Serious Play Conference
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Desires
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

My Backstory
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

I am an artist.
I was trained as a painter and printmaker. MFA 1994
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

The enlightened one….
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

No audience participation = preaching
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Political and Social Art
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Barrier between artist and audience.
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

2 miles per hour
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

My Desire: What if?
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

1995: I will make games and engage
the fine art audience through play
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Note: Day Job 1998-2010
(this is important later in the story)
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Their Backstory
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Their desire: beyond boredom
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

!!!!!!!!
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Anti-Critical Thinking
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

*sigh*
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Assembly Line Learning
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

First comes instruction, then practice,
then work on comprehension skills
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Break free
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

And everyone read it….
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

And decided games would
SAVE education
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Reinforcement
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Seduced
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Wishing and wondering
• Can the interface disappear?
• Can the artist/educator become one with the
audience/students?
• Can our message become embedded in the
delivery so as to make the communication
intuitive?
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Rapture
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

And so we set out on our journey…
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Conflicting Agendas
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

My Agenda
• To make fun, engaging, meaningful, well
designed toys and games that are works
of art.
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Their Agenda
• To make a game that will engage an
audience in their research.
• To enhance their teaching.

Conflicting Agenda #1:
Pedagogical Confusion
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Fields I Encountered: Cases #1 and #2
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Case #1: Chemistry
two pervasive pedagogical approaches
Lecture to present CONTENT Learn by doing: CONTEXT
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Content vs. Context
Content
• Students usually enjoy this
type of approach
• Hard to motivate non
majors
• Difficult for non majors to
see relevance
Context
• Fosters a more positive
attitude to school science
over conventional courses
• Helps students make links
to their lived experiences
• Seems to engage non
majors
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Collaborator for this game…
• Unable to choose an approach
• “Just use the book”
• Result: a content driven pedagogical approach
wrapped in a story and gameplay
• Goal: give the students the same feelings of
positivity and relevance that a context
approach would
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

The Hope
• To motivate students to learn an admittedly
difficult subject; and
• Improve retention
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Fail: Motivation
+
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Fail: Good Game Design
+
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Why didn’t I push back?
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned
+

What happened when I did push back?
What I said What they heard
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Hmmmm...
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Case #2: First Year Composition
Teaching skills
• Identifying, categorizing,
studying, and replicating
approaches to writing.
• Emphasis on “Form”
Covering content
• Anchored in specific content
but approached from
multiple disciplinary
perspectives
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Game Design Stumbling
Blocks: FYC
Teaching skills
• To reproduce the professor
feedback loop in a game
would require duplication of
the human ability to discern
and critique the student's
writing
• This type of artificial
intelligence capability is
beyond what is currently
technically available.
Covering content
• Adds layer of game design
as it requires that a
disciplinary context be
created on top of the
writing lessons.
• Expected degree of
flexibility of discipline is
difficult to achieve.
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Irony
• it has been found that
neither methodology
produces the systematic
and wholesale
improvements in
writing skills desired
July 22-24 2014
2014 Serious Play
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Since 1968
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned
Stumbling Block:
Eliminate FYC

Writing Lab as Game?
+
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

What FYC is to English Departments
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Technology Wars
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

The Battles
Technology Battle #1: Purchase
“out of the box” solution
Technology Battle #2: Choose a digital
environment based solely on novelty
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Seduced at a Conference
July 22-24 2014
2014 Serious Play
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Tech Battle #1: Purchase an
“out of the box” solution
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Age Old Software
Question…
Build or Buy?
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

“No Silver Bullet” – Fred Brooks
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Level One Assessment Criteria
1. What does the software do?
2. Does the software fill the need of the
project?
3. Does the software do what it does well?
4. Who are the competitors?
5. What are the differences and similarities of
the competitors’ products with the software
being assessed?
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Level Two Assessment Criteria:
Total Cost of Ownership (TOC)
• initial license fees,
• hardware,
• developers,
• time,
• training,
• maintenance,
• and feature development
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Level Three Assessment:
What is the best value?
• The least expensive isn't necessarily the best
value.
• The best value is determined by the long term
plan of the software.
• Clear requirements that explain how the
software is going to support the research are
needed to determine the long term plan.
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

If
• There are clear requirements
• And a long term plan
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Then
this is the point at which the
– build,
– buy,
– or build and buy
decision can be made
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

But…
• The assessment process was never allowed by
my collaborators.
• It was seen as “extra work” and “a waste of
time.”
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Tech Battle #2: Choose a digital
environment based solely on novelty
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Why?
• Collaborator thought
– It was cool and cutting edge.
– The NSF would fund the project because of the
choice of technology.
– The students would respond to this technology.
– It was a readily available consumer product
(one that every student already owned).
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Problems
• Inaccessible to people with limited mobility.
• Financial burden to students.
– my students struggle to buy their books.
• Caters to a kinesthetic learning style.
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Bait and Switch
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

I thought I was wiser…
Contract establishing roles
Stakeholder Requirements Document
Game Design Document
Agreement to make Board Game to transfer
research information
Agreement to make Board Game as a
prototype
Agreement to create Video Game
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Dead End
Contract establishing roles
Stakeholder Requirements Document
Game Design Document
Agreement to make Board Game to transfer
Agreement to make Board Game as a
prototype
Agreement to create Video Game
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Board Game to transfer
• Was used to alpha test collaborator’s research
• Had some success and some interesting data
was collected
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Bait and Switch
• Once the transfer of research was complete
and the collaborator saw a “working” game
• And had some data collected
• The project was ended by the collaborator
because he/she had what was needed for
his/her own research
• Did not care if I had what I needed for my
research
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

What happened when I pushed back?
What I said What they heard
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Disappearing Act
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

#1: Unwillingness to share
research data
July 22-24 2014
2014 Serious Play
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Why?
• Your guess is as good as mine.
• Fear?
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

#2: Orphan Textbook Syndrome
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

I took the class….
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

What these Disappearing Acts
have in common.
• Lack of commitment
from collaborator
(manifested in their
failure to show up for
meetings)
• Unspoken: “Do my
research for me.”
• Unspoken: “My time
has more value than
yours.”
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Lessons Learned
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Know Your Limits and
Have a Plan

Phase 1: Inception
• Pre-meeting research for game developer
– Ask for teaching philosophy
– Research pedagogy - look for opposing camps and assess
degree of emotional involvement in your collaborator and
in your director.
• Meeting with collaborator:
– Introduce process
– Explain the difference between work for hire and
collaborative research
– Collaborative research agreement
– Collaborator homework: Stakeholder Questionnaire
• research data for game
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Phase 2: Expectations
• Meeting with Collaborator:
– Contract establishing roles
– Technology Lead Agreement
– Stakeholder Definition Document
• Collaborator homework
– Stakeholder Requirements Document
• Meeting with Collaborator to discuss
Stakeholder Requirements
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Phase 3: Collaborative Elaboration
• Collaborator homework: First Board Game
– The point is to transfer research and data needed
for the game
– It is not a prototype
• No field testing or data collection allowed
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Phase 4: Elaboration
• Developer homework
– Initial Game Design Document
• Set limitations on the project
– Project Plan Overview
• Make it simple
• Meeting with Collaborator
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Phase 5: Prototype
• IRB
– Homework for Collaborator and Developer
• Developer Homework:
– Board Game 2
• Actual game design begins
• Field testing and Data collection allowed
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Phase 6: Construction
• Developer Homework
– Video Game
• Promise only one game mechanic
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

More information
• http://studio4gaminginnovation.com/projects
.aspx
July 22-24 2014
@Studio4Games
#LessonsLearned

Theresa Devine - Shared Desires, Conflicting Agendas and Lessons Learned

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Theresa Devine - Shared Desires, Conflicting Agendas and Lessons Learned

Similar to Theresa Devine - Shared Desires, Conflicting Agendas and Lessons Learned (20)

More from SeriousGamesAssoc

More from SeriousGamesAssoc (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Theresa Devine - Shared Desires, Conflicting Agendas and Lessons Learned