Game presentation

video games: what’s the fun in those? Jeremy Pesner

Introduction (or, what am I doing here today?) • Many institutions are focusing on gaming • Financial/Business, Learning, Social, etc. • Games aren’t always interesting... or fun • Not everyone who wants use games knows them well or even plays them • Time to get back to basics - why we’re all here • Examine different reasons we play games and see them in practice • Tie fun in mechanics to potential learning situations

What is a game?

What is a game? It gets a little tricky to deﬁne

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. -

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. - • Has a reachable goal

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. - • Has a reachable goal • Has rules

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. - • Has a reachable goal • Has rules • Has a deﬁned domain space (area of play)

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. - • Has a reachable goal • Has rules • Has a deﬁned domain space (area of play) • Is meant for FUN (primarily)

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. - • Has a reachable goal • Has rules • Has a deﬁned domain space (area of play) • Is meant for FUN (primarily) • This doesn’t do much good

here’s what I’ve come up with Game ( ), n. - • Has a reachable goal • Has rules • Has a deﬁned domain space (area of play) • Is meant for FUN (primarily) • This doesn’t do much good • Games have certain characteristics which make organizations interested in them

Games are motivating Gaming can be a motivating and inspiring force for.. • Continuing to play • Artists & Musicians • Future game makers • Social experiences - arcades, LARP

Games are complex Millions of gamers learn complex controls like these in every game

games are engaging ...and it’s not about how high-end they are

games are ubiquitous Jesse Schell (see “DICE 2010: Design Outside the Box”) Look to success of: • I Love Bees • Foursquare • DARPA’s Red Balloons

games are social • Games have always been social - D&D, Arcades • Most people enjoy playing some social game • A good way to connect with others • BUT... a social game doesn’t have be multiplayer

games are culturally signiﬁcant People can talk about games even if they haven’t played them together Famous games and game mechanics - GO!

People may ﬁnd a game enjoyable because... • It engages curiosity (“I wonder how this will play out”) • It pulls players in quickly (“This doesn’t seem so hard”) • It has an appealing narrative (“I want to experience this story”) • It’s familiar (“I’ve seen this before”) • It’s unfamiliar (“This is a great new idea”) • It appeals to the achiever, explorer, killer or socialite • See Richard Bartle’s “player types” • Any other ideas?

a crash course in gaming • Will use simple games to engage discussions about what gamers ﬁnd fun • General principals are consistent across genre - gamers often like many games of different types • You - yes, you - will play these games • Not a random sampling. These games can all be learned & played very quickly • Try to be mindful of what you do and don’t enjoy. Don’t play into expectation, but answer questions • Let’s play a game!

What did you (dis)like about this game? I’m going to make some lists Fun Learning • didn’t reset itself • not resetting itself - • doesn’t take long to learn persistent problems • setting own goals • rules - there are patterns • performance • knowing you can crack the • failing part of point code • music set gameplay • 8 bit elephant = 3d • liked how there were no instructions elephant • new set of rules • appealing goals set • other gameplay elements didn’t ﬁgure • failing is part of learning

Conclusion • We’ve discovered many different opinions on many different games • Developers: I hope this has offered perspectives on how to make games fun AND educational, eye-opening, etc. • Organizations: I hope you better understand how people think about and play games • Fun FIRST. Always • Everyone else: I hope you had a bitchin’ good time • And remember... games CAN solve our social issues!

well...

well... Most of them, anyway

I’d like to thank the academy... Thanks to... • Brad Hargreaves • Alan Gershenfeld, Jeff Ramos & Games for Change NY • Brian Dalton (the videographer - grab his card) • Remote participants (Save Point, G4C Global) • The game players • All of you who came speciﬁcally because I asked you to Call me, we’ll do lunch • thepezman@gmail.com • I’m open for business • Don’t have business cards on me, just great slides

but wait, there’s more! y+30 Meetup! (google it) • Panel: Internet Communication in 30 years • Organizer/Moderator: Yours truly • Venue: 92Y Tribeca • Date: December 13, 2010 • Panelists: ??????

Game presentation

by Jeremy Pesner

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