PASSIVELY MULTIPLAYER GAMES:
HOW NEW MEDIA ECOLOGIES RETHINK COMPOSITION AND COGNITION
ALICE J. ROBISON
MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ALICEROBISON.ORG AJR@MIT.EDU

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT
DESIGNING GAMES
RESEARCH IN GAMES AND LEARNING
SHOW THAT *GOOD* GAMES ARE
PARTICULARLY USEFUL INSTANTIATIONS
OF THE MOST CUTTING-EDGE RESEARCH
IN A WIDE VARIETY OF CONTENT AREAS.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED ABOUT DESIGNERS
AND THEIR PROCESS FOR MAKING GAMES
MANY GAMES ARE DESIGNED AND DEVELOPED WITH
DELIBERATE SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE GOALS FOR
CREATING SOPHISTICATED MEANING-MAKING PLAY
EXPERIENCES
MANY DEVELOPERS AND DESIGNERS DON’T CONSIDER
THEMSELVES TEACHERS, EVEN THOUGH THEY THINK
AND ACT LIKE US
MANY DESIGNERS DON’T USE THE SAME DISCOURSE AS
ACADEMICS; INSTEAD, THEY JUST REFER TO THEIR WORK
AS “ENGINEERING FUN”