This document summarizes research on player experiences with social change games. Players had varying expectations and priorities based on their identity as gamers, active citizens, or educators. A game about water scarcity only lightly touched on related issues like gender inequality and received mixed feedback. Players wanted clearer links between gameplay and real-world issues. While most discussed the game, not all learned more about the target issues of girls' education and water access. The research highlights challenges with using games for civic learning.

1. Emily Sheepy
David I. Waddington
Concordia University, Montreal
DIRECTIONS FOR PLAYER-CENTRED
DESIGN OF GAMES FOR CHANGE:
ENGAGING CIVIC LITERACY
CGSA
May 29, 2014

2. SOCIAL CHANGE GAMES PRESENT
OPPORTUNITIES FOR INFORMAL CIVIC
EDUCATION.
We believe that games foster civic
learning when they help players to
develop knowledge, skills, and
dispositions that players then apply to
public matters in the world outside the
game (Raphael et al.,2010, p. 203).
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3. 3
GET WATER! THE GAME
Get Water! Trailer (Decode Global, 2013)
Touch-based
endless runner
Target amounts
of water collected
unlock narrative
(cut scenes)
Achievements
(short-term goals,
e.g. “Find 3
mangos”)
Skill Upgrades
(earned in-game
or purchased)
Gameplay
Dialogue box
featuring quotes
submitted by
players
Facebook
Twitter
Social
features
Players purchase
“pencils”; these
are in-game
donations
Monetization

4. What’s the player experience like?
What are players learning?
How are players evaluating these games?
 What are their expectations for a game with a social message?
 What features do they notice?
How do players’ evaluations relate to later actions?
 Do they try to learn more? Why?
 Do they talk about the game? Why?
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
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5. 5
PLAYERS’ IDENTITIES LEAD THEM TO
PRIORITIZE DIFFERENT GOALS.
•Aesthetic appeal
•Usability
•Learnability
•Use of genre
conventions
•Facilitation of play.
Gamers
• Clarity and credibility
of information
• Facilitation of real-
world attitudinal &
behavioural change.
Active
Citizens
•Correspondence
between learning
activity and content
objectives
•Facilitation of learning.
Educators
Messaging problems are playability issues
for social change games.

6. DATA, DATA, AND MORE DATA
• Think-aloud protocol
• Play logs & observations
• Pre & post-play
questionnaires
• Semi-structured interview
• One-month follow-up
questionnaire
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22 adults aged 20-42 participated (15M: 8F)
20 completed the study

7. 7
THEME: OVERSIMPLIFICATION.
" ... gender roles, inequality, and
pollution to a certain extent, weren’t
really--they were either sort of lightly
touched on or not really touched on at
all ... [There are] other social issues
that just, from who I am, seem just as
important as the water."

8. 8
THEME: (IN)VISIBILITY OF GENDER
I would have just gone right off to …
they’re trying to target a demographic of
women ... I didn’t see her as, like, a voice
for women.

9. 9
THEME: CREDIBILITY AND VOICE:
CONFLICTING VIEWS.
I like these blurbs.
They're cool ... they're
people who are
connected on the game
... what they think about
access to free education
... some people will read
that and ruminate on it.
Like, what's the credibility of
these people for me who have
played the game somewhere
else, ostensibly? ... I either like
to hear what experts have to
say … or also people that I
know …
… last time I checked, Seattle
or Tacoma didn’t look like that.

10. THEME:
‘TYPICAL’ PLAYER BEHAVIOR AS BARRIER
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I know that people will escape the
cinematics … they are not going to read the
quotes … I know because I've seen it--I
know my friends … they do this with Angry
Birds, the Simpsons' game …

11. 11
CONTENT-MECHANIC INTEGRATION MATTERS TO
CIVICALLY MOTIVATED PLAYERS.
I was interested in learning more about the issues …
I didn't quite understand, other than the experience
of the frustration of not being able to keep water in a
jug, I didn't really understand the purpose of the
peacocks …
None of the gameplay elements help the player
understand the character’s real-life dilemma. I’m not
sure how, if at all, the tools earned throughout the
game relate to any real situation involving water
gathering -- maybe the purification tablets.

12. POST-TEST RESULTS:
WHAT’S THE MESSAGE?
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1/3 water conservation
1/4 mentioned girls/women
3/4 didn't make the links between
girls, education & access to water
"... water scarcity is a big deal, and is a big
reason why girls miss out on school."

13. DELAYED POST-TEST RESULTS:
IT WORKED (KIND OF)
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• 17/20 discussed the
game with someone
• 5 discussed games with
social messages rather
than the target issue
• 8/20 tried to learn more
about girls' access to
education or water
scarcity
Discussion Learning more

14. THANK YOU
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15. QUESTIONS?
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16. Decode Global. (2013). Get Water! [Video game]. Montreal
Raphael, C., Bachen, C., Lynn, K. M., Baldwin-Philippi, J., &
McKee, K. A. (2010). Games for civic learning: A conceptual
framework and agenda for research and design. Games and
Culture, 5(2), 199-235.
REFERENCES
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