How to Design Effective Learning Games: Sharon Boller and Karl Kapp

Play to Learn:
Effective Game Design
By Sharon Boller & Karl Kapp

Things to have downloaded/prepped
• Plants vs Zombies (free version on either iOS or
Android)
• Password Blaster by Bottom-Line Performance (free
on either iOS or Android)
• Register to play ATD Game Design Guru here:
– kguru.co/ATDGameDesignGuru/
– Then download Knowledge Guru QUEST app for either
iOS or Android (or vice versa)
Bottom-Line Performance 2

3Bottom-Line Performance
Sharon Boller
Game-lover (!), learner, instructional designer, author of
books, articles, and blogs, game designer, dog-lover and
owner, Mom, wife, cyclist, president of Bottom-Line
Performance, Inc.
Who We Are
Karl Kapp
Video game player/designer, perpetual student, professor,
husband, father…author of books and Lynda.com courses,
professor of instructional technology at Bloomsburg
University.

Let’s play a game: Sequence
Game Goal
Align the cards into the specified sequence
within 90 seconds.

Set up & Rules
• Form a row. Select the person whose birthday is closest to today to
be the dealer.
• Dealers have a 25-card deck . Deal out the cards to every other
person. Do not deal cards to yourself.
• Hand out all cards.
• Make sure cards make it all the way to other end of row.
• This might mean you need to leave two spaces between card holders.
• It may mean you need to give people multiple cards.

Rules
• Get the cards rearranged into the correct order within 90 seconds.
• Every current cardholder needs to still be holding at least one card.
• Cards must be in correct order with Person #1 holding the first card,
Person #2 holding the next card(s), etc.
• Dealer needs to be holding all discards at the end of 90 seconds.
• Only cardholders remain in the row.
• Only NONCARDHOLDERS may talk.

Correct Sequence
1. Activity
2. Explicit
3. Goal
4. Challenge
5. Rules
6. Players
7. Interactivity
8. Players
9. Game Environment
10. Feedback Mechanisms
11. Clear Cues
12. Performing
13. Quantifiable outcome
14. Emotional reaction
30
60
90

Our definition
An activity that has an explicit goal or challenge, rules that
guide achievement of the goal, interactivity with either other
players or the game environment (or both), and feedback
mechanisms that give clear cues as to how well or poorly you
are performing. It results in a quantifiable outcome (you
win/you lose, you hit the target, etc). Usually generates an
emotional reaction in players.

Turning this into a learning game…
Game Goal
Stay in business and minimize costs. Align
the cards while using the least amount of $$
and time to accomplish the task.

Set up & Rules
• Each row is a business. Your business is working on an essential project.
Each 30 seconds used costs your business $300,000. 30 seconds = 1
month.
• The person in the left-most chair is the project manager.
• Each person in your row contributes $10,000 to this cost.
• Finish the task within 2 minutes and earn a bonus for each team member.
• If you need more time at 2 minutes, the PM must eliminate at least two jobs.
• If you are not successful within 4 minutes, your company goes bankrupt.

What about
gamification?
Using game elements in a
non-game situation.
• Frequent flyer programs
and other customer
loyalty programs
• Summer reading
programs
• Social Media (likes,
rankings, etc.)

Basic Game Lingo
Game goal –
what
player(s) have
to do to win.
No goal. No
game.
Core
Dynamic
what game
play is about;
what you
have to do to
win.
Pick a dynamic to
design around;
it’s easier to get
started that way.
Mechanics
rules for
players; rules
for system.
Rules define how
people achieve
the goal. Don’t
make too hard or
too easy.
Game
Elements
Features that
help immerse
you in game
play
Tinkering with
one feature can
entirely change
play experience
Workbook pp 5 - 8

Evaluate Timeline
1. What was the game goal? Was it fun?
2. What was the core dynamic? Was it fun?
3. What were 1-3 mechanics (rules) that stood out? Did they help –
or confuse you?
4. What game elements did you notice?
5. How did you know how you were doing? (What feedback did you
get?)

Activity #1: Play/Evaluate Timeline
1. Work in your table
group.
2. Play Timeline for 10-15
minutes.
3. Use worksheet on
Page 9 to evaluate
game.

Example of re-use…
Knowledge Guru – Sales
to Implementation
Process:
• 4 roles, 28-steps in
process from start of
conversation through
support of product
• GREAT re-use of
concept from Timeline

Activity #2: Play/Evaluate Spot It
1. Work in your table
group.
2. Play Spot It for 10-15
minutes.
3. Use worksheet on
Page 10 to evaluate
game.

Evaluate Spot It
3. What were 1-3 mechanics (rules) that stood
out? Did they help – or confuse you?
5. How did you know how you were doing? (What
feedback did you get?)

Activity #3: Plants vs. Zombies
1. Access game from your
mobile device (tablet or
phone).
2. Play game for 10 minutes.

Evaluate Plants vs. Zombies
3. What were 1-3 mechanics (rules) that stood out? Did they help –
or confuse you?
get?)

Resources For You
Pages 14 – 18 cover a ton of material. We’ll highlight as we
play learning games next.

Main Take-Aways
• Game goal ≠ learning goal - you need BOTH
• Before creating game, you:
– Define instructional goal and objectives; keep in focus as you design the game to achieve
them.
• Audience matters
• As you design the game, you want learning rationale for these things:
- Choice of game mechanics (rules)
- Game elements to include/exclude
- Rewards/scoring

Play Password Blaster
http://bottomlineperformance.com/passwordblaster
Worksheet page 17

Play/Evaluate Password Blaster
2. What was the learning goal? Did you learn?
4. What were 1-3 mechanics (rules) that stood out? Did they help – or
confuse you?
6. How did you know how you were doing? (What feedback did you get?)
http://bottomlineperformance.com/passwordblaster

Case Study: TE Town
Business Goals
1. Make TE Connectivity’s
products ”top of mind” for sales
reps.
2. Cultivate a “customer types”
mindset w/in the rep.
3. Expand parts sold per
customer.

Learners continue
through a series of
minigames to learn
more about the
products and discover
what products are
relevant to the
customer type.

Learners continue
through a series of
minigames to learn
more about the
what products are
relevant to the
customer type.

After completing a
product, players can
spend their treasury
on upgrades for
their town.

All the while they’re
tracking their
progress and
performance and
competing on
leaderboards.

Player data appeals to achievement-focused reps

Things to Notice
1. There is an overall game goal (construct/build town and maximize
treasury). Mini-games each have dynamic too.
2. This game is very targeted. It’s probably NOT fun if you know zero
about TE Connectivity or its products.
3. Every “plot” in the town has a series of mini-games that work
together to build knowledge. A singe mini-game onlky gets you so
far.
4. Most players (sales reps) only to 3-5 customer types. We assume
most players will NOT play to the end.

Case Study: Feeding the World
1. Game goal: Work
together to feed an ever-
increasing world
population, achieving
production goals each
year.
2. Learning goal: Reinforce
all the safety steps and
environmental protection
steps taught during the
previous 3.5 days of a
NEO workshop.

Game play consists of four “rounds” with 7 turns to a round. Each round equates to 1
year of time. Number of people to feed each year increases to match real-world
increases. The 7 turns mimic the 7 steps of mine to market process. Play complexity
increases in final two rounds.

Resource cards –
Total of 8 resources
you can use on each
turn. Most turns
require 1-2.
Inspector Cards – Reflect
“chance” and can help or hurt
your performance. You draw
Inspector cards if the Inspector
symbol comes up on a die roll.

Scenario Cards – Drawn on every turn.
Player reads scenario aloud and 1)
chooses the appropriate resource(s)
to handle the scenario, 2) describe
specifics of how resource(s) get used.
After responding, player hands card to
teammate on his or her right. That player
flips the card and reads the correct
response. Correct responses let team earn
a phosphate toward the goal.

Learning + Game
1. Company mission linked to game goal.
2. Progress through game mirrored real-world process of going from mine to table.
3. Learning goal is to get players to match on-the-job resources to real-world
scenarios they will encounter and to correctly identify appropriate use of resources.
Game elements matched this.
4. Game element being collected (phosphate) is what the players actually mine.
5. Game board illustrated 7-step process.
6. Ever-increasing # of people to feed mirrors real-world statistic.
7. Chance cards reflected good/bad things that really happen on the job.
8. Mining inspections incorporated as “chance” element as well.

Zombie Sales Apocalypse

Evaluate Zombie Sales Apocalypse
2. What was the learning goal?
3. What was the core dynamic?
4. What were 1-3 mechanics (rules) that stood out?
get?)

Learning + Game
1. Company sales model linked to game goal.
2. Progress through game mirrored real-world process of making a sales call.
3. Learning goal is to get players to engage in an appropriate conversation with the sales
representative and properly apply the sales model. Game elements matched this.
4. Making progress in the game by moving from receptionist to physicians in the Physician's
office mirrors “whole office” call process.
5. Game play required application of sales model.
6. Zombies attacking player mimics stress and time constraints of actual calls.
7. Chance occurrences reflect good/bad things that really happen on a sales call.
8. End of game questions requires player reflection of her activities in the game.
9. Player/learning is given feedback related to their performance in the context of the sales
model.

Best Practices
1. Design the learning game to meet
specific instructional objectives.
2. Embed the learning game into a
curriculum.
3. Keep rules, scoring and leveling simple.
4. Get learners comfortable with the rules
and game play before they start.
5. Do not focus the game on “winning”
only.

Best Practices
6. Create the game so learners work in groups.
7. Make the game interactive.
8. Plan for replayability.
9. The cognitive activities in the game should
match the cognitive activities on-the-job.
10. Determine metrics ahead of time.
11. Winning should be primarily a result of
knowledge acquisition or creation.

Pitfalls
1. Undertaking this process without
playing games.
2. Skipping playtesting.
3. Skipping the pilot.
4. Trying to teach everything.
5. Focusing only on fun.

Review: Game Design Guru
1. Create Guru account
and game login:
2. Play World A of the
game.
kguru.co/ATDGameDesignGuru/

DumpADDIE; goagileinstead (iterative)
Playtest. Playtest. Did I say playtest?

Prototyping… what is it?
• Visuals are probably
better than words here.
• http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=k-nfWQLmlMk

Prototype Example

What you can learn from a prototype
• How effective your game is at helping people learn what you want them to
learn.
• How engaging the game will be to learners. Do you have a “fun enough”
game goal and is your core dynamic one that keeps people interested?
• How effective the game elements are that you are using. Do the elements
support your learning experience or detract from it?
• How clear the rules are AND how they affect the fun and the learning.
• The cognitive load on the learner – too high, too low, just right?
• How complex the game might be to produce (without the expense of
producing it before you find out!)

How do you create one?
• Paper
• Scissors
• Crayons or markers
• Tape

Activity: Learning Game Design
Your Task: As a team, create and playtest a learning game.
1. Use game topic & content provided on page 25.
2. Decide on a core dynamic from list provided.
3. Determine a theme and a game goal.
4. Decide cooperative or competitive.
5. Create a paper prototype, defining game mechanics (aka rules)
as you go.
6. Playtest in your group.
Worksheet on page 26 is where you document game design/rules, etc.

Building first prototype
Task Elapsed time suggestion
Review worksheet; gain understanding of instructional
need, audience
15 minutes
Choose a core dynamic (or 2 if you want to push yourself 20 minutes
Choose a theme and a game goal. 15 minutes
Start building game content and selecting game elements
(strategy, chance, time, etc. Define and document game
rules out as you go.
30 minutes
Put together the prototype 40 minutes
Do internal playtest; tweak as needed 20 minutes

The Internal Playtest
Use guidelines on page 28:
• Do game goal and learning goals complement one another?
• Were we engaged throughout game play?
• Are our rules at right complexity level for our audience and the
training situation?
• Do our game mechanics and game elements support real-
world context?
• Are our rules clear?

Make Decisions!
What do you need to revise?
• Review your feedback.
• Agree on changes to make tomorrow at start of day.

So what did you learn
today about designing
good learning games?

DAY 2: LET’S REVISIT THE
GURU
Open mobile app. Play World B of Game
Design game for 10 minutes.

Day 2 starter
1. Play World B of the
game.
kguru.co/ATDGameDesignGuru/

Revise Games
1. Take 30 minutes to revise your games.
2. Take 15 minutes to prepare for an external
playtest with another team. Use the Field Guide
to Playtesting on page 29 of workbook to plan
your playtest.

Do external playtest – 45 minutes
1. Pair up with another team.
2. Execute playtest on one team’s game and then
flip and do the other game.
3. Max time per game – including debrief – should
be 30 minutes.

Final team meetup & revision session
1. Regroup with your own team.
2. Agree on what needs to be revised in your
design before you move to actual development
phase work.

Game Development Tools

DIY* resources
67
Build It Yourself Tools and Templates
• Google “Game making
resources” LOADS of stuff comes
up such as this:
• https://boardgamegeek.com
/thread/933849/designers-
resources-list
• Thaigi – tons of FREE game
ideas on his site!!
Relatively low-cost options:
• eLearning Brothers templates for
simple games
• Knowledge Guru platform
• C3 Softworks
*Factor your time into “free.” You are NOT free. You cost your company $$.

Twine
An open-source tool for creating interactive, nonlinear stories.
https://twinery.org/

Chat Mapper
Tool for writing and testing nonlinear dialogue and events.

GameMaker Studio 2
Programming background NOT required,
though helpful. Medium complexity to use; lots
of support available. Amazing quality; no 3D.
Rapidly growing in usage; strong user
community built-in tutorials.
GameMaker allows you to structure your game
to work with a client/server model, dealing
with all of the network management behind
the scenes, while allowing you to focus on the
game itself.
https://www.yoyogames.com/

The Gamecrafter
https://www.thegamecrafter.com/

Gameboard Backgrounds Shutterstock
https://tinyurl.com/Shutterstockgames

Adobe Stock
https://tinyurl.com/Adobegameboards

iStock Photos
https://tinyurl.com/iStockGameVector

Raptivity: Templates
• Template driven
games.
• Simple to use, little to
no customization. One
time events.
• Free trial available.
• www.raptivity.com

eLearning Brothers: Templates
• Template driven games.
• Simple to use, little to
no customization. One
time events.
• Dozens of different
templates for different
types of games.
• http://elearningbrothers.
com/elearning-game-
templates/

Construct2 HTML5 game creator by Scirra
• Programming background NOT
required.
• Free open source game framework
for the development of desktop and
mobile HTML5 games.
• Games using the tool can be made in
JavaScript or TypeScript and features
a Canvas and WebGL renderer that
can automatically swap between the
tools based on browser support.
• Tutorials, user community.
• http://phaser.io/

Unity
• Complex to use.
• Typically used for highly
immersive experiences,
simulations. Very, very powerful
in terms of what it can do.
• Can be 2D or 3D.
• Users tend to have
programming background or
expertise.
• https://unity3d.com/unity

Lumberyard
• Programing knowledge necessary.
• Typically used for highly immersive
experiences, simulations. Very, very
powerful in terms of what it can do.
• Built in Multiplayer Capability.
• Users tend to have programming
background or expertise.
• https://aws.amazon.com/lumberyard

Unreal
• Programing knowledge necessary.
• Typically used for highly immersive
experiences, simulations. Very, very
powerful in terms of what it can do.
• Built in Multiplayer Capability.
• Users tend to have programming
background or expertise.
• https://www.unrealengine.com/blog

Genie Game-Based Authoring Tool
• No experience with this tool,
but platform and company look
very intriguing.
• SaaS – pricing starts at $5,500
US dollars for 1-year
subscription.
• Designed specifically for
eLearning.
• http://www.growthengineering.c
o.uk/genie-content-authoring-
tool/

Turbosquid, 3D Assets
https://www.turbosquid.com/

Knowledge Guru
• SaaS – pricing starts at
$9,999 for one-year
subscription. Includes 3 apps
(Legend, Quest, Drive).
• Designed for corporate
learning audiences.
• http://www.theknowledgeguru.
com

Kahoot!
• Gamifies learning;
intended for virtual ILT as
well as face-to-face ILT.
Not for asynchronous
eLearning.
• Instructor displays
questions or polls.
Learners respond via
mobile device.
• FREE!!!!!
• https://getkahoot.com/

So what did you learn
today about designing
good learning games?

91
Get your copy!
25%salegoingonrightnow!
UsecodeMIDSUMMER17
www.td.org/Publications/Books/Play-to-Learn

Thank you!
Sharon Boller
President
Bottom-Line Performance, Inc.
Sharon@bottomlineperformance.com
@Sharon_Boller (Twitter)
Karl Kapp
Professor of Instructional Technology
Bloomsburg University
karlkapp@gmail.com
@kkapp (Twitter)

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