1.
Wicked Problems and Designing Games for Change
Dr. Cynthia Calongne
CTU Doctoral Symposium, April 17-19, 2014

2.
Wicked Problems
• Hard to characterize
• No simple solution
• Ambiguous or complex
• Diverse perspectives
• Changing conditions
• Global impact

3.
Wicked Problem Examples
• Public Planning and Policy
– Global climate change
– Human trafficking
– Drug trafficking
– Natural hazards
– Social injustice
– Healthcare
– Pandemics
– Nuclear

4.
Addressing Wicked Problems
• Novel solutions for unique problems
– Normal tactics will fail
– Exploration by trial and error
– Solution defines the problem
• Potential steps lead to consequences
• Solutions are neither right or wrong
• A symptom of another problem
• Reciprocal cause and effect

5.
Types of Wicked Problems
• Environmental
• Economic
• Spiritual
• Political
• Medical
• Social
• Moral

6.
How Can Emerging Media Help?
Global Communication
Global Argument
Social Media
Presencing
Diversity
Games

7.
MIT’s Action Research Global Wellbeing and Gross National Happiness Lab
Presencing and Emerging Media

8.
Virtual-
Physioception
Motivation Intersubjective
Presencing
Collaborative Virtual
Environments (CVEs)
Transdisciplinarity
Body awareness
(Mehling, Gopisetty,
Daubenmier, Price,
Hecht & Stewart)
Virtual Self (Fox &
Bailenson; Ratan;
McCreery)
Social Presence (Biocca
et al.; Blascovich)
Player Identification (Van
Looy)
Supermorphic Persona
(Young)
Metacognition Theory
(Flavell)
Being (Maslow)
Grit (Duckworth)
Generativity (McAdams )
Intrinsic (Dickey)
Intrinsic v. Extrinsic
(Finkelstien)
Volunteerism (Shye)
Avatar appearance
(Baylor)
Presencing- (Senge
et. Al; Scharmer)
Transformed Social
Interaction
(Bailenson, Beall,
Loomis, Blascovich
&Turk; Bailenson)
Presence in VWs –
(Allmendinger,
Suter)
Dialogue (Bohm)
Transformed Social
Interaction in CVEs-
(Bailenson)
CVEs- (Montoya)
WoW- (Yee)
3D Visualization (Siau,
Nah, Mennecke &
Schiller; Sonnewald)
Manifesto
(Nicolescu,
Montuori)
Team Science
(Stokols)
Team cognition
(Salas & Fiore)
Complexity Theory
(Morin)
Wicked Problems-
(Rittel; Conklin)
Courtesy of Dr. Barbara Truman, research in presencing and transdisciplinarity

9.
Presencing
Sharing
the
Social Space
within the
Mind Space
thru
Games &
Simulations
Everyone Matters

10.
Benefits of Games
Games can stimulate
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking
• Digital literacy
• Strategy & tactics
• Motor skill development
• Collaboration
• Leadership & courage
• Socialization
Game-based learning
• Vision & creativity
• Sustainability
• Immersion
• Learning retention
• Heutagogy
• Knowledge networks
• Socio-technical skills
• Entrepreneurship

11.
Game Design and Prototyping
Roleplay, Social Games and Simulations

12.
Leveraging a Game-Based Culture
• Alternate reality games
• Augmented reality
• Games for change
• Serious games
• Gamification
• Social games
• MMORPGs
• MMOGs

13.
Design Games for Change
• Define the problem and desired outcomes
• Identify the possible genres and tactics
• Explore the story and game mechanics
• Identify the EM tools, technology and resources
• Design the quests
• Integrate the story, quests and game mechanics
• Play the game
• Evaluate the desired outcomes and aesthetics

14.
Design Goals, Game Elements and Outcomes

15.
By Jane McGonigal http://janemcgonigal.com/learn-me/

16.
Game Genres and Play Styles
Types of games
• Word, trivia or puzzle
• Scavenger or Treasure Hunt
• Action or adventure
• Real Time Strategy (RTS)
• Roleplay game (RPG)
• MMORPGs
• Arcade or Video games
• First Person Shooter (FPS)
• Simulations (Sims)
• Board or card games
• Mobile and social games
Play styles
• Individual or social
• Multiplayer cooperative
• Multiplayer competitive
• Everyone is a winner!
• Last man standing – PvP
• Player vs Environment
• Roleplay
• Capture the flag
• Team wins
• High score
• Social and free play games

17.
Designing the Game Components

18.
Design Concepts
Game Mechanics
• Rules
• Objectives
• Environment
• Setting
• Win Conditions
• Challenges
• Treasure, Loot or Gold
• Badges
• Reputation
Roleplay Games
• Story
• Terrain
• 2D or 3D Graphics
• Strategies
• Conflict
• Players
• Non-Player Character (NPC)
• Enemies or Monsters
• Competition

19.
Game Controls and Observation

20.
Game Scoreboard

21.
A Few Design Distinctions
Strategy Game
• Game engine
• Modeling
– 2D diagrams and 3D objects
• Character Creation
• Level & Strategy Design
• System Integration
• Game Events
• Win Strategy - Objectives
• Quality Assurance
– Unit & Integration Tests
– Play and Usability Tests
Virtual World Game
• Virtual World Simulator
• Rapid Prototyping
– 3D Game Objects
• Bots (NPCs) and Avatars
• Linking Object Models
– Designing Holodecks
• Multimedia & Animations
• Rubrics - Objectives & Outcomes
• QA - Change Management
– Object Behavior Tests
– Integration, Play & Usability Tests

22.
Requirements for the Environment & Aesthetics

23.
Activity
• In groups of 3-5
–Identify a problem
–Identify a game genre for investigating it
»Explore the problem
»Explore possible solutions
• Discuss the forces at work
–The mnemonic = the words that end in –al

24.
Prototyping the Game’s Design

25.
A Game Designer Demos Her Game Badge

26.
Emerging Media Tactics
• Global conversation
– Social networks
• Social media
• Semantic Web
• Mobile technology
• Cloud computing
• Game-based culture

27.
Designing Collectible Card Games

28.
Crowdsourcing the problem
Trial and error
Willingness to fail

29.
Game Activity
• Using games for change
–Identify the EM strategies for your game
–Review its features and behavior
»How it uses the Web
»How it leverages socialization & collaboration
»How it supports individual play
• Describe the game mechanics
–How do the players “win” at the game?

30.
Mayan Temple Game Simulation

31.
Non-Player Characters (NPCs)

32.
Players and NPCs
Story, characterization and
aesthetics
Development of quality models
and game prototypes

33.
Collaboration, Communication and
Transdisciplinarity
Scene from a CTU Emerging Media Sick Bay

34.
Immersive and Mobile Games
Courtesy of Dr. Andrew Stricker

35.
Designing a Game Inside a Game
Photo by C. Calongne
Game Design by AgileBill Firehawk

36.
Wicked Problems and Designing Games
for Change
Dr. Cynthia Calongne
CTU Doctoral Symposium, April 17-19, 2014
Game Activities