This document provides an overview of the G-ScalE game development lab at McMaster University led by Brock R. Dubbels. It discusses using games to improve reading comprehension, sustained engagement, cooperative learning and more. It also touches on applying games to math, science, dance and other subjects. The document outlines elements of game design like roles, rules and imagery/visualization. It emphasizes the need for serious games to provide quantifiable evidence that they are achieving desired outcomes.

1. G-ScalE
Brock R. Dubbels PhD.
G-ScalE Game Development and Testing Lab
McMaster University
Dubbels@McMaster.ca

2. Games Unit
Inquiry
Reading comprehension
Composition
Sustained engagement
Behavioral management
Planning
Cooperative learning
Classroom as game
Outcomes
Dubbels, B.R. (in press) Video games, reading, and
transmedial comprehension. In R. E. Ferdig
(Ed.), Handbook of research on effective electronic
gaming in education. Information Science Reference.

3. How about Math and
Science?
Scientific Habits of mind
Applied curriculum
Modeling
Simulation
STEM

4. Dance Dance Education
Because kids won’t let an education get in the way of their learning

5. Games are a structured form of play.
What are the elements of this game?
What makes the play emergent?
Is it non-linear?
Games as a metaphor for instructional design

6. Invoking play
Probability
Branching
Rules
Roles &
Identity
Imagery &
visualization

7. Towards top sight

8. Built like a game

9. What if we made a game about going
to Las Vegas

10. It sounds kind of fun

11. And it is . . .

12. What do you end up with?

13. The Vegas Effect
Should everything that happens in games, stay in games?
It is not enough to invoke games and play.
Serious games should provide evidence that they delivered.
This should be quantifiable in performance metrics

14. UI Diagram
1. Are you sure .NET isn’t better?
I need a new Java 2. Who will the users be?
based portal for
Emergency rooms.
3. What information will it provide?
Direct the
conversation
Press when ready to move to design
Client Analyst
Start
Values Functions Qualities Design

15. Functional Requirements
• Playable in < 5 minutes
• Engaging enough that target audience chooses
to play multiple times
• Easy scripting for additional scenarios
• Results in demonstrable improvement in
requirements elicitation

16. VFQ for this Project
• Values
– Better understanding of how to apply RSA level 2
– Learners able to “think” RSA
• Functions
– Graphical
• Qualities
– Engaging enough that people will choose to play it
for 10-15 minutes

17. Values, Functions, and Qualities
• Values
– Why a project is needed
– Should have a success measure
– e.g. Decrease claims processing time
• Functions
– What is needed
– Typically yes/no
– e.g. must accept Medicare claims
• Qualities
– How Well
– Should have a success measure
– e.g. don’t add to manual adjudication queue

18. UI Diagram
Press when
ready to see
what
happens
Solution/Design
1. Create a new portal
Client Analyst
Implement 2. Implement using Java
3. Redesign business process
Requirements Project
4. …
Drag best
solutions to
SSD below
Possible Solutions
Solution Summary
Values Functions Qualities Document

19. UI Diagram
This isn’t what I When will it be
wanted. over?
Replace with
a simplified
visual of
UDP
Show key events during
implementation, that
result from choices the
user made
Client Analyst
Solution Summary
Values Functions Qualities Document

20. BP: We need an online method to train people for the United Compliance Project
What would Do you have a Have you had
you like the timeline in mind? projects similar
project to to this in the
accomplish? past

21. Ratings
• Cohen’s Kappa
• Fleiss Kappa
• Agreement at .8
– Kappa of <0.2 is
considered poor
agreement, 0.21-0.4 fair,
0.41-0.6 moderate, 0.61-
0.8 strong, and more
than 0.8 near complete
agreement.

22. Learning Games
• “It is worth noting that none of the featured
companies started in instructional design…they come
from business strategy, marketing, and the games
industry”.
• “Most game-based learning approaches do not
employ that particular category of expert
whatsoever”
– (Squire, 2005, p. 35).

23. Surface (face) & Content Validity
• Games are often built
on these.
– It looks like it measures what
it is supposed to measure.
– Have checked how the game
represents the content
against the relevant content
domain.
– Approach assumes that you
have a good detailed
description of the content
domain, something that's not
always true.

24. Criterion Validity
• Criteria-related validity,
you check the performance
of your operationalization
against some criterion.
– Predictive validity: Improve
performance.
– Concurrent Validity: correlates to
other validated tools.
– Convergent Validity: correlate
the scores on our test with other
constructs
– Discriminant Validity: the
constructt is not similar to other
constructs

25. HumanFIRST Lab
ng

26. Virtual Clinic

30. Gigaheart

31. Design
Deliver
content
Student
Learning Motivate
Content
Play &
Frame
Engage
Apply
&
Reflect

32. roles
image
beliefs
language
writing
public perception
Are you on your way up?
producing
performing
making the band

33. How about the cover art? Creating a web presence? Press kits? A
band itinerary? A band identity and branding? Video?
MAKING THE BAND

34. Rhythm & Flow
• High interest
• Role Playing
• Performance
• Technology
• Writing
• Video
• Music

35. Making the grades
• Character/
Characterization
• diction
• Plot/ story grammar
• Setting
• Point of View
• Theme
• Tone
• Voice
• Word choice

37. Modeling

38. Kiosk

39. ADL
• The term “activities of daily living” refers to a
set of common, everyday tasks, performance
of which is required for personal self-care and
independent living. The most often used
measure of functional ability is the Katz
Activities of Daily Living Scale (Katz et al.,
1963; Katz, 1983).
• Wiener, Hanley, Clark, Van Nostrand (1990, pg.1 )

40. Complex Relationship Building
• Establish therapeutic relationship with patient
to promote behavioral change.
1. Identify own attitude toward patient and
situation.
2. Determine ethical boundaries of the
relationship.
3. Deal with personal feeling evoked by the patient
that my interfere with effectiveness
4. Provide for physical comfort before interaction
5. Discuss confidentiality of information shared
6. Create climate of warmth and acceptance
7. Reassure patient of your interest in them as a
person
8. Return at established time to demonstrate trust
9. Maintain open body posture
10. Monitor, seek clarification & respond to non-
verbal messages.
– 10 of 31, NIC revised 5th edition 2008

41. Facial Action Coding
• The Facial Action 1.
2.
Anger
Disgust
Coding Systems (FACS) 3.
4.
Fear
Happiness
– (Ekman and Frisen 5. sadness
6. surprise
1978). 7. Amusement
– 2 or more raters 8. Contempt
9. Contentment
10. Embarrassment
11. Excitement
12. Guilt
13. Pride in achievement
14. Relief
15. satisfaction
16. sensory Pleasure
17. shame

42. Tension in workflow
• Software Design • Research Design
– Typically based upon an – Typically based upon
economic consideration. answering a testable
• How will this solve a question.
problem? • How will this solve a problem?
• What are the first steps in • How do I know this?
production?
– The focus is on method and
– The focus is on stages of hypothesis testing:
production: • Construct validity, reliability,
• Business Partner reliability, and probability.
Relations, Function,
Behavior, Structure, &
Non-Function (qualities).

43. Training Development Process
<<Design Review>>
Overall Design
Maintenance
Beta Deploy
CPI
Prototype Build
 Stakeholders Signed Off
 Edit OK
 Standards Followed
Inputs
Review
[Changes]
{At least one must be
classroom delivery}
Charter Required Outputs
Assess
Templates
Risk Project Plan
Dashboard
Style Guide Build
Design

44. MATRICS

45. Take home
• Can you pose a testable question– hypothesis?
– Tension between design process and measurement
• How will you assure game mechanics are measuring what
you think you are measuring? Theoretically? Conceptually?
– Assessments, measures, & evaluations
• Usability testing should align with construct
– Testing should be happen in development.
• Again, emphasis on validity
– Without it, there is no capability for ROI analysis

46. • The G-ScalE Laboratory
G-ScalE
– Game Development and Testing
– Scaling across screen size,
resolution, and geometry
• Critical Print Size, Visual Acuity, Prior
Knowledge, and HCI/UX