Review by: Strell, Monika (2006-01-09)

In this article the author, who has recently written two books on the subject, explores the methods which video and computer game designers apply to motivate people to learn how to play their games – often very sophisticated games that require players to go on a real learning curve.

Thirteen good principles of learning built into successful games are discussed in some detail. The overall aim is to assess how those successful computer games that not only make people learn, but make them enjoy learning, hold important clues that could be successfully applied in schools and workplace learning.

The 13 principles are organized into three groups – Empowered Learners; Problem Solving; and Understanding. Within each group the learning principles are explored in a highly structured way, starting with an outline of the principle, then moving on to how it features in games, underlined by example games and concluding with the educational implications of the principle.

It would be overkill to refer to all those learning principles in any detail in this review, but a cursory overview will be useful in order to demonstrate the direction the author is taking.

In the first group of ‘Empowered Learners’, the principles discussed include ‘Co-design’, ‘Customize’, ‘Identity’, ‘Manipulation and Distributed Knowledge’. ‘Co-design’ refers to the characteristic that players are usually ‘able to make things happen’ which relates to the learning principle which emphasises the benefit of being an active agent. ‘Customisation’ refers to the fact that often players can adapt their playing to their personal style and preferences – which is similar to learning styles. ‘Identity’ explores the fact that many successful games provide players with an opportunity to play a role and impersonate a character, which is either pre-given or can be created. ‘Manipulation and Distributed Knowledge’ discusses the successful use of ‘smart tools’ in games, which enables players to make actions happen by using the skills of a character in a game and their own knowledge and expertise.

The second group ‘Problem Solving’ explores in some detail how games function to develop players’ problem-solving skills in a way that is both playful and educational. Key principles addressed include well-ordered problems, providing ‘do-able’ challenges and the opportunity to enter a ‘cycle of expertise’, where new skills are practised before a new challenge is presented. The author also explores the ‘on demand’ nature of information provided in games. Rather than making gamers take in a great deal of information at the start, when most of it is abstract and theoretical, good games provide information at points when it is needed, and players can see how it applies in action and practice. Other useful approaches are ‘fishtanks’ (stripped down versions of a game that help players learn the ropes), as well as ‘sandboxes’ (the real game, but things cannot go wrong too quickly, or at all).

In the final group the author addresses ‘Understanding’, based on the principles of ‘System thinking’ and ‘Meaning as Action Image’ (people think through experiences they have had) and ‘imaginative reconstructions of experience’.

This article does not offer solutions, recipes or recommendations for e-learning professionals, neither does it pretend to do so. Rather it is designed to provoke thoughts and reflections of use for those planning, designing or delivering e-learning– simply by creating important references to how games designers manage to get players into ‘learning mode’ – not only voluntarily but continuously. It is a refreshing article in the sense that it approaches games from an angle that is not so much about issues of multimedia or graphics, but exploring some structural and design issues that are at the heart of the fascination and success of games. Anybody who has seen somebody not too keen on traditional learning but totally absorbed with trying to master a game for days on end – asking ‘how they make them do it’ will find some fascinating ideas in this article.