DESIGN METHODOLOGY FOR EDUCATIONAL GAMES, BASED ON INTERACTIVE SCREENPLAYS

Mahdi Esmailoghli1

–Conference : Cosecivi 2015, At Barcelona

“University of Granada, Spain”

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EVERY GAME HAS…

• High interactivity• Fun• Rules• Competitive elements

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SERIOUS GAMES

• Additional to what belongs to every game, it is aimed to Training (education, public policy, health, communication, …)

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ADVANTAGE OF VIDEO GAMES

•Reduce reaction time•Improve hand-eye coordination•increase self-esteem•Improve spacial conception•Encourage interactive learning•Motivate learning through challenges•Improve social skills and basic math•Articulate abstract thinking•Improve Cognitive skills•…

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While it’s possible to develop games by general software methodologies,

Writer’s interest lies in Game-Specific Methodologies

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GAME DEVELOPMENT METHODOLOGIES PHASES• Pre-Production• Production• Post-Production

(Based on the film’s life cycle)

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Related Works

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5M METHODOLOGY•Method: Production steps.

•Milieu: All the elements involve the game production

•Manpower: The team of human actors

•Machine: Tools

•Materials: Documents, prototype models, executable files, databases, …

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PADILLA-SEA MODELSEvery game is defined by series of models generated during the design process.

•Educational content models

•Entertainment content models

•Models for the inter-relation between the educational and entertainment content and user models for adaption

Emphasizes educational objective and play challenge.

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METHODOLOGY BASED ON WESTERA LEVELS

•Concept level: Design

•Technical level: Architecture of the game and tools

•Practical level: Structure of the game

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SUM METHODOLOGY

• An agile methodology for game development that adapts the scrum structure and roles.

• Suitable for projects less than one year.

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•Roles:

•Development team

•Internal producer

•Customer

•Beta tester

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•Life-Cycle:

•Incremental & Iterative

•Exception: Risk management (During the whole project)

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ONTOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY

Working on different views with the same

information

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ONTOLOGICAL METHODOLOGY

Focuses on the uniqueness of the multidisciplinary team

Methodology proposes the ontology basis for communication.

Designers: Just responsible for describing the characters, objects, functions and status of play

Programmers: refine the technical details and objectives

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A NEW METHODOLOGY BASED ON INTERACTIVE SCREENPLAYS

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Core of the system is Narrative.

Other parts will be added progressively.

Bottom-up strategy

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PRE-PHASES Pre-1

Design of the educational challenges

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DESIGN OF THE EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES•A team of teachers and educators(can include parents).

•Determines the competences and specific educational objectives that the game will address.

•It is considered to be more than knowledge and skills.

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•For Example 8 skills are defined for the Spanish educational system:

✤Linguistic communicative competence

✤Mathematical competence

✤Knowledge of and interaction with the physical world

✤Data processing and digital competence

✤learning to learn

✤Social and civic competence

✤Autonomy and personal initiative

✤Cultural and artistic competence22

PRE-PHASESPre-2

Design of the type of game

(Before designing story and challenges)

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•Determine features like:

✤Gender

✤Avatar control

✤Platform

✤Future users

✤Narrative level

✤Area of application

✤Interactivity24

•Determine the video game genre:

✤Action

✤Adventure

✤Fight

✤Logic

✤Simulation

✤Sport

✤Strategy

✤…25

•Age recommended

•Narrative:

✤No narrative

✤Elementary narrative

✤Basic narrative

✤Full narrative

✤Complex narrative

✤Narrative is everything26

•Third or first avatar control

•The way that players interact with the game

•2D or 3D

•Recommended group(e.g. Primary Pupils)

•…27

PRE-PHASESPre-3

Initial design of the story and main

characters

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•For having an overall view of game

•An abstract story design should be drawn up

•Main characters are chosen(could be enhanced with graphical sketches)

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CHAPTER DESIGN

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•Chapter: The item of the highest level that is used to organize the story and facilitate content integration.

•Each game should be comprise at least one chapter, although there are usually several.

•Chapter flowchart shows transition and order of chapters

•It is better to have different educational objectives for each chapter

•Every chapter should be chosen in a way that can be provided an abbreviated name like:

✤Ordinary World, Call to Adventure, Refusal of the Call, Meeting with the Mentor, Crossing the First Threshold, Tests, Allies and Enemies, Approach to the Inmost Cave, The Ordeal, Reward, The Road Back, Resurrection and Return with the Elixir.

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SCENE DESIGN

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•Each chapter is split into scenes

•each scene comprises the chapter story line

•The number and order of scenes in a chapter can be specified using a scene flowchart

•they’re described by a name and a brief summary

•The items come next should be specified:33

DESIGN OF THE SCENARIO

• The scenario of the scene should be described and identified with an ID

•Scenario definition includes both static and dynamic part:

✤Static: Environment (e.g. room, lake, …) and the objects to be found there(e.g. table, chart, wall, weapon, …)

✤Dynamic: Object interactivity in the scene34

DESIGN OF THE CHARACTERS

• It is necessary to describe characters in detail(appearance and personality)

• At first iterations it’s physically characteristics

• Graphical sketches in successive iterations

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DESIGN OF THE DIALOGUES AND PLAY CHALLENGES

• A flowchart can be exist to show the actions and/or dialogues that contains different orders of them

• Each action/dialogue must be defined

• In first iteration dialogues and challenges are defined in a couple of words but at a later stage have to be completed

• Gradually in each iterative add alternatives

• At the end of this phase game mechanics and score should be clear

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IDENTIFICATION AND LABELING

OF EDUCATIONAL CHALLENGES

AND ASSESSMENT

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• In this phase we should specify which dialogue poses an educational challenge

• And also should indicate with dialogue, step or challenge is the solution to the educational challenge

• Then evaluation rule should be define

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IDENTIFICATION AND

LABELING OF

EMOTIONS

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• marking the parts of the dialogue or the steps of an action that aim to evoke a particular emotional reaction

• Based on another papers• Use them to analyzing the

situation of the player

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ADAPTION DESIGN

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• Determining whether the game is capable of adapting player’s capabilities and characteristics

• define what attribute should be customizable in the game for the user(e.g. educational challenges, Interaction mode, narrative, evaluation rule, …)

• based on the properties(e.g. players’ knowledge, taste and preferences, device resolution, physical context, …)

• How

• When42

COLLABORATION DESIGN

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• it is necessary to mark the actions (play challenges) or steps within the actions that must or can (as determined) be performed in groups.

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Thank You

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