Well my first deadline for the new year has arrived. I am halfway through my proposal and I'm stuck at the place I always get stuck at -- the mechanic of the game. I know the pedagogy, I've got the research about what else is out there and a good description of the content what I'm doing - but haven't hit on a game mechanic that feels good.
The mechanic, at least how I define it, is the thing that defines the play. In a game, you have a set of rules, but the mechanic is the how of the game. Is it a first person shooter game? Is it a card game? What moves the game forward -- the turning over of cards say in Crazy 8, or the dealing of cards. The mechanic and rules can merge into one another but usually there is the "thing" of the game -- is it board game and are you using dice, player pieces, etc in a certain manner. That kind of thing.
What mechanic works best for what I'm doing?
Once again, I think I'm asking the wrong question. It's too open-ended. I can't just design anything because I do not have the programming skills -- so what I need to do is set constraints. I need to find a mechanic that I can do and adapt it to the game. This is I have tried to do, but I think I've been too dismissive of the mechanics. So I go back to mechanics to see if I can redesign one that works.
I want to get this done by Friday noon. I'll let you know how that goes. It's close.
On other fronts - got my bio to my former employer this week, just as they started their layoffs. 25% of the workforce is getting laid off -- for a company of 130, that's huge. Breaks my heart to see old friends, people I've known for years who have given a lot to this company, being let go. Ouch.
Started my Java course with my friend Carla who visited here this week. That looks completely doable so far. cheers, rani
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2 comments:
Well? Well? Well? How'd it go? (My enthusiasm for your degree completion has now become one of your constraints :))
You know, the other game mechanic I think of is Tetris -- flipping the puzzle pieces to prevent the screen from filling up. Although, arcade games like that are rather like the Sisyphus myth -- you can never win, the game never ends, because the blocks just fall thicker and faster until you ultimately lose.
Then there are those anti-competitive games where the goal is to just sort of keep still and put yourself in a zen state.
This site has a good set of links to online games the author thinks offers a good experience:
http://goodexperience.com/games/
Hope you find an answer to your conundrum.
You inspired me to finally update my own damn blog (http://tinyurl.com/a3kfea).
Hey Mike - great to hear from you! I did come up with a game dynamic that would work well with the educational dynamic that I want to create. More on that later.
What I'll be doing is creating a series of mini-games, rather than one encapsulated game of one kind. I think the problem is that I've been thinking there is a singular answer, when in any educational context, it is a multitude of methods that works. The key is the overarching educational pedagogy.
Still have to finish the draft - got flattened by food poisoning (gone) combined with head cold (ongoing). Thanks for the pressure (ahem, enthusiasm :) and the links - look way cool.
cheers, rani
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