Directed gameplay and learning

A colleague, Steve Thorne, has a research project underway looking at language learning inside of World of Warcraft. His theory, backed by past experiences, is language acquisition happens quicker in very context sensitive, directed scenarios. Games fall into that category, as do things like social networking sites (another environment Steve is looking into in terms of language learning).

The current experiment that I’m helping with specifically looks at English as a second language (ESL) students playing WoW. Already we are seeing an increase in language gains, not so much from the person-to-person interaction like we initially thought, but from the person-to-computer interactions. For example, the quest system. In order to grasp the story and the context for the quests, players need to be able to read the quest dialogue.

This got me thinking to language games for children. I’m a big fan of Bioware games (like Mass Effect and Dragon Age). What if a designer put together a children’s story using the Bioware framework of games, requiring the child to pick-and-choose their path through the game? The game wouldn’t be about language learning in an overt or obvious way, but children would need to understand language in order to play the game. Additionally, using the same framework, you could also teach children about different types of behavior. In Mass Effect, for example, you have the option to make very aggressive, sometimes violent decisions (called Renegade) or very good-willed, lawful decisions (called Paragon). A similar framework could be leveraged for kids to teach and reinforce things like honesty, forgiveness, sharing and much more.

Here’s a short example of how the Bioware system works. Look for the small wheel-shaped menu throughout the video in the lower middle of the screen. This is how all the interactions take place between you and the computer-conrtolled characters you interact with throughout the game.

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4 Responses to Directed gameplay and learning

  1. Bartman says:

    Absolutely. I know Dragon Age: Origins has a fairly complex editor, but I have not tried using it yet. I wonder if it’s possible just to leverage the dialog engine as a standalone…I would guess it’s easier said than done.

  2. Using the Bioware mechanic for children’s learning (not only language learning) would be a huge step towards really converging the world of casual games and serious games. Now what we need is an engine with this kind of power that allows designers to create these games more easily, then we’d really see things move forward in leaps and bounds.

  3. Bartman says:

    I’m still waiting for the Last Guardian to come out for PS3 (that’s when I will probably buy the console). I still think that will be the first game that really makes people tear up on a big level (and I think that’s one of the main design goals for the studio).

    Mass Effect 2 didn’t really hit me in the emotional sweet spot, it was more of a “WTF??? Why did my favorite team members just fall over after the Normandy got hit with a single beam?” I later realized it was due to me not upgrading the ship…but it felt kind of contrived. I could go on and on about ME2…overall it was a fantastic shooter game, but the story and pacing didn’t really gel for me.

    What about Dragon Age: Origins? I’ve heard a few people talk about the emotional connection with Morrigan and how that hit them at the end in a big way. I never got into the Metal Gear games (aside from the very first one on the NES) but do agree on HL2. Maybe some day Valve will finally release EP3!

  4. Seth Moyer says:

    This is something you have been hinting at for a while, and it makes a lot of sense. It would be sort of like a choose your own adventure book except more interesting (hopefully) and easier to navigate.

    Off Topic: You know your IST 110 lecture in which you asked us at what point will games make you tear up over the summer? I’ve Added Mass Effect 2 to my list. It’s joining Half Life 2 and the Metal Gear Solid series. In my opinion those are the 3 best franchises in video gaming. I think that this is because they go out of their way to make you care about the characters and feel sad when something bad happens to them.

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