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Category: design

Reflecting on failure at games for change

Categoriesdesign learning

I revel in failure. The size of a failure correlates with the size of the the opportunity it offers. Failure is how we learn. It helps us evolve and grow as individuals and as a society, which is why I was surprised to see  a very public aversion to failure at the Games for Change Festival last week. The festival attendees were roughly split between designers and educators, and everyone had come together to discuss the development of interactive experiences that enact real change. During one session, a teacher admonished game designers for producing what I, too, consider the scourgekeep readingReflecting on failure at games for change

Games for sustainability

Categoriesdesign learning

I was reading recently about sustainability in the U.S. and abroad, and I was curious if  games could teach me about sustainability. Sust., a Scottish company, has created a pair of flash-based games that teach the basic concepts of sustainability. The games are a mix of short videos and interactive questions that ask the player to make responsible, eco-friendly decisions relating to building and lifestyle. In both these games by Sust. the Sustainability Meter is the scoring system, and it fluctuates depending on your answers to multiple choice questions. Sust. Environment Game explains the fundamentals of sustainability; location, energy usage, water usage, wastekeep readingGames for sustainability

Trends in copyright infringement offer a lesson in merit

Categoriesdesign

There has been a large amount of talk lately about copyright infringement. SOPA and PIPA recently illustrated how ill-equipped the federal government is to handle the complexities and minutiae of maintaining an analog copyright system in a digital society. Recently, Banksy’s dispatch  – adapted from his books Cut it Out and Wall and Piece, eloquently articulated relationship between advertising, infringement and the plight of the modern consumer and starting me thinking. We are definitely in a transitional period (and perhaps we will forever be), because technology has changed a rate most senior and respected offices of government cannot maintain. With inadequate regulation, copyright infringement runs rampant online, governed mainly bykeep readingTrends in copyright infringement offer a lesson in merit

Learning is multiplayer

Categoriesdesign learning

An interesting perspective on Gamification from designer and author Gabe Zichermann. He points out that people often ask, “Do games help children?”, instead of asking a more useful question, ” What kind of help do games provide?”. Evidence shows that at least part of the “help” games offer is an increase in fluid intelligence (i.e. critical thinking) because games continuously focus on 5 things that encourage growth of gray matter in the brain- seeking novelty, challenge yourself, thinking creatively, doing things the hard way, and networking. Combine that with the positive reinforcement that is intrinsic to games (we wouldn’t makekeep readingLearning is multiplayer