(2006-11-21) Serious Games2006

Henry Jenkins on the recent Serious Games conference. We see games not so much as programmes with content that must be delivered but rather as spaces for exploration, experimentation, and problem solving. We do not simply want to tap games as a substitute for the textbook; we want to harness the metagaming, the active discussion and speculation which takes place around game play, as a catalyst for a broader range of other learning activities... The Education Arcade at MIT is one of a number of academic research groups which has found modding to be an effective approach to quickly generating educational Computer Game-s. For example, we took the fantasy role play game, NeverwinterNights, and transformed it step by step into Colonial Williamsburg Va on the eve of the American Revolution for a game which could be used to teach American History. (Educating Kids)... Some educators have begun to see the game design process itself as a catalyst for learning as can be seen in recent projects by OnRampArts in Los Angeles, Urban Games Academy in Baltimore and Atlanta, or Global Kidz in New York City. In each of these cases, the educational payoff comes not from playing the game but rather from working through the process of identifying how to transform a body of knowledge into a game play experience for someone else.