Games are entertainment. That goes pretty much without saying. But with all the time that people are putting into games nowadays, what if they could be something more.
Jane McGonigal identifies that the average gamer logs enormous amounts of time and effort into their games. Warcraft players have played enough collective hours to date back to the beginning of human evolution, and gaming wikis are among the most extensive on the internet. All this playing has given gamers something that they are very good at: playing games. But what does that entail, and how can it be applied to fix real world problems? McGonigal suggests that gamers have a strong sense of purpose, dedication, optimism, and cooperation. Given the proper environment, these skills can be redirected to create real-world solutions. This environment is a serious game.
In chapter nine, Nielsen goes in-depth into several types of serious games. He briefly touches on how games can be used for advertising and political purposes (as in the case of America's Army, which we have seen previously), but focuses primarily on edutainment.
There are three main kinds of edutainment: commercial educational games, commercial entertainment games with educational elements, and research-based educational games. Commercial educational games have the strongest educational elements, but often fail to entertain as much as other games. Commercial entertainment games are very entertaining, but aren't as reliable from an education perspective. Research-based games seek to combine the best of both worlds, not being tied down by a commercial image, but being noncommercial means that they have a smaller budget and have a more difficult time gaining exposure and garnering appeal.
The strengths and weaknesses of each type of edutainment lead to mixed results when assessing the educational value of video games. An optimal educational game would be equal parts educational, entertaining, and accessible, but it is incredibly difficult to balance these points.
Do you feel that the impact of a serious game is lessened by its seriousness? For example, would recognition that a particular game has a certain purpose behind it ruin the immersion of that title?
Well, I think the impact of the implementation of "seriousness" to a game could lessen the value of the game, but that is entirely contingent on the way this aspect is implemented. There are many edutainment games that are quite fun, like The Lost Island of Dr. Brain. I think that perhaps embedded political agendas could turn me off from a game, though.
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