In this book , James Paul Gee, a researcher in learning sciences, explores the potential of (all) video games for learning. Through an analysis of entertainment video games, he deduces a set of 36 "learning principles" used by video games to teach content or skills to players. This book then details these 36 "learning principles", such as the "multiple routes principle" or the "incremental principle", in order to give ideas to teachers on how to improve th
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Keywords : video game, learning principle, serious gaming
This paper is part of an experimental approach aimed to study the nature of videogames. We will focus on videogames rules in order to try to understand the anatomy of a videogame. Being inspired by the methodology that Propp used for his classification of Russian fairy tales, we have cleared out recurrent diagrams within rules of videogames. We then analysed these rules diagrams by using the definition of a game drawn by Salen & Zimmerman, which led us to propose a definition for the nature
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Keywords : gameplay, rules, Videogames, Typology, Classification
This book is a detailed study of the expressive potential of video games. The author analyses many examples of games broadcasting messages, related to politics, advertising and education. This study allows Ian Bogost, a media researcher and game designer, to introduce the concept of "procedural rhetoric", i.e. the use of games rules to broadcast messages. This book is very brilliant: full of relevant examples, it features an analysis that will undoubtedly inspires any creator or resear
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Keywords : serious game, procedural rhetoric, analysis, research, example
In this book, Catherine Kellner, a researcher in communication sciences, analyses and criticizes the so-called "edutainment" products. Through real-world examples, she highlights the common flaws of these products (storytelling elements used instead of play attributes, games using texts for kids who don't know how to read yet, boring games sequences, etc.). She also offers many ways to improves them (using the discovery space embedded in every game, learning by trial-and-error, etc.).
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Keywords : edutainment, research, analysis, critic
Following the videogame classification project, Gam.B.A.S is a research project aimed to study the deep nature of videogames through formal deconstruction of their inner structure. Gam.B.A.S. - Prototype #1 The first step of this ongoing project is to try to provide answer to the following question: What is gameplay? Demonstation videos of the two prototypes created (2007): Publications related to this project Many analysis have yet to be done,
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Keywords : game design, game creation software
A research project designed to build a classification system suited to videogames. This projet resulted in a website featuring a collaborative classification system based on multiple criterias. The games are classified according to their gameplay, their purposes, their markets and target audience, alongside with user-contributed keywords. http://www.gameclassification.com The classification of videogames, a complex problem... The classification of videogame
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Keywords : classification, videogames
One of the flagship book of the current wave of Serious Games, focused on videogames. This 350 pages book start with a definition of Serious Games, through a comparative analysis with entertainment videogames. It then features a lot of games examples for each of the main Serious Games application domains in 2005: defense, government, corporate, education, healthcare, politics, religion and art. This book also gives some Serious Games design advices related to each of these domains. This bo
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Keywords : serious game, definition, examples
A great videogame analysis book written by one of the founders of the scientific study of games: the ludology. In this book, Jesper Juul explores the connections between videogames and fictional worlds, and he highlights the special features of videogames when it comes to "tell stories." The first part of the book features an essay about the definitions of "games" and "video games" which were heavily quoted (both endorsed or criticized) by most of the following scie
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Keywords : ludology, game studies, fiction, definition
A book introducing a unique and thought-provoking approach to Game Design. Through a concept they call "Zen Game Design", the two authors emphasize over the fact that many game design methodologies exist, and that these methodologies are many because they suit different needs. The authors thus start form the "needs", and dedicate the first part of the book to a detailed analysis of the different player profiles. This analysis is based on a theoretical model called "Demog
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Keywords : game design, players typology, DGD1, zen game design, psychology, methodology
This large 500 pages book dissects the various aspects of Game Design: brainstorming for ideas, what players are seeking, artificial intelligence, storytelling, writing Game Design Document... Written by industry veteran Richard Rouse III (who designed the action-horror games The Suffering, among others), this book is full of wise and relevant advices for Game Designers, whether they are working alone as indies or in a big team. The originality of this book lies in the in-depth interviews of
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Keywords : game design, analysis, richard rouse III, centipede, sims, ed logg, doug church