Games and Simulation

What is a game?

The word game casts a very wide net in terms of its definition. Tic Tac Toe is a game in which players take it in turns to draw O's and X's on a three by three grid to try and create a line, however Halo: Combat Evolved is also a game which is digital first person shooter (FPS) and involves complex mechanics, 3D environments and enemy AI. These two examples seem very far apart however there are clear similarities when broken down.

Karl Kapp defines a game as an "Abstract challenge, defined by rules, interactivity and feedback, that results in a quantifiable outcome, often eliciting an emotional response."

In Tic Tac Toe the challenge is to out smart your opponent, the rules are that players take turns to draw their own symbol (X or O), a square can only be occupied by one symbol and cant be changed once drawn, the winner is the first to create an unbroken line of three of their own symbol. It is interactive because you are interacting with the paper and pencil as well as each other and the feedback comes from seeing your opponents response and the outcome is either winning or loosing. The emotional response really depends on the attitudes of the players (for instance is either is a bad loser/winner).

In Halo (focusing on single player) the challenge is variable depending on difficulty level with the end goal being to save the human race. The rules are far more complex but enforced by the game itself, you shoot enemies, head shots do more damage, try not to get hit too many times or your shields and then life will be depleted. If your health hits 0 then you die and must start again form the next check point. Feedback comes in many forms but most prominently is both the progression of the levels/story and of a more frequent nature, the defeating of enemies. The emotional responses can range from anger, sadness and sorrow right the way through to joy and fiero. Without the rules and goals then games become just play.

What is a simulation?

Again Karl Kapp defines a simulation as "A realistic, controlled risk environment where learners can practice specific behaviours or decisions and experience the impacts of their behaviours and or those decisions" The most commonly thought of simulators are flight or driving simulators where people practice both flying and driving in safe conditions. These conditions allow for experimentation too with minimal risk. However there are also many other simulators and not all of them digital. RPG's are a type of simulation where behaviours, responses and attitudes can be practices as well as procedures. Simulators are realistic scenarios in contrast to abstract.

Moving on from all of this I would like to look at applying some of the methods I have learned over the last few weeks. Please see my next post for my analyses of the worksheet and my first pass on gamifying the content of my first work sheet, Gravity.


References

Games vs. gamification. 2015. Games vs. gamification. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.lynda.com/Higher-Education-tutorials/Games-vs-gamification/173211/197008-4.html?autoplay=true. [Accessed 26 November 2015].