This article will explore the player journey. It’ll start by defining this term and outline reasons for its importance. The player experience is an important aspect of the player journey. Therefore, it’ll be examined in depth as it relates to individual motivations and how they affect both goals and achievements during the player journey.
Read MoreThis article will define player engagement and relate it to its roots in understanding player motivation. Player engagement has most to do with the amount of time that players engage with the game and how their investment best relates to the player experience. That player’s experience is informed by multiple sources. They include interaction and how players augment the game; how players receive and interpret feedback, and how challenges and difficulty are scaffolded and presented to players through games and games-based learning.
Read MoreThis article will also cover how game goals work in concert with player agency and how designers can take advantage of player skill development while simultaneously mitigating luck and randomness. The player experience represents the defining factor for players engaging with games for learning; so, player feedback loops as well as how failure is addressed will also be considered.
Read MoreThis article will define the use and purpose of the term “strategy game” and how the term “strategy” affects and influences both game structure and the decision making framework for players. Strategy in games is addressed differently dependent on game type. Therefore, this article will address strategy in abstract games, war games, video games, simulations, idiogames, euro table top games, and team games.
Read MoreThis article covers the concept of player relevance in depth. Specifically, it defines the term “player relevance” for the context of this article. Player agency and its relationship to player relevance will be covered and discussed. The decision space and individual motivations are equally important for determining player relevance. Therefore, this article will discuss both in relationship to the player journey.
Read MoreThis article will define expectancy theory as well and describe its origins for understating human motivation and behavior. Motivation will also be covered as a facet of the educational process as well as expectancy theory’s origins in management as a way to better connect employee performance and rewards.
Read MoreThis article will address how to design games with players in mind. There are multiple things to take into consideration when designing games. They include player diversity; learning styles; and player motivations.
Read MoreThis article will provide an overview of self-determination theory and how the three needs of autonomy, competency, and relatedness influence player motivation. Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation will be discussed in addition to how feedback loops affect the player experience. Self-determination theory in its application to both games and games-based learning will be shared. Self-determination theory’s applications outside of games and teaching will also be discussed.
Read MoreIntrinsic motivation is one of the most powerful motivating factors for people. Intrinsic motivation is what keeps players playing. They play for the love of the game instead of for a particular reward. But what is intrinsic motivation? What is motivation in general? This article will address intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation and how you can use both in games-based learning.
Read MoreWhat is fun? What is hard fun? Is there easy fun? Gaming and games-based learning uses the fun of games, the joy of engagement, and the thrill of overcoming challenges as powerful motivators to get students to meet learning outcomes.
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