TWITCHSPEED.COM Digital Game-Based Learning

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Don't games styles change? What if my game wears out? Won't people get tired of it?

Games styles definitely do change, although "genres" (puzzle, adventure, role-playing, action, "god" games) remain fairly consistent. In addition, graphic styles and possibilities are continuously improving, although most foresee limits here within the next few years. When designing a learning game, graphic obsolescence needs to be taken into account by creating what game designers call good "gameplay," as opposed to merely "eye candy." If the game play is engaging, the game can survive through many upgrades of content, graphics and even content extension, as the perennial favorites Carmen Sandiego, Oregon Trail and even PacMan (back now in 3D for its 20th anniversary) illustrate well.

Isn't the graphics "bar" of commercial games too high for training?

There is certainly a level of graphics expectation in the game-playing population based on the latest releases in the commercial marketplace. While this level costs money to duplicate, it is not impossible - the same houses that do graphics for commercial games will work for training games. As history shows though, and as any serious gamer or game developer will tell you, gameplay - how a game works - is far more important than "eye candy" in holding a player engaged. A training game can get by with the previous generation's graphics if it is, in fact, a great game. At the same time most games developers are in agreement that within a couple of years they will have reached some graphics limits - almost photorealistic graphics will become easy, and therefore less expensive. The "action" in game creation will then shift to other areas - better multiplayer involvement, better artificial intelligence, etc. This is all good news for Digital Game-Based Learning.

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