Blog — University XP

Representation in Games

This article will address the historical overview of representation in games as well as how it reflects on the direction of the game industry. The article will review reasons to become more representative as well as some negative aspects that under-representation or misrepresentation has had in games. The article will cover the growing diversity of gamers as well as some prime examples to follow. Representation is addressed as a concept of design accessibility and is followed with some action steps to take. Finally, representation as it relates to table top game play and future implications are included and discussed.

game design, representationDave EngMarch 19, 2020representation, industry, diversityComment

Accessibility in Games

This article will address how accessibility affects the player experience. We’ll dive deeply into why accessibility challenges make them the “wrong” kind of difficulty for players. This article will address accessibility as design considerations for the widest and most diverse audience. We’ll first cover designing with accessibility in mind from the start and then cover types of accessibility changes made in game design. Those changes include accessibility addressing motor movement; cognition; vision; hearing; and economics. This article will close on how designers can use accessibility to continually improve their practice and design.

accessibilityDave EngMarch 12, 2020accessibility, audience, diversity, motor, cognitive, vision, hearing, speech, economics, game designComment

Play Testing for Success

This article will review the role of play testing games. It will cover what a play test is as well as reasons why designers should play test their games. This article will also cover some player limitations of play testing as well as how to keep designer bias in check. Objectives of play testing and stages of play testing will also be covered and discussed. Advice is provided on collecting information during a play test as well as where to play test. The article ends with how you can use play testing to grow as a designer as well as how to serve as a good play tester yourself.

game design, playtestingDave EngMarch 5, 2020player experience, playtestingComment

Applying Feedback

This article will review different areas of player feedback from play testing. It includes the steps for collecting feedback as well as how to specifically ask for actionable feedback from your playtesters. It includes the top three questions that I ask from all of my playtesters as well as common interpretations for the kinds of feedback that you’ll receive. The article will cover how to consolidate your feedback from playtesters as well as how to apply it. Review of the feedback process will be provided along with limitations of the entire feedback process.

feedback, playtestingDave EngFebruary 26, 2020feedback, playtesting, feedback questions, applying feedbackComment

Game Components

This article will provide a very broad and generalized overview of the different components that make up table top games. Disclaimer though: this list is not meant to be comprehensive or completely inclusive. Of course, there are opportunities to discuss and debate the use of these different components. As those are discussed the list and applications of game components will continue to expand. This article will cover what these game components are as well as sort them into applicable areas.

components, tabletop gamesDave EngFebruary 20, 2020components, games, table top gameComment

Engagement Curves

This article will address the “engagement curve” of games and how it affects player and user engagement. It will cover what should be prioritized when creating engaging games as well as how timing works in the engagement cycle. This curve is discussed for continual player engagement as well as how most popular apps utilize this for monetization purposes. Finally, this article closes out on why engagement is important for games and how it can be harnessed for serious game development.

engagement curveDave EngFebruary 13, 2020engagement, engagement curve, game design, timing, monetization, serious gamesComment

Game Mechanics

This article will review what game mechanics are as well as how players interact and interpret them. Game designers’ roles with creating and using mechanics will be discussed as well as how mechanics are used for games-based learning and educational gaming. Lastly, this article will close on what designers should avoid when designing mechanics for their games.

Dave EngFebruary 6, 2020mechanics, player experience, game design, game mechanics, learningComment

Can I compete?

In this article we’ll review what “sandbagging” is in games as well as provide examples from the most prevalent games where this happens. This article will also review competition in games as well as how players use and exploit the competitive advantage. Lastly, this article will end with an overview on designing for balance in games in order to make the best use of those competitive elements.

balance, game design, sandbaggingDave EngJanuary 30, 2020competition, sandbagging, advantage, balance, game designComment

Decisions for Us

Yes they can! These kinds of games are called idiogames and this article will take a deeper look into what they are. Challenges surrounding how we create definitions around games will also be included. This article will also cover the structure of how these meaningful decisions produce personal outcomes for ourselves. Finally, this article will close on some idiogame examples.

types of games, ludology, idiogamesDave EngJanuary 24, 2020idio games, role playing games, rpgComment

How do I win?

This article answers the question: “What is an orthogame” as well as reviews the characteristics of orthogames. Orthogames will also be compared against competitive gaming and casual gaming.

ortho games, game typesDave EngJanuary 16, 2020ortho, games, win, competition, competitive, casual Comments

Socializing Games

This article will review the positives of learning and gaming in a socialized game environment as well as how gamers, players, students, and educators may create a socialized learning environment. This article will close on the outcomes and applications of socialized gaming.

social, games-based leareningDave EngJanuary 9, 2020social, gaming, games based learningComment

Building soft skills with games

This article will cover the different areas that games-based learning can be used for addressing soft skills development. This article will cover cognitive internal development; relational development; as well as how games can be used to develop students’ communication and creativity. This article will close with actionable items for using games-based learning to achieve these skill competencies.

Games for Adult Learning

This article will review some of the positives of including games in adult learning and development. The application of games compared to other activities will be discussed as well as some digital applications of games based learning.

Decision Space

This article will provide an overview of decisions and the decision space in games. It provides an overview of interesting choices for players. This article will include what characteristics make interesting choices for players; different types of decision spaces; and opportunities for creating informed choices. This article will conclude with direction on creating and designing decision spaces for the player experience a well as applications for both game and instructional design.

Core Loops

This article outlines what a core loop is as well as provides direction in its design. Examples of core loops are provided as well as some fatal mistakes to avoid in the design process.

core loop, games-based leareningDave EngDecember 3, 2019core loop, game design, examplesComment

Abstraction in Games

This article will dive deeper into abstraction in games. Specifically what abstractions are; why they are used in games; and how they affect the player experience. This article will also review specific examples of abstraction in games and how they affect our play and engagement.

abstraction, games-based leareningDave EngNovember 26, 2019abstraction, player experienceComment

Achievements

This article will provide an overview of achievements; why they should be used; and how achievements affect the player experience. The article will also review the different types of achievements and their applications. While we recognize achievements in game play; we can also use them for games-based learning applications.

games-based leareningDave EngNovember 19, 2019achievements, player experience Comment

Score Points

This article will address how versatile points are in their applications. They can be used as a rewards system to help players continue to engage. Points can also change the player perception of the game through how they gain feedback. This article will also cover the different design philosophies when incorporating points into games as well as different methods for scoring. Lastly, the article will cover actionable takeaways for building scoring mechanics into your games, serious games, simulations or any other applications of games-based learning.

game design, games-based leareningDave EngNovember 12, 2019points, rewards, perception, game design, method, scoring, mechanicsComment

The User Experience

Fortnite recently became one of the most successful video games in history, which has been a mixture of surprise, fascination, and wonder for someone like me. Someone who was never been that big on the battle royal train from the beginning.

Celia Hodent’s is the former director of User Experience at Epic Games where she worked on Fortnite from 2013 to 2017. In her original post here: Gamasutra: Celia Hodent's Blog - Understanding the Success of Fortnite: A UX & Psychology Perspective she talks about the combination of her different disciplines in psychology, user experience, and how both informed the development of Fortnite.

Gaming with Motivation

Intrinsic 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.