HC1 - Introduction
Serious game: a computer game not intended for entertainment purposes..
➔ Now referred to as applied games.
Applied games
• Interdisciplinary field of study at the cutting edge of human-computer interaction, artificial
intelligence, psychology, educational sciences, etc.
• Translating the needs of stakeholders and expert knowledge into innovative game concepts
• For effective designs, we need to focus on analysis of games at an academic level and
integrate interdisciplinary scientific insight with novel game design &
technology
Procedural rhetoric: you are playing and ideas arise through the interactions, things are magnified
and stand out during the game.
,HC2 - Play
Play is something you can participate in voluntarily and stop at any time. You are vulnerable and
open.
Playing is like entering a magic circle: the space in which the normal rules and reality of the world are
suspended and replaced by the artificial reality of a game world.
3 stages van play
1. Invitation (grab attention)
o The player is autonomous: they voluntarily decide to enter (or leave) a game → the
player needs to be encouraged to enter the magic circle.
2. Exploration (you start playing, what happens if you do x or y?)
o The player investigates the rules, context, consequences, boundaries (etc) of the
magic circle.
3. Immersion
o The player is intrigued by the results of their exploration and feels like staying within
the magic circle.
You cannot directly design 'play', you can only place objects and give rules. You are several steps
away from the experience.
Participant journey map
Transit → awareness → interest → intention → exploration → continuation → finishing
, Spel is open, unstructured, there is no structure. Fantasy and world-buildage are crucial factors.
Game has rules, goals, this is what you should and shouldn't do. Challenge interpretation
and optimization of rules and tactics.
Play & Holistic skills
Children's development and learning is multifaceted.
Cognitive, physical, social, creative and emotional skills are developed and complement
one another.
When making a duck from Lego blocks, the following cognitive processes are activated:
• Spatial abilities: Thinking about and manipulating objects in 3D (e.g., when
visualizing inside your head what you wanted to build, and then manipulating the
elements to make the duck)
o Essential for your ability to visualize and imagine a situation, and look at it
from different directions. (key role in mathematical thinking, when children
learn to count, sort, and quantify objects)
• Symbolic representation: Associate objects, actions or symbols with a particular meaning
(e.g., when you were looking for elements that had similarities with a duck)
o Important for language development; when understanding the meaning of letters and
words and numbers in relationship to everyday objects.
• Executive functioning: Fundamental for your ability to concentrate and control your actions
(e.g., when keeping attention to a task & avoiding distractions)
o Essential for problem-solving. (when dealing with a complex problem, or in a task or
situation with many different inputs, or information)
• Self-regulation: Most people get a little bit stressed while doing complex tasks, even if they
cannot really ‘fail’. Self-regulation is the ability to regulate your emotions and motivation,
while setting yourself the goal of completing the duck and working towards that goal.
(important skill)
Sometimes, we consider these abilities like concentration, controlling yourself, visualizing
ideas, understanding space, as so-called soft skills: things that are a by-product of learning.
But, the skills that you use when you are motivated to play and make things, are the ones that are
critical for problem solving & creativity, and often are fundamental skills for learning, reading, writing,
etc.
Serious game: a computer game not intended for entertainment purposes..
➔ Now referred to as applied games.
Applied games
• Interdisciplinary field of study at the cutting edge of human-computer interaction, artificial
intelligence, psychology, educational sciences, etc.
• Translating the needs of stakeholders and expert knowledge into innovative game concepts
• For effective designs, we need to focus on analysis of games at an academic level and
integrate interdisciplinary scientific insight with novel game design &
technology
Procedural rhetoric: you are playing and ideas arise through the interactions, things are magnified
and stand out during the game.
,HC2 - Play
Play is something you can participate in voluntarily and stop at any time. You are vulnerable and
open.
Playing is like entering a magic circle: the space in which the normal rules and reality of the world are
suspended and replaced by the artificial reality of a game world.
3 stages van play
1. Invitation (grab attention)
o The player is autonomous: they voluntarily decide to enter (or leave) a game → the
player needs to be encouraged to enter the magic circle.
2. Exploration (you start playing, what happens if you do x or y?)
o The player investigates the rules, context, consequences, boundaries (etc) of the
magic circle.
3. Immersion
o The player is intrigued by the results of their exploration and feels like staying within
the magic circle.
You cannot directly design 'play', you can only place objects and give rules. You are several steps
away from the experience.
Participant journey map
Transit → awareness → interest → intention → exploration → continuation → finishing
, Spel is open, unstructured, there is no structure. Fantasy and world-buildage are crucial factors.
Game has rules, goals, this is what you should and shouldn't do. Challenge interpretation
and optimization of rules and tactics.
Play & Holistic skills
Children's development and learning is multifaceted.
Cognitive, physical, social, creative and emotional skills are developed and complement
one another.
When making a duck from Lego blocks, the following cognitive processes are activated:
• Spatial abilities: Thinking about and manipulating objects in 3D (e.g., when
visualizing inside your head what you wanted to build, and then manipulating the
elements to make the duck)
o Essential for your ability to visualize and imagine a situation, and look at it
from different directions. (key role in mathematical thinking, when children
learn to count, sort, and quantify objects)
• Symbolic representation: Associate objects, actions or symbols with a particular meaning
(e.g., when you were looking for elements that had similarities with a duck)
o Important for language development; when understanding the meaning of letters and
words and numbers in relationship to everyday objects.
• Executive functioning: Fundamental for your ability to concentrate and control your actions
(e.g., when keeping attention to a task & avoiding distractions)
o Essential for problem-solving. (when dealing with a complex problem, or in a task or
situation with many different inputs, or information)
• Self-regulation: Most people get a little bit stressed while doing complex tasks, even if they
cannot really ‘fail’. Self-regulation is the ability to regulate your emotions and motivation,
while setting yourself the goal of completing the duck and working towards that goal.
(important skill)
Sometimes, we consider these abilities like concentration, controlling yourself, visualizing
ideas, understanding space, as so-called soft skills: things that are a by-product of learning.
But, the skills that you use when you are motivated to play and make things, are the ones that are
critical for problem solving & creativity, and often are fundamental skills for learning, reading, writing,
etc.
