Group items tagged

video game designer, story and character development, scripting and level designer

Computer Games and Simulations for Investigation and Education - In this project-based course, students from all disciplines are encouraged to understand how we learn from interactive computer environments, and delve into the process of designing and understanding simulations and games for learning.

an example of the Quest chain in a WoW in school/ quest based learning environment, instructional design, course intructional

infographic flowchart design different path event chains

Calling it Augmented Reality and Interactive Storytelling

This behind the scenes retrospective look at Perplex City ARG shows some of the elements that went into that game and might offer some interesting ideas....

Here's the Wikipedia entry for Perplex City which provides a helpful overview: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perplex_City

Thought this content could be helpful from the standpoint of thinking about the different types of immersion and their elements; and how these might be used in the design of an ARG.

Thought this content could be helpful from the standpoint of thinking about the psychological aspects of play and how they might apply to design & development of an ARG, as well as the playing of ARGs.

Is it for an ARG?

Borrowing from the concept framework provided by the Wikipedia entry for Immersion, I think an ARG must have at least the characteristics of emotional/narrative immersion and cognitive/strategic immersion; basically connecting to a participant's interest and level of focus/engagement. From my perspective, the emotional/narrative component is key, because I don't think the act of just tackling a series of puzzles makes something an ARG. And if we then add blended & augmented reality elements, then I think there's the opportunity to allow for sensory-motoric/tactical immersion as well as spatial immersion.

Wow, here's a gameplay clip that captures all three aspects of the immersion experience, sensory-motoric, cognitive & emotional; and it somehow even manages to throw in a bit of cognitive dissonance for extra measure... I think it's a great example of the impact creating these kinds of 'ah ha' moments can have and how these moments can distinguish an ARG as an engaging learning platform: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8AFiaWz7WI

The ARG SIG Wiki of the International Game Developers Association looks like it could be a rich source to mine for info, especially their white papers...

The Framework presents a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes(a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century.

Advances in computing have expanded our capacity to solve problems at a scale never before imagined, using strategies that have not been available to us before. Students will need to learn and practice new skills-computational thinking (CT) skills-to take full advantage of these revolutionary changes brought about by rapid changes in technology. ISTE and the Computer Science Teachers Association (CSTA) are collaborating on a project to prepare young learners to become computational thinkers who understand how today's digital tools can help solve tomorrow's problems. CT is vital to all students as we work to raise the level of achievement, prepare students for global competitiveness, and blend academics with real life. 

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) are the standards for learning, teaching, and leading in the digital age and are widely recognized and adopted worldwide. The family of NETS-NETS for Students (NETS*S), NETS for Teachers (NETS*T), NETS for Administrators (NETS*A), NETS for Coaches (NETS*C), and NETS for Computer Science Teachers (NETS*CSE)-work together to transform education.

The Best Tools & Apps on the web, a catalogue/database of up and coming tools for you to use in the classroom or an ARG

Create Simple Diagrams Quickly - a free version

the inner workings of Google