The Search Continues...

Since last posting I have managed to scout out some new sources. Serious games have been very beneficial during my search since most serious games have a learning element. Many serious games are all about learning without trying to disguise their intent at all however. I don't want my game to be as blatant as many games have been. Today I reviewed an article that found 6 key attributes of games that have excellent UX (user experiences), flow, immersion, game system, player context, game usability, and learnability (source). With these elements in mind I want to progress in my research. I've now looked at plenty of research in the area of using video games to help people learn but very few of these articles are interested in student learning outside of the classroom. I want to engage the attention of women more frequently. I want to develop a game that can be played on a mobile device so it doesn't feel like learning, it just feels like fun.

I've settled on using elements from an easy to learn game called NIM. An example of this game can be found here. This game will encourage people playing to develop their software engineering skills. What most people don't realize about software engineering is that it's not all about coding. A large part of software engineering is about analyzing a problem, identifying a solution, designing that solution, implementation, and finally testing. This game requires the player to do all of these steps, and getting practice in it will make the prospect of doing it as a living will seem far less intimidating.

I intend to revamp the NIM game to be more integrated with a computer science problem so I can utilize computer science terms in the gameplay. I want to do this because a major issue in CS for people just entering is a lack of understanding concerning terms. It can be like CS majors are speaking another language sometimes, so a chance to introduce people to terminology early on is key.

Thats all for now.

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Vidya