Consider Player/Game Interactions

Instructional or serious games should be driven, in part, by the types of interactions you wish to illicit from learner. A common mistake among novice instructional game developers it that they focus too much on the topic or instructional goals and not enough time on the interactions that will drive the learner toward those goals.

The best way to design from that perspective is to think about what the learner needs to do on the job and try to mimic those activities, actions or behaviors in the game and then design the game so the player has to do those activities. Start with the tasks of the job.

Let’s say a manager approaches you with the concept of a game about “Customer Service.” First, you might be puzzled because the topic of customer service is so broad. The topic can be covered in in terms of being friendly, being knowledgeable or being able to deal with irate customers (some of you are saying, yes…all three). The first step is to find what is driving the need for a “game” about customer service. Is it poor service? Complaints? General feeling by the supervisor, high turn-over?

You can jump into game development without first understanding the need driving the request for the game. Once you understand the need for the game, you can understand the types of interactions that should drive the game.

When launching a game project focus on the core of the game which is its interaction. Defining the interactions that will occur within and drive the game is the first step in building a successful game. Interactions are a clear way of looking at the of game you want to create.

Ask yourself if the game is going to be a matter of quickly identifying customer service obstacles? Is it going to be about deep strategy, complex logic, human insight, chance, competition, self-expression or cooperation? How will the interactions between the learner and the tasks of the job be handled?

Once these sorts of questions are answered, then you can ask yourself what topic or treatment of the topic best serves these goals. Since interaction is a major driver of game play, then understanding interactions can then lead to effective instructional game design.