Blog 9 - Advisory Prep 3

1. State whether or not you currently have a mentor, and what the status of your interview is with that person (I have completed the interview, I have scheduled the interview, I have not scheduled the interview, etc).

My mentors are Tracy Fullerton, Elizabeth Swensen, and Sean Bouchard. I have met them regularly every two weeks with Clerisse, and I have completed my interview (I just need to get to transcribing it).

2. At this point, your research is probably guiding your studies toward more specific areas within your topic.  Name the area or two you find most promising and explain your reasons. 

As of now, my highest interest within game design are as follows finding how to maximize either intended player experience OR how to maximize player learning experience. While both sound very similar, the meaning behind both of them are vastly different (at least, for me). The former is based on an entertainment and artistic level, whereas the latter 
entertainment and educational level. 

To elaborate on the first part: suppose the genre of my game is fantasy, and I want my game to convey the theme of regret. What elements of the game design process will be most essential in allowing for the player to understand these underlying (or ubiquitous) messages without it being a distraction from the gameplay?

Player learning experience, on the other hand, is a goal in which I want to understand how I can best use video games as a way of teaching players (depending on the age) certain information. Yes, I fully mean BRAINWASHING education via interactive media, which is certainly not an  unfamiliar concept. However, I do want to delve into understanding what is necessary to best ingrain information into video games without any expense of entertainment. Anyone can easily argue that many games already pull this off, but the processes are never never so clean-cut.

3. What kinds of sources do you think will help you in the next month to gain more research depth?  Where will you go to get them?

Fortunately, both Sean and Elizabeth are avid designers for the educational genre of video games, though it was pretty obvious I would to them for advice even if they weren't. However, since I've started this mentorship, I haven't been really asking them specific questions regarding this particular topic, and since I realize that I'm starting to lean that way now, more doors will definitely be open. I can definitely ask them for any sources they used.

With a single search, I was also able to find reliable books on the subject matter -  What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy by James Paul Gee seems to be a good start (and it happens to also be at my local library). 

I still have my mentor's textbook Game Design Workshop  to go through, and there are still a variety of unread articles online that will go into depth in this topic. Of course, I can't always count on the Internet's reliability, but I still also have CPP Library's database to go through. Last I checked, it had other articles for me to read.

4. Write down a possible EQ.  Please don't worry about wording other than ensuring that it provides the option for multiple correct answers.  At this point, the senior team is most interested in understanding your thought process.

What elements are most essential in maximizing player learning experience in a video game, with minimal expense to the entertainment?