Settlers’ is a microcosm of what McGonigal describes as an
engagement economy of an epic scale like Wikipedia or World of Warcraft. Is it
a good game world? The game does invite you to explore, act, and spend large
amounts of time and encourages curiosity, and collaboration to achieve your
goals. The game mechanics are adequate insofar as response times to player
actions and has a personal feedback system that demonstrates progress. The game
community has many facets in which to engage players. Through guild quests and
guild tasks, one has the sense of community, of helping one another out in time
of need. Nowhere though, does that sense of community and shared responsibility
manifest itself than in a shared adventure.
Participating in this kind of quest allows you to feel that,
as part of a team, you can accomplish many more things than you would even
think about doing on your own. While I would not refer to these adventure wins
as ‘epic, I can get a glimpse of how participation in something like the Guardian’s
“Investigate Your MP’S Expenses” would make someone feel being a participant in
the effort. I love the idea of Social participation tasks and the one I particular
McGonigal mentions as her favorite (pg. 253), Christel House and the short note
to a student somewhere in the world that might need a small pat on the back
before a big test. Such a small gesture that could conceivably have a great
impact on someone you will probably never meet let alone get to know. This reminds
me of all the letters and notes written from classrooms, churches, and kitchen
tables to our troops around the world. Speaking from experience, I know how
much words of encouragement and love from a stranger means.
Crowd-sourcing has had my interest for some time. As an
educator, I have been in constant search for ways to improve my instruction and
classroom experience for my students. Today, in part due to “No child left
behind,” every state has, as part of their department of education web pages, a
host of standards based lesson plans and classroom activities that has been
contributed by teachers. One of my favorite sites for interactive instructional
sites internet4classrooms.com has a
seemingly endless supply of teacher-vetted sites for all grade levels. Search
Google for crowd-sourcing for educators and you might be there awhile. Another
of my favorite sites is donarschoose.org, where
a number of teachers I know have been successful in funding projects for their
classrooms.
Hi Michael,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Settlers does not give that sense of community feeling that McGonigal describes. Since you and I are in the same guild, you might have noticed that sometimes the guild chat is rather exclusive: a somewhat private conversation between two players that should really happen in the whisper tab. I find myself engaging in dialogue less and less. The other day someone mentioned why the newer players aren't speaking up much, and it could be that they have a hard time fitting in with the players who know each other so well. Besides helping each other with resources and participating in someone else's quest, there is no "greater meaning". If we both think that, maybe we have become those gamers who are "hungry for better forms of engagement in their real lives" (McGonigal, 2011, p. 245). Michael, we might be real gamers now!
I also enjoyed reading about games with a social conscious, as I am a big believer in social justice. We have played Free Rice with my students before and they have brought other socially responsible 'games' to my attention.
I will have to check out the crowdsourcing site you recommend. I have heard about Teachers pay Teachers which is similar (there is free stuff, too).