{"id":6029,"date":"2015-11-09T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2015-11-09T16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=6029"},"modified":"2015-11-08T16:56:04","modified_gmt":"2015-11-08T23:56:04","slug":"games-you-cant-win-online-first-springer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2015\/11\/09\/games-you-cant-win-online-first-springer\/","title":{"rendered":"Games You Can\u2019t Win &#8211; Online First &#8211; Springer"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span><p><span class=\"AuthorName_container\"><span class=\"AuthorName\">Dana\u00a0Ruggiero<\/span><\/span>, <span class=\"AuthorName_container\"><span class=\"AuthorName\">Katrin\u00a0Becker<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><a href=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/ID-100283345-300x2251.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-5726\" src=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/ID-100283345-300x2251-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"ID-100283345-300x2251\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a>Abstract<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote><p>A common notion in games for learning is that the player must win the game. But is it always necessary for the player to win in order to \u2018get\u2019 the message that the game is trying to portray? When we think back on our most memorable learning experiences, we find that these lessons are often things we learned through failure rather than success. There is a class of games where \u2018winning\u2019 doesn\u2019t look the way we typically expect it to look. Some games do not allow their players to win, and their underlying message is more akin to that found in a cautionary tale. We refer to these games as games you can\u2019t win, and they form a distinctly different approach to game design. Games such as Sweatshop (Littleloud, 2011), Darfur is Dying (MTVu, 2006), and September 12th (Newsgaming, 2005) are games you cannot conceivably win, and they are designed that way deliberately. This paper presents a critique on serious games that are unwinnable by design. We examine the concepts of games and learning, the design of unwinnable games, design strategies for unhappy and\/or unwinnable learning games, and ways to measure the success of games you can\u2019t win. We also briefly consider potential issues and future directions, and we conclude that the messages delivered via games you can\u2019t win are more powerful than those of games in which you can win.KeywordsUnwinnable Unhappy endstate Educational games Game design<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Source: <em><a href=\"http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007%2Fs40869-015-0013-9\">Games You Can\u2019t Win &#8211; Online First &#8211; Springer<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class='wp_likes' id='wp_likes_post-6029'><a class='like' href=\"javascript:wp_likes.like(6029);\" title='' ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/plugins\/wp-likes\/images\/like.png\" alt='' border='0'\/><\/a><span class='text'>Be the first to like.<\/span><\/p>\n<div class='like' ><a href=\"javascript:wp_likes.like(6029);\">Like<\/a><\/div>\n<div class='unlike' ><a href=\"javascript:wp_likes.unlike(6029);\">Unlike<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> &lt; 1<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minute<\/span><\/span>Dana\u00a0Ruggiero, Katrin\u00a0Becker Abstract A common notion in games for learning is that the player must win the game. But is it always necessary for the player to win in order to \u2018get\u2019 the message that the game is trying to &hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2015\/11\/09\/games-you-cant-win-online-first-springer\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,9,379,12,14,369,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academia","category-educational-technology","category-game-design","category-games","category-general","category-higher-education","category-teaching-learning"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Hsb6-1zf","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4795,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2015\/06\/17\/the-virtue-of-failure-designing-games-you-cant-win-for-learning\/","url_meta":{"origin":6029,"position":0},"title":"The Virtue of Failure &#8211; Designing Games You Can\u2019t Win for Learning","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"June 17, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Thought I should upload a few of my more recent talks. This one is from the CNIE conference in May 2014 that I did with Dana Ruggiero. [P] Presentation Ruggiero, D. & Becker, K. (2014) The Virtue of Failure: Designing Games You Can\u2019t Win for Learning, CNIE 2014 Confluences: Spaces,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Academia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Academia","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/academia\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4871,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2015\/06\/26\/analyzing-games-for-learning-the-becker-lazy-test\/","url_meta":{"origin":6029,"position":1},"title":"Analyzing Games for Learning The Becker Lazy Test","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"June 26, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Becker\u2019s Lazy Test is something I developed some years ago as part of the 4PEG game assessment template (4PEG = 4 Pillars of Educational Games). When I am examining a game, I play it and see how far I can get without reading or learning anything. I simply follow the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Book&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Book","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/book\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/mediabookblogid-100283345.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3987,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2014\/07\/05\/the-becker-lazy-test-blt-for-educational-games\/","url_meta":{"origin":6029,"position":2},"title":"The Becker Lazy Test (BLT) for Educational Games","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"July 5, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The Becker Lazy Test is something I developed some years ago as part of my 4-PEG game assessment template. (4PEG = 4 Pillars of Educational Games). More on that soon. When I am examining a game, I see how far I can get without reading or learning anything. I simply\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Computers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/computers-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/comicsobserver.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/10\/lazyjane-silverstein.gif?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2819,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/09\/21\/theories-of-games-and-interaction-for-design-3-how-can-we-tell-a-good-game\/","url_meta":{"origin":6029,"position":3},"title":"Theories of Games and Interaction for Design (3:  How can we tell a \u201cGood\u201d game?)","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"September 21, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a re-posting of my reflection for the first course of the Graduate Certificate Program in Serious Game Design and Research at Michigan State University. Please note: these posts are not intended as any kind of commentary on or assessment of the course I\u2019m taking, or its instructor, OR\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5309,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2015\/08\/14\/where-is-the-line-between-good-instructions-and-hand-holding\/","url_meta":{"origin":6029,"position":4},"title":"Where is the line between good instructions and hand-holding?","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"August 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"One of the great things about games is their potential for delivering just-in-time instruction. Most games require some sort of user assistance,\u00a0whether it be instructions, in-game tutorials, or a help system. Many games\u00a0integrate help and tutorial information into the gameplay as much as possible. As designers, how can we know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Computers&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Computers","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/computers-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/minkhollowmedia.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/viper1-300x187.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1510,"url":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2010\/12\/11\/ea-says-single-player-games-are-finished\/","url_meta":{"origin":6029,"position":5},"title":"EA says single-player games are finished?","author":"Katrin Becker","date":"December 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Frank Gibeau from EA says: I volunteer you to speak to EA\u2019s studio heads; they\u2019ll tell you the same thing. They\u2019re very comfortable moving the discussion towards how we make connected gameplay \u2013 be it co-operative or multiplayer or online services \u2013 as opposed to fire-and-forget, packaged goods only, single-player,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Educational Technology&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Educational Technology","link":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/category\/educational-technology\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6029"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6031,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6029\/revisions\/6031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}