Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:2281] Game play vs. content
From: Ken Kahn (kenkahn@toontalk.com)
Date: Mon 08 Oct 2001 - 18:04:34 MEST
From: "Ken Kahn" <kenkahn@toontalk.com> Subject: [IFETS-DISCUSSION:2281] Game play vs. content Date: Mon, 8 Oct 2001 09:04:34 -0700
The designers of "Age of Empires" said in a lecture that whenever there was
a conflict between historical accuracy and game play they chose game play.
They said the game is "95% accurate". Age of Empires is a game where players
control ancient empires. They deal with diplomacy, war, economic
development, science and technology and more. I think playing this game can
lead to a better understanding of historical processes, of the trade-offs
that leaders make, and more. It can be more effective than reading a history
text book.
So what about the 5% of intentional inacurancies? I asked one of the
speakers about this. He gave an example where one civilization never
developed catapults so if it had had a war with one of the ones that had
catapults it would have a very serious disadvantage. Historically accurate
but not so much fun to play. So they gave catapults to all civilizations.
Personally I think the larger principals learned are more important than
detailed accuracy. But I wonder if with more effort and creativity one can't
get both good game play and historical accuracy. Maybe. Maybe not.
I think that the most successful games always puts game play ahead of
education. The games can still be very positive and valuable. Examples of
such games include SimAnt, SimCity, Civilization, Lemmings, and The
Incredible Machine. I don't think that any of the "edutainment" titles make
the list. Again agreeing with Seymour Papert's essay "Does Easy Do It?" (
http://www.papert.org/articles/Doeseasydoit.html ) - these games try to make
learning easy and a "hidden" side-effect of playing them. Good games are
always hard and challenging.
Best,
-ken kahn ( www.toontalk.com )
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