Henry Jenkins runs the Comparative Media Studies (CMS) program at MIT. He also blogs more words per day than Kotaku. Over at his eponymous website, Jenkins has been posting articles about the various serious games projects MIT CMS students have undertaken over the years.
Titles covered include Revolution, a game about life in colonial Williamsburg; a series of handheld augmented reality games; Backflow, about the environmental issues of sewage; and Labyrinth, a game about math literacy.
Each post about the games includes a comprehensive article detailing its design and learning goals.
From Serious Games to Serious Gaming [Henry Jenkins]













Comments
I was all excited when I saw Labyrinth... I wanted to either be a ball bearing in a wooden board that shifts along two axes or David Bowie as the Goblin King.
Henrayyyyyyyyyy Jenkins!!!
@nfarm2: And here I thought I had come up with the most derivative comment possible... Thanks internet. Now I guess I have to one up that by asking if you start the Revolution by shooting CDs at redcoats in Lexington.
*sigh* after having read the (very) lengthy article so as not to offend our guest editor I can say that I found the Revolution game to be a very interesting concept. The fact that I'm a reluctant historian by title if not trade may have something to do with it. I will say, despite America not being my area of specialization, they could have picked several cities that would have been more interesting than Williamsburg in relation to the revolution, but I guess that it does suit their 40 minute play window. (One couldn't hope to traverse and meet/interact with people in a virtual Philadelphia or Boston on a satisfactory level in that amount of time.) Were I to find myself in the position to teach children or even young adults I think this would be a useful tool that students would enjoy. The fighting system is a both a boon and a curse for the game. On one hand it's accurate to a point, and they avoid the common pitfall that Oregon Trail fell into (Banker=>$$on bullets=>hunt the whole class period.) At the same time they lose out on the memorable experience, but then again, I suppose punching Patrick Henry can be an interesting experience in itself. The gossip/social system is a well thought out mechanic. In those days rank and title were readily apparent for all to see based upon apparel and manner. That lent to a system of strict stratification (which arguably broke and reformed just prior to and just after the war.)
In the interest of keeping this a comment rather than its own individual post I'll end with this, it was a worthwhile article if you happen to have 20 min-1 hr.
I got a chance to play a bit of Labyrinth last week and it's pretty damn good. If you get a chance - and I'm sure people will once it's done keep in mind the age-range when you play. It's aimed at fairly young kids but as far as an educational game goes it's well done and the production is great.
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