Arising From Injustice
An EducationalAlternate Reality Game
What is an
Alternate Reality
Game (ARG)?
The Beast ARG
The Beast ARG
• Play as yourself
• Takes place in the real and virtual worlds
• Uses a variety of media and technologies
• Collaborative gameplay
• (Emergent storyline and gameplay)
ARG Characteristics
World Without Oil ARG
World Without Oil ARG
Learning Goals
• Analyze the prejudice and discrimination against Japanese Americans during World War II
• Evaluate primary source historical information, such as oral histories, photographs, and historical documents
• Create collaborative projects using various online media and tools
• Critique online media and text in a constructive, thought-provoking manner
Player’s Goal
Win the game
GAMEPLAY
Story – Puzzle – Mission
Story Overview
• Alice Sasaki found unconscious while working on Memory History Cognition (MHC) device in her laboratory
• You access Alice’s data on the MHC and find yourself in the 1940s reliving Alice’s life
• You figure out that you need to help Alice recall her memories in order to bring her out of her coma
• Puzzles – part of MHC security protocol
• Missions – present Alice with memories of her past
Puzzles
• Engage the teams in challenging, collaborative exercises
• Expose the players to a variety of web resources that they can utilize in the Missions
Puzzles
Each player emailed clues to find three individual characters embedded in various online media, such as an oral history about a Japanese American person’s wartime experience.
t y D g F b
M l r I b .
http://bit.ly/rbDMgF
Missions
• Teams create media and content relevant to Alice’s WWII memories
• Requires players to utilize the online resources introduced by the Puzzles
• Points awarded for creativity and feedback on other teams’ creations
Missions
Create Word Cloud
Prototype Results
• Over 2,500 discussion board posts by 16 players in 5 week period
• Pre- and post-game survey analysis showed some significant learning about history and use of primary sources
• “…liked the fact that we were learning something meaningful while we were playing”
• “…the game was well thought out in content and allowed the players to push the boundaries of creativity”
Edu ARG Benefits
• Relatively inexpensive to develop
• No programming skills required
• Any subject/topic
Edu ARG Challenges
• Embedding learning objectives into game
• Competition vs. collaboration
• Assessment
• Creating an emergent, player-driven storyline vs. linear story
Edu ARG Future
• Incorporate new media and technologies
• New design ideas from entertainment ARGs
• Teachers/trainers as game designers
• Students as game designers
Recommended
