In the first chapter, I really appreciated how the authors often made use of lists to communicate their findings. I made note of new terms for me to review, and I connected findings to quotes or key insights. But most of all, I copied down the frameworks we were given. The learning framework from Hmelo-Silver’s problem-based learning research, and the framework for designing mechanics, both stood out to me. I see a lot of similarities in them too (activating prior experience & defining learning objectives, applying skills and embracing playcentric design, integrating into the real world & formally assessing learning, etc.). I’m excited to continue connecting these frameworks further as I design games.
In the second chapter, I focused a lot more on the literature review and theoretical framing. I made note of scholars to return to as I plan my own research. And I appreciated this contribution from the author on how narrative, synthesis, and environment can help one take identities formed in games around ethics into the real-life application of those ethics. Transferring learning continues to be a difficult phenomenon of study, so reading about this new direction was intriguing. I see alot of similarities from the guidelines proposed in this chapter to the ones proposed in the prior chapter as well — particularly when it comes to iterating rapidly through playtesting.
