EME6227-0: Gamification Reflections

1. Thinking about all the assignments you did this month, which ones are you selecting to go into your portfolio folder? This month brought forth a lot of idea generation about games that can help learners understand and retain important information. I'm choosing my 'Code Equity - First Do No Harm' game concept and my 'When Florida Life Attacks' game to highlight in my portfolio. These games exhibit two ends of the spectrum to represent interactions that on one end can be fun and humorous yet on the other end be serious and life-altering.

   
   

2. What does your selection(s) say about you as an instructional designer? My selections represent my ability to select issues rooted in reality and turn them into digestible, engaging, and skill-building. Incorporating fun and humor is also critical to holding player attention. My ability to create games that teach much needed skills while weaving in components that reduce anxiety and implore constructive feedback if incorrect options are chosen solidifies my retention of how games are meant to make players feel. The graphics I choose are not only vivid and sensitive to learners with disabilities such as color-blindness, they also represent what we experience daily. Realisitc imaging and sound are game elements that can further assist players into engaging, learning and retaining what is in front of them. I play close attention to detail when selecting these assets.

   
   

3. What skills did you learn this month? There were quite a few skills I learned this month but the most important was scaffolding. Implementing game mechanics and challenges in a step-by step manner versus throwing all these aspects to a player at once would immediately overwhelm the player and result in little to no engagement. Reducing frustration is built by offering players more challenges over time as levels progress. Providing aids such as tutorials and feedback in addition to charting the middle lane between anxiety and boredom will ultimately produce players that increase their skills as challenges become more difficult.